TOP STORIES

 
Congressional Leaders Debate Farm Aid Ahead of Spending Vote

WASHINGTON -- Congressional leaders on Tuesday were discussing whether to restore farm-aid funds and food assistance to a spending bill needed to prevent a partial government shutdown next month, Democratic aides said. House Democrats had planned to bring the bill, which would fund the government through Dec. 11, up for a vote later Tuesday. But they paused while leaders hashed out whether to make changes that would likely end the brewing partisan battle over the funds. Lawmakers have little time for a protracted clash over the spending legislation, since the government's current funding expires next Thursday.

 
Wendy's, Pizza Hut Raise Concerns Over NPC Sale

Wendy's Co. and Pizza Hut LLC are raising concerns over their largest franchisee's effort to sell its assets, including the franchise agreements, in bankruptcy court. NPC International Inc., which operates 392 Wendy's and 1,200 Pizza Hut restaurants, filed for bankruptcy in July with a plan to find buyers for its assets. The company's franchisee agreements with the restaurant operators are the most valuable assets it is marketing in its sale process.

STORIES OF INTEREST

 
Beyond Meat Rival Laird Superfood Goes Public This Week. What You Need to Know. -- Barrons.com

Beyond Meat stock has surged 110% this year, and while some skeptics think it has been overdone, there is no denying the steady growth of plant-based products. This week, investors will get a chance to own a new player in the arena that is already getting a lot of attention: Laird Superfood. Plant-based food sales in the U.S. rose by more than $1 billion between 2017 and 2019, according to data from the Plant Based Foods Association and the Good Food Institute, and demand has also been on the rise in other countries. That has led to a surge of companies looking to cater to changing consumer tastes, especially as the pandemic has more people focusing on their health.

 
Groceries Are One of the Fastest-Growing E-commerce Segments. What to Know About the Coming Boom. -- Barrons.com

Americans can be very picky about their avocados. That was one of the reasons often cited by experts to explain why people were happy to buy almost everything except groceries online. E-commerce penetration of the food and beverage sector, which includes supermarkets and packaged food companies, was about 2.5% in 2019 according to data from Global X. When Covid-19 arrived and people worried more about the pandemic than the state of their produce, digital orders jumped. Online sales are projected to climb to 4% of the sector this year, up nearly 60% year over year, making it one of the fastest-growing segments of e-commerce and one with plenty of runway for more gains. And there's good reason to think that the trend is here to stay.

FUTURES MARKETS

 
Hog Futures Close Up 4.1% -- Market Talk

14:59 ET - Lean hog futures trading on the CME close up 4.1%, at 64.1 cents per pound. Today's uptick cuts off the correction seen in hog futures after they found a near-term high following news that African swine fever was discovered in a wild boar carcass in Germany. Today's uptick was based mostly on views about Chinese pork supplies. "This came on the heels of a report that China may only have 100,000 metric tons of pork remaining in storage facilities," says Karl Setzer of AgriVisor. "If correct, this is only about a two to three-month pork supply for the country. This may also lead to elevated pork imports, even higher than the already record purchases and imports we are seeing." Meanwhile, live cattle futures closed down 0.4% at $1.10175 per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Sep 22 
 
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Sep 22       +$ 45.26            +$ 62.07 
Sep 21       +$ 52.20            +$ 65.12 
Sep 18       +$ 51.75            +$ 58.89 
 
* 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   99.5 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select  108.1 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Tuesday fell 78 cents per hundred pounds, to $215.44, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose 48 cents per hundred pounds, to $206.30. The total load count was 162. Wholesale pork prices fell $1.42, to $87.94 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 22, 2020 17:27 ET (21:27 GMT)

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