Optimists hope that government will eventually move on to tax reform, while pessimists worry that the Obamacare repeal-failure means tax reform is even less likely. Meanwhile, geopolitical concerns (here and abroad) are adding to market uncertainty for investors. Despite the worries, the economy continues to grow and add jobs. Below…
U.S. CORN PRODUCTION REPORT SUMMARY AND MARKET REACTION On Thursday August 10, the USDA released its August 2017 Crop Production report and it was not without its share of surprises (and criticisms). The National Agricultural Statistics Service “NASS” offered its first state-by-state yield estimates for the 2017/18 U.S. corn crop….
An Indicator of Peril Thanks to Jesse Felder, we recently stumbled upon a measure of economic conditions that has reliably signaled every recession since 1948. The data point, Real Value Added, is currently in negative territory and may, therefore, be a harbinger of an economic downturn. If it is a…
December corn futures moved lower this week, closing down 7-cents per bushel week-on-week, finishing on Friday (8/4) at $3.81. Corn futures proved unable to manage a higher weekly close even with Informa and others issuing sizable U.S. corn yield decreases in anticipation of next week’s August Crop Production report. My…
This post was written with Craig Basinger. The human species learned long, long ago that sticking together is a good thing. During our evolution, larger numbers provided safety from predatory animals and other groups of humans. While this may sound abstract today given the lack of dangerous animals looking to…
September corn futures moved slightly lower this week, closing down 5 ½-cents per bushel week-on-week, finishing on Friday (7/28) at $3.74 ¼. Despite another cut to the U.S. corn good-to-excellent rating on Monday afternoon, corn futures and the corn ETF (NYSEARCA:CORN) still couldn’t manage a higher weekly close further frustrating…
September corn futures moved slightly higher this week, closing up 3 ½-cents per bushel week-on-week, finishing on Friday (7/21) at $3.79 ¾. Despite the higher weekly finish, Friday’s 11 ½-cent lower close provided yet another major price setback for Corn Bulls. Weekly Corn Price Drivers: U.S. Corn Crop Ratings: Monday’s…
September corn futures moved sharply lower this week, closing down 16 ¼-cents per bushel week-on-week, finishing on Friday (7/14) at $3.76 ¼. September corn futures collapsed on Wednesday and Thursday following a combination of equally price negative market forces including a Bearish July 2017 WASDE report, as well as, a…
“I know you think you understand what you thought I said but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant” – Alan Greenspan On July 12, 2017 in her semiannual testimony to Congress, Janet Yellen stated the following: “the Federal Funds rate would not…
This article was written with Craig Basinger. This week we wrestled with what to focus on given the many big moves we have seen in the markets including bond yields, the Canadian dollar (C$) and crude oil. Our problem stemmed from the fact that these three topics were covered in…