World Perspectives

Tariff Follies Begin; Ludicrous Lutnick; Hill-arious Committee Picks

Tariff Follies Begin There is playing from strength, like having the leverage of oversized trade deficits, and then there is overplaying one’s hand. Blanket 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico for ephemeral reasons fentanyl and immigration, two things Mr. Trump cannot even control in his own country, seems rash. Canada and Mexico will retaliate, and they may even drag out negotiations in a gambit that American consumers can get as irate as government grant recipients were early in the week when the President tried to stall their payments. Using the trade imbalance as leverage to achieve improved terms of trade could be legitimate. The rationale is not only flimsy, but the implementation tomorrow without protection for existing dea...

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Schumer Planning a Bill to Force Divestiture in Meat Industry

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is currently seeking co-sponsors for a bill he will introduce as early as Thursday of this week, the Family Grocer and Farmer Relief Act. The plan promises to “break up dominant meatpackers, rein in foreign-controlled corporate giants, and use...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 26 Corn closed at $4.465/bushel, up $0.0075 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Wheat closed at $5.74/bushel, down $0.0325 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.705/bushel, up $0.065 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soymeal closed at $314.7/short ton, up $1.8 from...

livestock

Livestock Industry Margins

Beef packer margins improved sharply last week but remained deeply negative, with estimated net losses narrowing to -$206/head from the prior week’s extreme levels. The recovery was driven by a stronger boxed beef cutout, which rose to $371.62/cwt, while fed cattle prices moved lower on t...

Schumer Planning a Bill to Force Divestiture in Meat Industry

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is currently seeking co-sponsors for a bill he will introduce as early as Thursday of this week, the Family Grocer and Farmer Relief Act. The plan promises to “break up dominant meatpackers, rein in foreign-controlled corporate giants, and use...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 26 Corn closed at $4.465/bushel, up $0.0075 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Wheat closed at $5.74/bushel, down $0.0325 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.705/bushel, up $0.065 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soymeal closed at $314.7/short ton, up $1.8 from...

livestock

Livestock Industry Margins

Beef packer margins improved sharply last week but remained deeply negative, with estimated net losses narrowing to -$206/head from the prior week’s extreme levels. The recovery was driven by a stronger boxed beef cutout, which rose to $371.62/cwt, while fed cattle prices moved lower on t...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Gulf Conflict Creates Volatility but Little Support for Grains

The primary drivers of Monday’s grain trade were, of course, the U.S. and Israel’s weekend attacks on Iran that killed the latter country’s Supreme Leader Khamenei and the subsequent cascade of impacts on global markets. WPI covers these impacts in more detail in our nearby ar...

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From WPI Consulting

Infrastructure investment due diligence

On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.

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