World Perspectives

Revising Down the Economy

We’ve now had a couple of months in 2024 where economic report revisions have come in, and they have been significant. This has changed the outlook on the economy from bullish during the last part of 2023 and January, to now being more uncertain.  First, the February payroll report showed an increase in non-farm jobs of 275,000, beating the consensus pre-report estimate of 200,000. However, that report came with downward revisions of 167,000 jobs to both the December and January initial estimates. That was the largest monthly downgrade for any non-COVID shutdown month since late 2008, at the beginning of the last recession. Thus, the adjusted February payroll report was just 108,000 above the original January level, and thus bel...

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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.

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