With the 2018 midterm election three weeks away, the Democrats need a 23-seat pickup in the House of Representatives to reach the 218 seats (of 435) necessary to gain majority control, and all seats are up for election. RealClearPolitics, a polling aggregator, currently has the “over/under” pickup odds at plus 24.5 seats for Democratic candidates (see below).
Based on the above, 101 seats are in play to some degree with 29 rated as toss-ups. All of the latter are held by Republican incumbents, which stacks the odds in the Democrats’ favor. In the Senate, 51 seats are needed for a majority. With the vice president as the tie-breaking vote, however, Republicans would only need 50 seats for the next two years. There are 3...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
