The Senate Budget Committee unveiled the chairman's mark for its version of the FY 2014 budget earlier this week (See WPI 12 March). The committee adopted that plan by a party-line vote of 12-10 on Thursday night after two days of debate with no amendments. This is the first budget reported out of the Senate Budget Committee in four years. On the House side, the chairman's mark similarly was passed by a party-line vote of 22-17 after 22 of 23 amendments were defeated.Ranking Minority Member Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) noted that savings are reduced from $1.85 trillion to $700 million and also includes a $1.5 trillion increase in revenues. That difference comes from the contention that the Senate budget "turned off" the sequester. However, a...
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: Dry bulk markets are mixed with Capesize rates seeing solid gains while Panamax values slipped on a growing tonnage list. Supramax and Handysize vessels were stronger, though all sectors remain vulnerable to the seasonal dip in rates through Q4 and into Q1. Falling water l...
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.