Eliminating pure speculation on oil futures is a question of fairness. The choice is between a world of hedge fund traders who make enormous amounts of money at the expense of people who drive their cars and heat their homes, and a world where the fundamentals of life – food, housing, health care, education and energy – remain affordable for all. This is an excerpt from an op-ed article appearing in the New York Times of 12 April 2012 as written by Joseph P. Kennedy II, a former congressman from Massachusetts and, of course, a member of a well-known family. He argues for regulations to prohibit "pure speculation" in crude oil futures markets.Whether by coincidence or not, just nine days later on 21 April 2012, Dr. Lutz Kilian, an...
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 €...
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.