World Perspectives

To Trade or Not to Trade; To Crypto or Not

To Trade or Not to Trade Trade was already a hot political button before the pandemic heightened by large trade imbalances with China, but it became even hotter with COVID due to the hording of personal protective equipment. Shorten the supply chains became the mantra but even that is not a clear solution. As noted by Bloomberg, a study by the Asian Development Bank found that countries integrated into complex value chains were more economically damaged by the global downturn than were more autonomous countries, though the difference was small (5.5 percent). By contrast, the OECD looked at a different set of countries and found that highly integrated countries were better able to absorb the shock. Distance is not the distinguishing factor...

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Bearish Sugar Prices to Continue Despite Production Increases

The U.S. 2025/26 sugar supply is forecast at 14.119 million short tons, raw value (STRV), down 1,800 STRV from November as the decrease in expected imports of refined organic and specialty sugar, which pays the high tier, out of quota duty, more than offsets the increase in beginning stocks and...

livestock

Livestock Industry Margins

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Bearish Sugar Prices to Continue Despite Production Increases

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.365/bushel, down $0.0325 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.095/bushel, down $0.1125 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soybeans closed at $10.6275/bushel, down $0.09 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soymeal closed at $302.4/short ton, down $1...

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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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