Past is Prologue Jeffrey Garten is a Yale University dean and a former official in four different U.S. administrations. His latest book, Three Days at Camp David: How a Secret Meeting in 1971 Transformed the Global Economy, covers the past but is applicable to the global economy today. Like the global economic crisis in the early 1970’s, today’s dislocation involves the dollar. By the 1970’s, Europe and Japan had become a significant share of the global economy, but the dollar remained tied to gold and made the U.S. uncompetitive. The trade deficit was exploding. Once again, the global economy has outgrown the policy foundation. Garten quotes then Treasury Secretary John Connolly making the Trump like remark, “Let&r...
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...
What You Need to Know Today: The hot, dry weather forecast continues to drive strength in grain futures with corn and soybeans hitting another day of strong gains. Monday’s Crop Progress and Conditions data were in line with market expectations and showed relatively few concerns for the...
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.