Top leaders from the U.S. and China are meeting in Washington to try and strike a deal and end the 18-month trade war. Initial reports suggest that the two sides are finding some common ground, with the U.S. offering to reduce tariffs in exchange for China buying more U.S. agricultural products...

Cattle and hog prices are taking off as Asian countries continue to struggle with the African Swine Fever epidemic. The disease, which does not affect humans, is widespread in China, Mongolia, and Vietnam, with recent reports of new infections in South Korea and the Philippines. The virus is highly contagious and deadly to pigs, leading affected countries to cull healthy hog herds in affected areas to contain the outbreak...

Metals traders got a wild ride this week as silver prices first exploded nearly $1.50 per ounce in two days, then crashed even lower by Friday morning. Overall, silver has gained over $5.00 per ounce since late May; such a massive upward rise is typically accompanied by increased volatility...

Orange juice prices exploded toward week’s end as meteorologists predicted a major hit to Florida’s citrus growing region. The strong winds and saturated soil can cause long-term damage to orange trees and cut yields dramatically...

Cattle prices collapsed this week, falling the exchange-maximum for two days straight, after a major meat processing plant was closed. A Tyson Foods Inc. facility in Kansas was damaged by fire last week and will be closed indefinitely. The plant is estimated to process over 6,000 animal per day, representing 5% of all American beef...

Oil prices plunged to a seven-month low this week, nearing $50 per barrel. Prices are falling as economists grow increasingly concerned about a global slowdown that would sap demand for oil. The first half of 2019 saw the slowest growth in global oil demand in a decade, and the International Energy Agency expects tepid demand growth for the rest of this year and into 2020 as well...

On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced that it was cutting interest rates for the first time since 2008. The controversial maneuver was intended to support the U.S. economy. Supporters are concerned about a generally anemic U.S. economy that has been damaged by trade wars and slowing global growth, and they have little concern about inflation threats. ...

On Friday morning, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its “Planted Acreage” report that shocked markets by showing far more corn acres and fewer soybean acres than anticipated. After a terribly wet spring and widespread reports of farmers unable to plant corn, analysts were expecting the USDA to show 86.7 million acres of corn planted this year, but Friday’s report projected planted acreage at a whopping 91.7 million acres this year...

Smart money chased gold prices higher all week in “flight to quality” buying fueled by geopolitical fears, continuing ultralow interest rates, the trade dispute with China, and thoughts that Washington will allow bigger and bigger deficits...

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its newest monthly estimates on the U.S. employment situation, showing a gloomier outlook. While unemployment remains at a 49-year low of 3.6%, very few new jobs are being created and wages are increasing tepidly. The newest report showed only 75,000 new jobs added during May, half of the recent pace...

On Thursday night, President Trump announced that he was going to implement tariffs against Mexican goods “until Mexico substantially stops the illegal inflow of aliens.” The proposed tariff is expected to start as a 5% tax on June 10 and would escalate by 5% each month until they reached 25%...

This week, President Trump threatened China with stiffer tariffs ahead of trade talks. On Friday, he raised tariffs from 10 to 25 percent on a $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. For U.S. consumers, this will mean higher prices on goods imported from China, on items from toothbrushes and toilet paper to grills and refrigerators...

The line between carnivores and vegetarians is getting blurred as scientists continue expanding on meat substitutes. From plant-based burgers that “bleed” to lab-grown meat, more alternatives are appearing on grocery shelves and on menus. The trend was underscored this week by a record-breaking initial public offering (IPO) by plant-based burger producer Beyond Meat...

Markets were flummoxed Friday morning by a U.S. Labor Department report showing that only 20,000 new nonfarm jobs were created during February. Analysts had been expecting a figure closer to the recent average job growth of 186,000 new hires each month...

Gas prices are starting to climb again, hitting drivers at the pump. After dropping to a three-year low recently, prices rebounded by over 30 cents per gallon. Oil prices have been climbing as well, pulled higher by concerns that U.S. sanctions on Venezuela are restricting that nation’s exports. ...

Construction commodities like copper and lumber are climbing, showing renewed faith in the U.S. housing market and Chinese economy. Both copper and lumber are near a six-month high after bottoming out with stock markets in late December. As the U.S. ...

Soybean prices leapt to a six-week high on Friday after President Trump met with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, and they made progress toward a deal to settle the ongoing trade war with China. Both countries’ leaders now appear optimistic that they can strike a compromise to prevent the self-imposed March 1 deadline before tariffs rise again, a threat that President Trump mentioned on Thursday...

U.S. corn and soybean farmers are giving thanks this week as their record-breaking harvest nears completion. Nationwide, over 90% of this year’s corn and soybean crops have been brought in from the fields, a welcome relief as snow and poor weather conditions had slowed harvest...

Soybeans exploded nearly 5% on Thursday on the heels of a tweet by President Trump: “Just had a long and very good conversation with President Xi Jinping of China… with a heavy emphasis on Trade.”...

Another massive crash in the stock market this week raised the stakes in two major debates among stock index traders. Why is the market tumbling? Will this decline later prove to be a buying opportunity or have we formed a major top?...