State of the Union (SOTU) addresses are often eloquent speeches that rarely do more than bolster supporters and irritate detractors. Last night's version by President Obama was no exception, but read on anyway! For aggies and trade, the one substantive contribution was the president placing the official imprimatur on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union. Confidence remains low that it will significantly lower regulatory barriers, but those will be a highline focus in the negotiations. And this initiative comes from a President who campaigned in 2008 very skeptically about free trade agreements.Most of the rest of the economic components of his presentation are likely negligible in effect. Some aggies wo...
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...
From WPI Consulting
Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming
WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.