WTO Makeover There is reasonable concern that the Trump administration is blocking the appointment of appellant judges at the WTO as part of a goal to implode the current binding dispute settlement process. It would be Trumpian to believe that the U.S. would fare better by returning to the negotiated settlement system that existed under the old GATT. However, a far better focus for leveraging any change at the WTO would be to pressure its return to working as a trade liberalization body rather than just another development agency as currently envisioned by its Third World majority. Taxing Success The skyrocketing valuations of U.S.-based Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Google and Amazon (FAMGA) had been driving Wall Street higher but...
What You Need to Know Today: The corn and soybean markets closed slightly higher in low-volume trade. The wheat market was mixed, with HRW continuing its downward trek on improved moisture. As expected, the bearish cattle on feed report drove down cattle prices and pulled hogs down with it. Mi...
From WPI Consulting
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.