Inflation Truth The U.S. Federal Reserve sent a strong signal today that inflation is endemic in the economy and that strong action is needed to bring it under control. It will speed up the reduction in its bond buying and projects three interest rate increases next year. This contrasts with President Biden’s depiction of inflation being caused by a few bad actors, or that it is coming under control in some sectors. What is notable is that not only did the Fed not buy the White House line but neither did the public. In a SurveyGoo survey of 1,000 consumers in the U.S. and UK, 79 percent pegged the blame on supply chain problems such as driver shortages. The good news for the White House is that the public did not blame government sti...
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.