Tokyo Challenges Beijing: While the EU has been reluctant to join a trade war with the U.S. against China, Japan’s Shinzō Abe appears to have sided with Washington. First, he supported a G7 statement against Beijing’s new controls over Hong Kong and now he has offered the island’s financial sector workers a refuge. Tensions across the East China Sea are likely to rise. Trade Policy Agenda: USTR Robert Lighthizer appears before the two top trade committees of the U.S. Congress next week to discuss his Office’s agenda for the rest of the year. After an op-ed article last week that sounded more like the Democratic Party than his own, Congressional Democrats may be previewing how their Party’s presumptive pr...
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
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.