The trade deficit contracted slightly to $73.3 billion in June, a break from the volatility that has underscored international trade over the past year. Despite the small change, there was plenty of activity behind the scenes: imports fell $7.3 billion, led by crude oil, reflecting cheaper crude prices in June. Exports were also affected by the fall in crude prices, as crude oil and fuel oil led to a $2.9 billion decline in exports. Focusing on the total volume of trade, exports plus imports, shows the extent of business and consumer interaction across the border, which is largely reflected in the consumer spending portion of the GDP formula and accounts for about 68 percent of GDP. That measure fell by $10.2 billion in June but is up 13.2...
What You Need to Know Today: As was widely expected, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points to a target range of 3.75–4.00 percent, its first rate increase since 2023, as policymakers respond to persistent inflation pressures. The Fed also signaled that additi...
Key Takeaways: USDA data access is equal; the ability to use it is not. Larger operations can afford experts who turn public reports into business decisions. Analytical capacity is the true advantage. Forecasts matter only when converted into profit, purchasing, and risk-management decisions...
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.