Americans file four times as many patent applications as do Europeans, and part of the reason is a contrast in attitude. Commodity Price Outlook Consumer prices continue to fall in the Group of 20 largest economies. If protectionism were a problem, inflation would likely be rising as higher-priced domestic goods replace cheaper imports. The FAO Food Price Index has risen for the past three months, although that is from deep lows and due to a narrow set of commodities like wheat, dairy and sugar. Fracking has seemingly capped the price of oil at around $50/barrel. If the global economy continues to grow, it will provide a floor under commodities, but a recession will wreak havoc on the current system. Internet Inequality The U.S. and EU...
What You Need to Know Today: The U.S. weather forecast has shifted to favor more beneficial conditions for finishing the corn and soybean crops, which is removing some weather risk premium from futures. Traders are looking ahead to Friday’s September WASDE, which will offer major insight...
Key Takeaways: Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling would provide consumers with more consistent information about where their beef originates, but evidence from the previous COOL rule found little indication that labeling increased overall consumer demand for beef. The primary potential benef...
The California General Assembly has passed a bill aimed at increasing transparency related to ultra-processed foods. California Governor Gavin Newsom has until 30 September to take action on the bill, though it will most likely be signed into law. Late last year, California became the first sta...
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.