General Comments Markets opened steady to a penny lower yesterday, but gradually weakened as the Cyprus story unfolded and world financial markets started the week 1-2 percent lower. The dollar soared and the index was up nearly 0.7 percent at one point. Crude oil also took a big hit and traded nearly $2 a barrel lower this morning.The fact that eurozone leaders are considering automatically taking between 6.9-9.9 percent out of personal bank accounts is appalling. That fear started a mini run on banks in Cyprus and in turn created fears that similar events could happen in other eurozone countries facing similar issues (like Italy). The U.S. financial markets were sharply lower overnight, but climbed back to unchanged just before noon. C...
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
Forecasting developments in production agriculture
On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.