Silver Bullet Misses In mythology, bullets cast from silver can stop werewolves and witches. In actual ballistic studies comparing bullets made of silver versus lead, the silver bullet was slower and less accurate. Now the shine has come of soda taxes as a silver bullet for improved public health and larger urban tax revenues. After being the law for just two months, the third largest city in the U.S., Chicago, has voted to end its one cent per ounce soda tax. This despite multi-millionaire Michael Bloomberg outspending the big soda companies nearly three to one in his war on sugar. Philadelphia, the sixth largest city in the U.S., has found that its soda tax is falling far short of projected revenues as residents’ travel outside th...
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.
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...