Power Cords and Mustard Concerned about electronic waste and abuse of consumers, the EU has been pushing for the industry to establish a single power charging cord to be used by mobile devices from all manufacturers. At least one manufacturer, Apple, is pushing back by saying it will harm innovation. The issue reminds one of a visit many years ago to the U.S. by the agriculture minister from the Soviet Union. The minister was shown a modern western grocery store with its 50,000 different products. As he walked down the aisle, he stopped in front of the mustard display and asked, “Why so many different mustards?” He then asserted that, “In the Soviet Union, there is just one mustard – the best mustard.” Virus...
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.