TOP STORIES

Tyson Launches Venture-Capital Fund

Tyson Foods Inc. is launching a venture-capital fund to invest in high-tech products and services that could help refresh its stable of products, which include chicken, hot dogs and hamburgers.

The Springdale, Ark., meat giant hopes the $150 million fund, which started on Monday, will pick successful startups from among a crowd of companies experimenting with packaging, laboratory-developed meat and other innovations.

Soybeans Jump Amid Continued Demand; Grains Get a Boost

CHICAGO--Soybean futures rebounded Monday, snapping a four-day slide in prices for the oilseeds due partly to signs of continued strong demand for the crop. Corn and wheat prices also rose.

Soybean prices climbed 1.6% after falling for much of last week following an announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that private exporters had sold 426,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to China. The sale comes at a time when world buyers often start shifting soybean purchases to South America, and the evidence of ongoing demand boosted optimism that robust exports this year will help chew through ample domestic stockpiles of the oilseeds.

 
   STORIES OF INTEREST

McDonald's New Menu Items Can Provide Boost -- Market Talk

10:38 ET - Nomura thinks a bigger Big Mac along with other new menu items will help boost sales for McDonald's (MCD) next year. MCD beat SSS growth expectations in 3Q, led by global sales in places like Japan, but US sales were only up 1.3%. While Nomura expects US SSS to decline in 4Q, that will still be better than expected when factoring in the tough comparisons from last year when it rolled-out all-day breakfast. Brokerage also says MCD's new mobile order-and-pay platform bodes well for overall sales. It raises MCD to buy and price target $13 to $139. MCD up 0.7% to $119.10. (patrick.sheridan@wsj.com)

 
   FUTURES MARKETS

U.S. Cattle Futures End Mixed as Traders Eye Supply Surge

CHICAGO--U.S. cattle futures ended the session mixed on Monday, pressured by a recent surge in beef production.

December live-cattle futures declined 0.4 cent, or 0.4%, to $1.07825 a pound on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, after a 2.3% drop over the past week. February live-cattle futures rose 0.1 cent to $1.08975 a pound.

 
CASH MARKETS 
 
Zumbrota, Minn Hog Market Steady At $27.00 - Dec 5 
 
Barrow and gilt prices at the Zumbrota, Minn., livestock market today are 
steady at $27.00 per hundredweight. 
 
Sow prices are $2.00 lower. 
Sows weighing under 450 pounds are $21.00-$22.00, 400-450 pounds are 
at $21.00-$22.00, 450-500 pounds are $21.00-$22.00 and those over 
500 pounds are $23.00-$24.00. 
 
The day's total run is estimated at 150 head. 
 
Prices are provided by the Central Livestock Association. 
 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Dec 5 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically 
                             integrated operations 
                                      * 
Dec 05       +$50.03             +$ 25.36 
Dec 02       +$48.46             +$ 23.34 
Nov 30       +$53.58             +$ 20.64 
 
* Based on Iowa State University's latest estimated cost of production. 
A positive number indicates a processing margin above the cost of 
production of the animals. 
 
Beef-O-Meter 
This report compares the USDA's latest beef carcass composite 
values as a percentage of their respective year-ago prices. 
 
                                 Beef 
          For Today             Choice   94.5 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select   90.5 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday rose $1.67 per hundred pounds, to $191.39, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose 53 cents per hundred pounds, to $173.23. The total load count was 133. Wholesale pork prices rose 94 cents, to $73.53 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 05, 2016 17:39 ET (22:39 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.