The CFTC announced yesterday that J.P. Morgan Chase has agreed to pay a fine of $100 million related to the activities of one of its derivative trading desks in London during the early months of 2012. The formal complaint against the bank pertained to its trading in a derivative index known as IG.9 that was tied to high grade North American corporate bonds. The individual managing J.P. Morgan's trading activities in this market became famously known as the "London Whale" due to his style of trading big orders and big positions.According to the complaint, J.P. Morgan began 2012 owning $36 billion of the index derivatives. During January 2012, the market for IG.9 derivatives began to slip. To defend its long position, the bank's traders kep...
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: 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...
Markets are getting into the Halloween spirit, handing out more tricks than treats. There has been some encouraging news, but it hasn’t been enough to slow the broader slide. Now buyers need to show up with something other than another “Charlie Brown” rock for the bag. Somethi...
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.