World Perspectives

Agencies and Buildings; Reactions to Tariffs; USMCA Civil Disobedience

Agencies and Buildings Donald Trump’s flurry of actions to upset the status quo in Washington is upsetting bureaucrats, but perhaps not Democrats. When your opponent is digging a hole to fall into, get out of the way. As Steven Englander of Standard Chartered framed it, “He seems to be like a poker player who’s betting his whole stash on the first hand.” There is nothing elegant or sophisticated about Mr. Trump’s approach. He is once again all bull in the China Closet.  His attack on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is based on the average American’s view that more money should be spent at home rather than on foreign countries. The agency does a lot of good but it doesn’t h...

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Soybean Crushing Margins Outlook for Q1 2025

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From WPI Consulting

Forecasting developments in production agriculture

On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.

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