There has been a lot of commentary about the Fed hinting at phasing down quantitative easing (QE) since last week, when the Fed acknowledged it may be considering doing just that sometime next year. The general commentary is that money was too easy, and now the Fed will put on the brakes and tamper down growth. However, to come to such a conclusion, one would have to believe that QE was effective and money was easy. A quick look back at the last decade, five before the Fed started easing in 2008 and five after, shows two different stories.First, QE did dramatically increase the monetary base -- the most liquid currencies. The monetary base includes currency in the hands of the public and the commercial bank deposits in the central bank's re...
What You Need to Know Today: U.S. weather is getting more attention this week as conditions vary greatly across the western, central, and eastern corn belts, with the different regions battling dryness and too much rain simultaneously. The ProFarmer Crop Tour began today in Indiana and Nebrask...
Unlike the 2022 fertilizer shock, today’s disruption is rooted less in rerouted trade flows and more in damaged production capacity, raw material constraints and uncertain recovery timelines. That makes this a longer-duration risk for U.S. agricultural producers and retailers who must sec...
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.