U.S. political leadership is focused on competitiveness but may be oversimplifying requirements for its achievement. Most specifically, the political system itself. The institutional framework is such that the most powerful special interests become favored. Public spending on education has been rising but there are a dozen countries with a higher share of the population holding college degrees and yet all rank lower in competitiveness. The measure of competitiveness used by IMD in Switzerland involves 334 criteria and not just GDP and productivity. A large negative for the U.S. is public finance where an exploding budget deficit has tripled in the past four years as a predicted drag on competitiveness. ...
What You Need to Know Today: Commodities were mostly lower across the board today after yesterday’s Federal Reserve meeting hinted at a potential interest rate hike later in 2026. The dollar index reached its highest level in over a year, and a strong dollar makes U.S. agricultural expor...
Tomorrow is the Juneteenth federal holiday, and the USDA, along with the rest of the federal government and the CME, will be closed, so the monthly Cattle on Feed report was released a day early. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity on 1 June amounted...
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.