The price of agricultural commodities has spiked since last summer, according to a report from the U.S. Agriculture Department. Increasing demand from emerging economies, and smaller harvests around the world have almost doubled the demand for wheat and corn. The World Bank is concerned that rising costs could trigger food riots in poorer countries, similar to the riots of 2008.

Economics correspondent Chris Farrell spoke to Jeremy Hobson about the companies he’s watching to gauge the American economic recovery in 2011. Farrell is interested in three things: mobile Internet, manufacturing, and jobs. He’s watching Qualcomm — a major player in the cellphone industry, Fastenal — $9 billion company that distributes 50,000 industrial parts and tools, and Manpower — a prominent temp agency.