World Perspectives

Policy Opportunities and Risks

Two new reports out this week present government policymakers with informative but confusing insights on public perceptions. The United Nations issued its seventh “World Happiness Report,” and the OECD issued a first “Risks that Matter” tome. The volumes rely heavily on personal opinion surveys in various countries. The U.N.’s report developed out of frustration by countries whose economies grew too slow to continue reliance on gross domestic product (GDP) as the metric for satisfaction in life. Since money can’t buy love, income inequality is too narrow as a measurement. Bruce Meyer at the University of Chicago concurs that income is a poor guide, especially since consumption inequality has declined for...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

CFTC COT Report Analysis

Friday’s CFTC report showed managed money shifting into a slightly more bearish stance in the ag space as they added 25,490 contacts (37 percent) to their small net short across all ag futures last week. The more bearish positioning is surprising given the strength in futures that prevail...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.2775/bushel, up $0.0675 from yesterday's close.  Sep 25 Wheat closed at $5.4625/bushel, up $0.1275 from yesterday's close.  Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $10.3575/bushel, up $0.0925 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $288.8/short ton, up $5.3 f...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Mostly a Green Finish of a Bullish Week

The market was green across the board in grain and oilseed in the overnight and mostly finished that way in the day session except for soyoil, where profit taking prevailed. It seemed like a hot week for soyoil but after today’s session, it turned out to be corn that had the better week.&...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

CFTC COT Report Analysis

Friday’s CFTC report showed managed money shifting into a slightly more bearish stance in the ag space as they added 25,490 contacts (37 percent) to their small net short across all ag futures last week. The more bearish positioning is surprising given the strength in futures that prevail...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.2775/bushel, up $0.0675 from yesterday's close.  Sep 25 Wheat closed at $5.4625/bushel, up $0.1275 from yesterday's close.  Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $10.3575/bushel, up $0.0925 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $288.8/short ton, up $5.3 f...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Mostly a Green Finish of a Bullish Week

The market was green across the board in grain and oilseed in the overnight and mostly finished that way in the day session except for soyoil, where profit taking prevailed. It seemed like a hot week for soyoil but after today’s session, it turned out to be corn that had the better week.&...

Strong Retail Sales Report and Inflation Outlook

The June retail sales report beat consensus expectations, rising 0.6 percent. Moreover, it was a strong report, with 10 out of 13 of the sales categories increasing. The largest increase was in the auto sector, a traditionally volatile category. June sales were up 1.2 percent, which came after...

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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.

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