Translation - French-English - La spéculation, première cause du désastre?

There should be no "of" after "dozen". Also, no "the" before "speculation".

CC: Lein

Thanks, I'm learning something here.

I remember looking for "a dozen of" vs "a dozen" while translating.
Looks like both are used, but what you said seems more correct --> "of" is not required.

But check this out, it's interesting:
- http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/dozenof.html
- http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=372795

hmmmm, so basically it's:
1) A dozen (stuffs) --> Correct
2) Dozens of (stuffs) --> Correct
3) A dozen of (stuffs) --> Wrong

But I'd still like to have a definite answer on that matter.

"a dozen" : "une douzaine"

"Une dizaine de grandes sociétés transcontinentales"... : "About ten big transcontinental corporations"...

Redshadow: What you posted above is correct. Please check my profile if you'd like to know how I know. By the way, "stuff" is not countable, so you cannot say "stuffs" - I think you mean "things".

And yes - Francky is right about "dizaine", of course.

Also, I wonder if it should be "staples" instead of "basic needs products".

Hold it!
Stuff... isn't countable!? (my whole life, uhhh my whole life, ... was full of stuffS )

I already checked your profile, and I know, that I must trust you with that kinda _thing_.

I, again, learned something.