NEW YORK - A battle broke out Friday for control of Wachovia, as Wells Fargo agreed to pay $14.8 billion for the struggling bank, while Citigroup and federal regulators insisted that Citi’s earlier and lower-priced takeover offer go forward. The surprise announcement that Wachovia Corp. agreed to be acquired by San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. in the all-stock deal — without government assistance — upended what had appeared to be a carefully examined arrangement and caught regulato

Wall Street Mess: How Did We Get Here? How did we get into this mess? There are several reasons and several discussions that will take place over the coming months. But as my friend Wayne Jett points out: “Collapses occurring in U.S. financial markets have causes involving perpetrators and enablers. The causes are not simply flaws in capitalism or bad business judgment. These collapses would not have happened without crucial roles played by institutions of federal government, roles that

Agriculture futures traded higher Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade.