Lessons from Tai Everyone that knows Katherine Tai was excited for her nomination to become U.S. Trade Representative and were confident in her confirmation. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate today by a vote of 98 to 0, the only one of President Biden’s Cabinet officers to achieve unanimous support from an often bitterly divided legislature. Unlike other nominees, she had no track record of ugly partisan tweets. Instead, she built a professional reputation based on intelligence and humility. It is a lesson that should be absorbed by many others in Washington. The political system is not broken but as Secretary of State Antony Blinken observed in a Nikkei interview, it sometimes doesn’t look very pretty and that provides succ...
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
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.