Risky Strategy Some Congressional and Taiwanese officials are convinced that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will visit Taiwan this week. The U.S. Navy has reportedly moved assets closer to the island after Beijing warned of military retaliation. Meanwhile, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will take up legislation on Wednesday (The Taiwan Policy Act) that will further stoke Chinese animosity as it elevates Formosa’s diplomatic status and increases the U.S. commitment to military sales. Whether she lands on the island or not, there is a growing Congressional interest in picking fights with China, which is unlikely to be contained to East Asia and could last years. If recent diplomatic skirmishes are any indication, Western dem...
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.