I am in Western Australia (WA) this week, almost exactly half-way around the world from home. That also means an inordinate amount of time on airplanes. That means a lot of time to do some thinking, although the quality of much of that time might be questionable.Here are a few thoughts as we begin the month of November:
Back in June and early July, it appeared that WA might be headed for another crop disaster. The month of June was one of the driest on record. However, the weather pattern made a significant change for the better and so did crop prospects. WA's 2013 crops will not set any records, but what once might have been a 6 MMT wheat crop could now approach 10 MMT. The canola yield potential is also very good. Harvest is getting...
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...
