LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
November 18 2019 - 5:42PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Tyson Beef Plant in Kansas to Resume Operations in December
Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) Monday said a beef plant in western
Kansas that was partially destroyed by a fire in August will resume
operations next month. The Springdale, Ark., meat giant said
reconstruction of the facility in Holcomb is near completion.
California Company Recalls 34,222 Pounds of Ground Beef Products on Salmonella Concerns
Central Valley Meat Co., based in Hanford, Calif., is recalling
about 34,222 pounds of ground beef packages due to salmonella
risks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food
Safety and Inspection Service. FSIS said an investigation
determined a link between Central Valley products and an illness
cluster involving the Dublin strain of salmonella. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention said Nov. 1 that one death had been
reported, with 10 reported cases.
Jefferies to Sell Remaining National Beef Stake to Marfrig
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) said it agreed to sell its
remaining 31% stake in National Beef Inc. to Marfrig Global Foods
(MRFG3.BR) in a deal that will generate a total of $970 million in
cash. The New York financial-services company said it will receive
$860 million from Marfrig and $110 million in final distributions
from National Beef.
STORIES OF INTEREST
Restaurant Brands, Tyson, Kraft Heinz Need to Look at Deforestation Risks: CDP -- Market Talk
1523 GMT - Burger King-owner Restaurant Brands, Tyson Foods and
Kraft Heinz are the worst-ranked major consumer goods companies for
exposure to deforestation risks, according to nonprofit CDP. The
companies receive a poor rank due to exposure to intensive animal
farming and weak disclosure of exposure to soft commodities linked
to deforestation, which include soy, palm oil and beef. "Companies
like Tyson Foods and Restaurant Brands have indirect exposure to
soymeal through animal ingredients and there is insufficient
labeling for animal derivatives in consumer goods", says CDP. It
says these forest risk commodities can represent up to 40% of
procurement costs, adding that margins could be "significantly"
impacted by price volatility or increased differences in the prices
of certified and non-certified products.
(maitane.sardon@wsj.com)
Beyond Meat Is Shaking Up the Meat Industry. Animal-Health Stocks Could Take a Hit, Too. -- Barrons.com
Wall Street has high hopes for the alternative meat industry. If
analysts are correct and the world does eat less animal-based
protein -- in turn switching to products made by highflying
start-ups such as Beyond Meat -- other industries will undoubtedly
be affected. In the case of Beyond Meat (ticker: BYND), Wall Street
has already been wondering whether traditional protein producers,
such as Tyson Foods (TSN) or Sanderson Farms (SAFM), will face
demand destruction. But brokerage firm UBS has another idea about
an industry which could face headwinds because of Beyond and its
peers -- animal health.
FUTURES MARKETS
Hogs Stay Down, Cattle Inches Up -- Market Talk
15:28 ET - Lean hog futures on the CME fell 2.5% on Monday, with
the February contract falling to 70.225 cents per pound. Live
cattle futures, meanwhile, were up 0.1% to $1.251 per pound. For
hogs, futures are down 6.1% since the start of the month, as hopes
of a sudden windfall of Chinese demand for pork haven't
materialized. Instead, Chinese buyers appear to more interested in
buying other kinds of meat such as poultry -- and buying pork from
places other than the US. Meanwhile, cattle futures are continuing
to inch up, with the February contract up for three consecutive
sessions but up only 0.9% in that timeframe. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com;
@kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Nov 18
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations
All figures are on a per-head basis.
*USDA revised
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
Nov 18 +$ 95.25 +$ 60.86
Nov 15 +$ 91.14* +$ 57.72*
Nov 14 +$ 90.26 +$ 55.51
*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 112.3
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 109.1
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday fell $1.68 per hundred
pounds, to $239.12, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose
$1.26 per hundred pounds, to $215.59. The total load count was 103.
Wholesale pork prices rose $1.46, to $88.71 a hundred pounds, based
on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 18, 2019 17:27 ET (22:27 GMT)
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