Money manager capitalism - characterized by highly leveraged funds seeking maximum returns in an environment that systematically underprices risk - has resulted in a series of boom-and-bust cycles in equities, real estate, and commodities. Because subsequent cycles have been increasingly...

Recent discussions on the volatility of agricultural prices have been drawing on factors as low short term elasticities of supply and demand, climatic risk, market uncertainty, central banks monetary policies, trade barriers, biofuel development and, finally, speculation. Much debate has aroused...