BlackRock, the biggest publicly traded asset manager, said third-quarter profit fell 15 percent as investors unnerved by the financial crisis withdrew money from its stock, bond and money-market funds.

The recent disclosure that the owners of Riverton Houses, a 1,228-unit apartment complex in Harlem, might default on their loan has shocked the real estate industry.

Some private investors are starting to make long-term bets that the world’s need for food will increase.

Some private investors are starting to make long-term bets that the world’s need for food will greatly increase — by buying farmland, fertilizer, grain elevators and shipping equipment.

Money managers have traditionally made profits buying distressed debt on the cheap, but individual investors can get into the game directly as well.