Vlad-atility is volatility caused when the market places too much value in what Vladimir Putin might be implying. Yesterday’s commodity lows were aspirational based (or fear based for bulls) as Russia briefly signaled a kinder gentler war. Today there was the realization of what a wrongful notion that is. There were many other things swirling in today’s virtual trading pits. Perhaps the least understood is again Vlad-atility. Russia is threatening to force payment for its oil and gas in rubles instead of dollars or euros. And it mentioned thoughts of a similar policy for its fertilizer and grain. The Europeans said no, that would violate the contract with Russia, and Germany announced step one of three in its emergency pl...
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...
From WPI Consulting
Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming
WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.