World Perspectives

Mixed Signals on the Economy, Trade and Monetary Policy

The Federal Reserve has released it Beige Book summary of economic conditions around the country. Prominent was the plight of the ag economy, specifically deteriorating cash flow, credit payments and investment spending. Meanwhile, recent economic data together with the uncertain trade situation cloud up the crystal ball in terms of forecasts for the general economy. There have been several notable developments. - The April trade deficit was down to $50.8 billion from $51.9 billion in March. The drop was on both sides of the ledger sheet (i.e., reduced exports and imports). Exports were at their lowest monthly total in three years, but half of the decline was due to a drop in aircraft orders for Boeing due to the safety concerns over its 7...

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From WPI Consulting

Illuminating the value of technical research

On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.

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