The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Thursday, indicating that it considers it has crossed the finish line in its effort to rein in inflation. The federal funds rate was held at an effective 5.375, the midpoint between 5.25 and 5.5 percent. Earlier this week, the November inflation rate was reported to be up .01 percent over October, and up 3.1 percent in November 2023 over November 2022. The CPI was held down by a drop in energy prices of 5.4 percent year-over-year, but food prices were up 2.9 percent. Of course, the “core” inflation rate that the Fed watches excludes food and energy because of their volatility. Thus, the core inflation rate year-over-year came in at 4 percent – which is still about do...
Key Market Insights The broad market is locked in on this week’s Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, but this is no longer just a trade summit. Increasingly, the meeting is becoming tied directly to Iran, energy security, and the growing global economic fallout from disruptions through the Strai...
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.