The recent BRICS+ meeting in South Africa highlighted some of the animosity toward a world order long dominated by countries comprising just a minority of the world’s population. However, the Western model is difficult to undo for many reasons. From the standpoint of its architects, it provides certainty (rule of law), financial incentive (free markets), and a moral code (democracy/human rights). For its opponents, it is just difficult to break historical inertia. An alternative approach just needs to build critical mass to the point it reaches a tipping point. There is a practical component that is very difficult to break – the dominance of the English language. It is not even the primary language for two-thirds of its speaker...
Commodity markets – being composed primarily of human beings – reflect the impatience and forever forward-looking nature of humans. In the present case, this means that while the September WASDE offered some much-needed and much-desired updates, markets are now focused on that etern...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported this morning that August’s rate of inflation was 0.4 percent, holding steady at 3.4 percent for the year. That matched analysts’ pre-report expectations and was even with July’s rate of 3.4 percent. For the year, food was up 2.7 pe...
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.