Last week the first swap transactions were required to be cleared at central clearinghouses to decrease systemic risk in the swap markets under Dodd-Frank. However, there are a number of provisions yet to be settled. There are now seven proposals before the House Agriculture Committee that provide changes to Dodd-Frank. At a hearing on Thursday, the committee heard testimony about these issues, including the swaps push-out rule.The swaps push-out rule prohibits any federal assistance from being provided to "swaps entities," including registered swap dealers, security-based swap dealers, major swap participants and major security-based swap participants. Federal assistance is defined to include Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)...
What You Need to Know Today: Cattle futures extended their sharp selloff Friday as weakening cash cattle prices, deteriorating feedlot profitability, and reduced packer demand continued to weigh on the market. The inability of futures to sustain a rally following last week's bullish Cattle on...
As predicted, the Federal Reserve held rates steady at the last meeting before the midterm elections, likely in part because of the election (see WPI 19 October and 22 September). The decision comes at the tail end of a midterm election cycle that has been marked by the two parties campaigning...
Key Takeaways: The tariff burden rose sharply in 2025 and 2026: the effective rate on imports in HTS Chapters 1–24 increased from 1.53 percent in 2024 to 6.11 percent in 2025, before averaging 5.68 percent in January–August 2026. Headline rates tell only part of the story: exemptio...
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.