The CBOT started the week with a mood that was decidedly oriented towards preparing for the September WASDE report. Volume and price action were relatively limited for the day and cattle futures were the surprise bullish leaders. In the grains, corn and soybeans pushed higher with the latter market seeing benefits from crude oil and energy markets while wheat traded a lackluster and mostly sideways day. Funds appear to have done most of the short covering they intend to before the WASDE report, which will likely lead to mostly sideways trade this week. The September WASDE will come out on Thursday and traders are generally looking for larger new crop soybean ending stocks and slight reductions in new crop corn and wheat stocks. Pre-r...
The corn and soy complex closed higher, with the wheat market mixed, as winter wheat closed up but spring wheat and livestock ended lower. Part of the strength for corn and soybeans may have been a weather premium, as crop planting has started out fast but warm weather has been slow to develop...
Real GDP grew at a 2 percent annual rate in the first quarter of 2026, slightly below the consensus expectation of 2.3 percent but above the 0.5 percent growth in Q4 2025. The GDP number matches the average annualized pace of growth since the peak back in late 2007, right before the Financial P...
Reflect for a moment on what you eat. There is a lot of advice out there in the ether about what you should eat, but really, what do you currently eat and how much? The good people at the USDA have some data for you, to help you answer that question. USDA says that we eat quite a bit of meat. L...
From WPI Consulting
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.