In the shot put McKoywon with a throw of 9

Amber Allen of Waynes Passaic County Tech High School, finishedclose behind, taking second place in 55.9. Brooklyns own Adrienne Alexander, a student at Bishop Loughlin, threw 12.24Meters to take this weeks Shot Put event, while Colgate Games veteran WhitneyFountain, easily scored first in both the 55 Meters (7.0) and the 200 Meters(24.9). The Francis sisters of Queens ruled the 800 Meters with Phyllis finishing firstin 2:13.3 and younger sister Claudia in second with a finish of 2:15.9. PhyllisFrancis also won the High Jump competition, clearing 50", while Claudia Francistook first in the 1500 Meters in 4:45.8. New Jersey Middle School student Njaire McKoy of Englewood Cliffs Upper Schoolcontinued her streak of double wins. McKoy has won both the Shot Put and HighJump events for the last three weeks.

On Saturday McKoy had competition fromPhiladelphia, PAs Tanise Edwards, who also cleared 410." In the shot put McKoywon with a throw of 9.17 Meters. This weekend was the final of four preliminaries held at Pratt Institutesindoor track, leading up to a semi-finals event for top point scorers. Thesemi-finals determine who will compete for trophies and educationalgrants-in-aid from Colgate-Palmolive Company at Madison Square Garden, Saturday,January 31.The Games have produced 22 former Olympians, hundreds of age/grade divisionnational champions and countless changed lives. Coaches, college recruiters,participants, family and friends can follow scores and results each week at SINGAPORE, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The following are storiesfrom Singapore newspapers on Monday Reuters has not verifiedthese stories. THE STRAITS TIMES- Over 130 Singaporean small businesses closed last year, upnearly 25 percent from the previous year, according togovernment statistics.

- Trade agency International Enterprise plans to starttrade missions to Africa thus year, in an effort to give localfirms a chance to do business there since it has been shelteredfrom the financial crisis, the body's chief executive said. - Sales of cigarettes rose to a three-year high last yeardespite smoking being banned in more public places, accordingto figures from Singapore Customs. BUSINESS TIMES - Singapore is considering dipping into its foreignreserves for the first time to help tackle an economic slump,Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong told reporters on Sunday, after aplunge in Singapore's trade data showed things were going to be"very bad" this year. - Just one in 15 directors of public-listed companies is awoman, showing litte change for the gender gap in corporateboardrooms since a Business Times survey in 2002. - Businesses are hopeful this week's budget will help cutoperational costs, but economists were divided on whethercorporate or personal income tax cuts were likely..

CERRO COLORADO, Uruguay (Reuters) - Just a year ago, Uruguayan rancher Dimar Delgado couldn't believe his good fortune. Russia Crisis in CreditBut a sudden drop in international beef prices and an acute drought have changed everything.The global economic slowdown has sent grains and beef prices tumbling, hitting farmers and governments in South American farming nations. Concern is perhaps greatest in Uruguay, where ranching is the motor of its small economy.Farmers like Delgado, 45, are tightening their belts while the uncertainty lasts. The country's center-left government has slashed growth forecasts for the sector from 6 percent in 2008 to just 1 percent this year."We'd planned to do up the house but because we don't know what's going to happen we haven't been able to," Delgado's wife Claudia said while feeding the chickens besides the family's modest house."We don't know if we're going to need to buy feed for the cattle, and we have to save the cattle," she added at the ranch, near the town of Cerro Colorado, some 105 miles northeast of the capital, Montevideo.Uruguayan ranchers are not the only ones to see their fortunes reverse almost overnight.In neighboring Brazil, which has the world's largest herd of commercial cattle, some meat-packers are operating at a loss.Next door, in Argentina, another leading global beef supplier, beef processing plants have been forced to give workers early leave and ranchers say their incomes have plunged due to slack demand for beef and leather.TRADITIONALThe Delgados have a herd of 900 cattle on their farm of some 2,280 acres, which Dimar Delgado's father bought 20 years ago.It is typical of Uruguay's traditional cattle ranches.