The concerns of farmers such as Leake will take center stage in Ankeny, Iowa, on Friday as the Justice Department and U.S. Department of Agriculture kick off the first of a yearlong series of public meetings to examine whether antitrust practices in agriculture are driving food prices higher. Link

Connecticut’s attorney general sued Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s over ratings the firms issued on risky investments. Link

In 1966,Time Magazine published a cover article posing the question, “Is God Dead?” Asked about the possibility, former President Eisenhower reportedly responded, “That’s funny. I was just talking with Him this morning.” Some of us are beginning to feel the same way about trendy assertions that strategy is dead. Link

Regulators should restrict banks’ use of credit-default swaps to prevent their capital requirements from falling to the “dangerously low levels” reached during the financial crisis, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said. Link

In the tussle for dominance between the world’s two big financial capitals, New York and London, the Yanks are winning in the battle to attract the biggest hedge funds. Link

Global wealth management technology spending by banks, brokerages and insurance companies is set to reach $3.7 billion by the end of 2010, up 5 percent from 2009, according to a report released January 7 by Boston-based research firm Celent. Link

Consensus on financial reform seems further away than ever. In January, Barack Obama finally got on board with the “Volcker rule” to get tough with US banks, after months of dithering. Link

A Senior World Bank official describes its efforts to secure an additional $3 billion-5 billion in paid-in capital as a “once-in-a-generation increase to deal with the effects of a once-in-a-generation crisis”. Link

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said lawmakers have been unable to agree on legislation to overhaul U.S. financial regulations, including a proposal for a consumer unit at the Federal Reserve. Link