While monetary policy and the Federal Reserve itself are on the radar screen of policy makers who follow financial issues, the entire subject is still somewhat arcane. However, the new scrutiny is not going away.U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) is now $16.768 trillion. Currently, the U.S. Federal Reserve balance sheet is $4.4 trillion (about 25 percent of GDP) and equal to the size of the U.S. economy in 1986. The growth in the Fed's assets came primarily through the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) in 2008 and the powers that legislation gave the central bank.Most of the growth in 2009 was attributable to emergency lending to financial institutions. In 2009 and 2010 when quantitative easing started, it was in federal agency debt mort...
What You Need to Know Today: Commodities were mostly lower across the board today after yesterday’s Federal Reserve meeting hinted at a potential interest rate hike later in 2026. The dollar index reached its highest level in over a year, and a strong dollar makes U.S. agricultural expor...
Tomorrow is the Juneteenth federal holiday, and the USDA, along with the rest of the federal government and the CME, will be closed, so the monthly Cattle on Feed report was released a day early. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity on 1 June amounted...
From WPI Consulting
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.