Channeling HamiltonAlexander Hamilton, the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, encouraged the Tariff Act of 1789, the Tariff Act of 1790, and the Tariff Act of 1792. He used tariffs to fund the government and protect domestic industries from British exports. President-elect Trump has pledged large tariffs on China and more recently said he would impose more tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico until they stop sending fentanyl and migrants to the U.S. Current Treasury nominee Scott Bessent has a 3-3-3 policy: bring U.S. deficits down to 3 percent of GDP (currently 6.3 percent), lift economic growth to 3 percent (from 2.5 percent in 2023), and increase oil production by 3 million barrels/day. He has characterized the threat of tariffs...
World Perspectives, Inc. welcomes Steve Wolf as Director of Commodity Intelligence. Steve brings a broad range of agribusiness, commodity market, and consulting experience to WPI from previous roles at Tyson Foods and Informa Economics (now part of S&P Global). Steve most recently spent thr...
Beef packer margins improved to -$200/head last week, up $57 from the prior week as the Choice cutout strengthened while fed cattle prices moved lower. The cutout rose to $392/cwt, continuing its seasonal climb into summer demand, while fed cattle prices eased to $257/cwt. The improvement helpe...
What You Need to Know Today: U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said Friday that the U.S. has seized $1b of Iranian crypto assets. Iran’s IGGC says 15 merchant vessels, including 4 oil tankers, have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours. Managed money traders...
Developer's Note: Last year, users pointed out differences between the 5-year averages reported in this app and what USDA estimates in its weekly report. The difference exists because WPI calculates average based on the last 5 years of observations for the current week. In cases where obs...
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.