World Perspectives

China Hit Worst; IMF Backs Trade Distortions; Realigned Politics; Nut Melk

China Hit Worst Like the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) assessment on a global basis, the Asian Development Bank this week kept its current forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth in developing Asia at 6 percent this year and 5.9 percent in 2019. However, it warned that growth would suffer if the U.S.-China trade spate worsens. An argument can be made that China has already suffered economically from that situation. Just a look at major equity markets since the initial imposition of Section 232 duties by the Trump administration shows that it is China’s markets that have suffered (see graph below).

  IMF Backs Trade Distortions Import tariff escalation or imposing higher duties on more heavily pr...

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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.

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