World Perspectives

While Swinging for the Fence

Early reactions to President Trump’s tariff war are as expected. Major foreign trading partners are expressing shock and assuring Washington that if there is no negotiated settlement, there will be an appropriate response. Domestic pundits emphasize this is a tax on American consumers and it will hurt the U.S. more than other countries. The latter implies the trade playing field is level though no one says it outright.  One pundit pointed out that Americans are richer and implied maybe it was due to low tariffs, but never asked why do other countries keep their consumers poor with higher border measures? The global economic system is built on Americans importing a lot and so there will be pain. Some U.S. corporations are import d...

Related Articles
livestock

Livestock Roundup: Cattle on Feed Preview

USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed report will be released tomorrow. Analysts’ pre-report consensus estimates are for the total inventory on feed to be 99.1 percent of last year with the range of estimates between 98.7 and 99.7 percent of 1 September 2024. Those estimates imply an on-fee...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Markets Hopeful but Guarded on China; CBOT Falls on Demand Worries

Technical selling, disappointment with the USDA’s latest policy moves, and favorable rains across the Midwest took a bearish toll on the CBOT markets Wednesday. The Federal Reserve, as expected, cut interest rates today and signaled a more dovish approach for the next several months, whic...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.2675/bushel, down $0.0275 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Wheat closed at $5.2825/bushel, down $0.0575 from yesterday's close.  Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $10.4375/bushel, down $0.06 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $285.7/short ton, down...

livestock

Livestock Roundup: Cattle on Feed Preview

USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed report will be released tomorrow. Analysts’ pre-report consensus estimates are for the total inventory on feed to be 99.1 percent of last year with the range of estimates between 98.7 and 99.7 percent of 1 September 2024. Those estimates imply an on-fee...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Markets Hopeful but Guarded on China; CBOT Falls on Demand Worries

Technical selling, disappointment with the USDA’s latest policy moves, and favorable rains across the Midwest took a bearish toll on the CBOT markets Wednesday. The Federal Reserve, as expected, cut interest rates today and signaled a more dovish approach for the next several months, whic...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.2675/bushel, down $0.0275 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Wheat closed at $5.2825/bushel, down $0.0575 from yesterday's close.  Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $10.4375/bushel, down $0.06 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $285.7/short ton, down...

WTO and Trump; Analytically Correct, Predictably Wrong

WTO and Trump To quote Wikipedia, James Bacchus is “an American statesman, scholar, writer, and politician". He also served as a founding member and twice chairman of the WTO’s Appellate Body. He now writes from the Libertarian Cato Institute and provocatively asks why the WTO is no...

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