World Perspectives

Old President, Old Allegiances

President Biden sided with the steel workers union and will put Nippon Steel’s purchase of US Steel through the “serious scrutiny” of the Administration’s own Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). As noted previously (Blatant Nationalism), Nippon Steel is likely far more reluctant to lay off workers than US Steel, which has purged them by the thousands in recent years. More importantly, Biden’s defense of an old and minor sector of the economy while attacking the much larger and future focused IT sector betrays the downside of his age.  The IT sector accounts for $1.9 trillion of the U.S. value-added GDP or around 10 percent of the economy. And it is growing at 8.2 percent CAGR. By...

Related Articles
feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Expected Biofuel Announcement Cannot Dislodge War Worries

Thursday marked the worst day for stocks in weeks despite word on the street to “buy,” since valuations have once again become attractive. But apparently not yet. History suggests a rebound with President Trump politically compelled to dream up some form of policy stimulus on top of...

wheat

Downside Risk for Wheat into 2026/27

The current rally in wheat futures is widely known to be driven by fund buying in response to the conflict in the Middle East. Part of the price gains has also been motivated by concerns for the HRW crop in the U.S. Plains amid dry weather and the strong U.S. wheat export pace to date. What has...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 26 Corn closed at $4.62/bushel, down $0.05 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Wheat closed at $6.05/bushel, up $0 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.5925/bushel, down $0.145 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soymeal closed at $315.3/short ton, down $6.8 from ye...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Expected Biofuel Announcement Cannot Dislodge War Worries

Thursday marked the worst day for stocks in weeks despite word on the street to “buy,” since valuations have once again become attractive. But apparently not yet. History suggests a rebound with President Trump politically compelled to dream up some form of policy stimulus on top of...

wheat

Downside Risk for Wheat into 2026/27

The current rally in wheat futures is widely known to be driven by fund buying in response to the conflict in the Middle East. Part of the price gains has also been motivated by concerns for the HRW crop in the U.S. Plains amid dry weather and the strong U.S. wheat export pace to date. What has...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 26 Corn closed at $4.62/bushel, down $0.05 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Wheat closed at $6.05/bushel, up $0 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.5925/bushel, down $0.145 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soymeal closed at $315.3/short ton, down $6.8 from ye...

livestock

Grassley and Smith Introduce Meat Industry Consolidation Bill

Previously, on 24 March, WPI wrote about fertilizer consolidation and an effort by Majority Leader John Thune to introduce mandatory price reporting for fertilizer, similar to the process for meat and dairy. However, the efforts to address concentration and market transparency continue. More re...

Image
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.

Search World Perspectives

Sign In to World Perspectives

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up