The topic of high frequency trading (HFT) of equities and commodities has become all the rage and raises several questions that generate a wide difference of opinion.The topic of high frequency trading (HFT) of equities and commodities has become all the rage. The CFTC, the SEC, the FBI and New York's attorney general are all investigating it. However, the topic has really taken off as a result of financial writer Michael Lewis's latest book entitled "Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt," which is about a group of computer nerds who use HFT programs to gain an unfair advantage over less technologically-adept investors. The financial press is filled with the topic, including the lead editorial in today's Wall Street Journal. It is a subject, th...
What You Need to Know Today: Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans continued to accelerate, with USDA reporting another 558 KMT sold to China and 236 KMT to unknown destinations. Combined with sales announced Wednesday and Thursday, the latest purchases bring the three-day total to approximately...
Key Takeaways: With the fall calf run now upon us, producers are finally getting a glimpse of what their realized profits will be for 2026. Some producers may have already obtained a strong estimate of 2026 revenues, especially if calves were forward sold in, for example, the mid-summer...
As fall begins, wild migratory birds are starting their seasonal migration. That has the industry and government officials worried about the potential spread, again, of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Some members of Congress have called for the United States to be prepared for a pote...
From WPI Consulting
Communicating importance of value-added products
Facing increasing pressure to quantify the value of export promotion efforts to investors, a U.S. industry organization retained WPI to develop a quantitative model that better communicated the importance of exports. The resulting model concluded that value-added meat exports contributed $0.45 cents per bushel to the price of corn, increasing support for that sector’s financial support of WPI’s client. In addition to serving the red meat industry with this type of analysis, WPI has generated similar deliverables for the U.S. soybean and poultry/egg industries.