On March 29th a federal district court in New York made a ruling that, taken at face value, turns America's approach to the patent protection of genes on its head.

Last year, however, in response to a court decision, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was forced to limit the number of farms covered by its rules on permits and manure management.

The protection from creditors afforded by the court means there needn’t be an outright dump of assets but very few securities firms ever rebound from bankruptcy.