Double-edged sword: Rising commodities prices

We tend to think of big farm-type companies as hedgers, who take the other side of bets waged by hedge funds. But when you get down to this, there's a fine line between corporate hedgers and raw speculators. There are plenty of corporate treasury employees who have been burned by currency "hedges" that went bad and cost the company a lot in earnings. Same goes for airlines hedging against energy prices. Fortune notes that ag firms are as dependent on the capital markets as ever. It takes a look at Bunge, which is borrowing more than ever and suffering big losses on hedges for soybeans and other crops. This story may not have a happy ending.  

For more:
- here's the Fortune article