Buying Food USDA is forecasting that grocery prices will rise by 3 percent this year, the largest increase since 2011 and mostly due to animal proteins. That is more than three times the overall inflation rate. Five economists from four different universities analyzed household spending in response to this year’s COVID-related fiscal infusion of cash (2020 CARES Act) and found less was spent on durable goods and more on food than during similar stimulus efforts in 2001 and 2008. However, the authors attribute the change in spending to shelter-in-place orders and supply disruptions. Ethanol and Emissions There is angst in Europe because average automobile CO2 emissions are rising at a time when regulations say they should be d...
What You Need to Know Today: President Trump claimed the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was over, as both sides accused one another of violating the terms of the agreement. Commercial vessels are increasingly steering clear of the Strait of Hormuz as security risks escalate following Iran...
Key Takeaways: The CME Group is launching new 90 percent Lean Beef and 50 percent Lean Beef futures and options contracts in July. There are five key factors that must be present in physical markets and futures contract specifications for futures contracts to become successful. The two l...
From WPI Consulting
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.