General Comments In December the Fed's FOMC voted to buy $85 billion of Treasury notes and mortgage bonds each month for an indefinite period of time. This is another version of quantitative easing designed to keep interest rates very low. Effectively, the Fed would "print" $85 billion each month and feed it to the U.S. economy. Some pundits dubbed this program as QE-Eternity. The general assumption was that this program would last at least until the end of 2013 and perhaps beyond.However, the actual minutes of the December meeting tell a somewhat different story. Whereas the FOMC voted 11-1 in favor of the bond buying program, the minutes revealed that there was a considerable difference of opinion among members as to how long the progr...
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: WPI’s new EU rapeseed crushing margin models point to weaker processing returns over the next four months due to higher rapeseed procurement costs and weaker product values. Statistical forecasts call for German crushing margins to decline from €181/MT to €...
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.