General Comments The bearish news overnight was J.P. Morgan's announcement that it had lost $2 billion in the last six weeks from poor derivative trades. There is some talk the loss might exceed $3 billion. That is more than chump change. It comes as a surprise simply because it appeared that the disastrous derivative trade losses back in 2008 might have cured the appetite for risk in those markets. It also raises the question of whether or not part of the heavy selling across markets over the last several weeks was somehow connected to the J.P. Morgan problem.Financial markets didn't really need another reason to be weak with the ongoing eurozone problems, but the J.P. Morgan news certainly added another bearish element. Crude oil was w...
Russian Grain Markets: 12–16 October 2026 During the week in review, the Russian grain market began recovering after an extended decline driven largely by Black Sea logistics bottlenecks, a good crop and weaker global demand in traditional Russian markets. Russia is beginning to harvest c...
What You Need to Know Today: Corn and soybeans were under heavy selling pressure as weaker (or at least as-expected) export demand runs into an accelerating harvest pace with more grain available in the spot market. Corn and soybean harvest progress remains below average across the U.S., espec...
From WPI Consulting
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.