LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
September 23 2020 - 6:01PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Pilgrim's Pride CEO Jayson Penn Leaves Company
Pilgrim's Pride Corp. said Jayson Penn, its president and chief
executive put on leave in June after the U.S. Justice Department
indicted him in a conspiracy to rig chicken prices, has exited the
company, effective Wednesday. Fabio Sandri, the company's finance
chief, has succeeded Mr. Penn, the company said. Mr. Sandri had
assumed Mr. Penn's positions on an interim basis.
General Mills Adds Manufacturing Capacity As Volumes Remain Heightened -- Market Talk
0900 ET - For General Mills, the name of the game right now is
volume. Sales volumes jumped 17% for its business focused on
retailers in the US and Canada, its largest unit by sales, even as
prices it charges for products eased. The company says volume gains
helped drive a 24% jump in operating profit for the North
America-retail segment, offset in part by increased media spending.
The question remains how long will volumes remain elevated. Still,
the company has added, since the start of the pandemic, around 30
new outside manufacturers to help the US and Canada business keep
up with demand, CEO Jeff Harmening says, a move that raised the
unit's external production capacity by roughly 25%. Shares up 1.7%
premarket after results beat expectations and General Mills boosts
its dividend. (micah.maidenberg@wsj.com; @MicahMaidenberg)
STORIES OF INTEREST
Laird Superfood Shares Surge in Debut After Upsized IPO
Laird Superfood Inc. shares jumped more than 45% in their
trading debut Wednesday after the company's upsized initial public
offering was priced at the high end of increased expectations.
Laird shares were recently changing hands at $32, up about 45.5%,
after opening at $33.55.
CDPQ to Invest $125 Million in Food System Sustainability
Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec on Wednesday said it will
invest up to $125 million over the next three years in ventures
that aim to make the food and agriculture industry more sustainable
and climate friendly. Montreal-based CDPQ, one of Canada's biggest
pension funds, said it has formed a co-investment partnership with
S2G Ventures, an investment firm that targets companies working to
improve the overall health and sustainability of the food
system.
Grains Exports Expected to Stay Steady This Week -- Market Talk
13:01 ET - Grains traders surveyed by WSJ say that they expect
export sales of grains to stay largely consistent with last week's
sales total. Most notably, corn export sales are expected to range
anywhere from 1.05M metric tons to 1.8M tons, while soybeans are
expected to total anywhere from 1.6 M tons to 3M tons. If the
actual totals are anywhere close to last weeks' figures, then
export sales could end up on the high side of those
estimates--providing a buoy for CBOT grain futures. Corn is down
0.2% Wednesday, while soybeans are off 0.1% and wheat is down 1.6%.
(kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
FUTURES MARKETS
Livestock Futures Finish Higher Ahead of Major USDA Reports -- Market Talk
14:51 ET - Livestock futures trading on the CME finished today
higher -- with live cattle futures finishing up 0.9% to $1.112 per
pound and lean hog futures up 0.4% to 64.35 cents per pound. In
both cases, major USDA reports are expected to cap off the week -
with the quarterly hogs and pigs report being released at 3pm ET
tomorrow, and the monthly cattle on feed report coming out 3pm ET
on Friday. For the hogs and pigs report, analysts are mostly
expecting the total hog supply to be up from this time last year,
by as much as 6%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Sep 23
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
Sep 23 +$ 46.05 +$ 62.52
Sep 22 +$ 45.26 +$ 62.07
Sep 21 +$ 52.20 +$ 65.12
* 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 100.2
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 109.5
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Wednesday rose 43 cents per
hundred pounds, to $215.87, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices rose $1.30 per hundred pounds, to $207.60. The total load
count was 169. Wholesale pork prices rose 21 cents, to $88.15 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 23, 2020 17:46 ET (21:46 GMT)
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