Austalia-Farm investers fight shy.

AUSTRALIA-

Australia’s long-running drought continues to hamper the fortunes of investors in Australian agriculture, with two companies reporting poor financial results Tuesday. And the outlook isn’t much better, especially given recent sharp falls in commodity prices and the effects of the global financial crisis. While northern Australia continues to experience heavy rainfall and associated flooding, southern Australia suffered extremely hot, dry conditions for much of January, making for a difficult opening to the year for agriculture, Rabobank Australia said in its monthly review.