LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
January 15 2021 - 5:31PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
More Restaurants Resist Indoor-Dining Bans as Restrictions
Remain
Dean Pappas's family has been running the Glen Oak Cafe in Glen
Ellyn, Ill., for 43 years. Thanks to carryout and a $57,000 federal
loan, he managed to avoid going out of business when pandemic
lockdowns forced him to suspend indoor dining from March to June.
The construction of a tent helped him regain a sizable amount of
business over the summer. But business plunged in October when the
state ordered restaurants in his county to stop offering indoor
dining for a second time; it was banned statewide the following
month. Mr. Pappas ignored the mandates and kept serving customers
indoors at his 160-seat breakfast and lunch restaurant.
Nonetheless, sales remain 60% lower from last year.
Beyond Meat Plans Move to New Los Angeles-Area Offices
Beyond Meat Inc. will shift its headquarters to a newly
developed office building in El Segundo, Calif., the maker of
plant-based meats said Friday.
Beyond Meat signed a 12-year lease at 888 North Douglas St., in
a building adjacent to Los Angeles International Airport that its
developer expects to complete this year.
STORIES OF INTEREST
France Blocks $20 Billion Takeover of Carrefour by Canada's
Couche-Tard
PARIS -- The French government shot down an offer from Canada's
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. to acquire hypermarket chain
Carrefour SA, according to people familiar with the matter, saying
the move threatened jobs and France's food security amid the
Covid-19 pandemic.
Couche-Tard's offer to buy Carrefour for 16.1 billion euros,
equivalent to $19.66 billion, would have created the world's
third-largest grocery retailer, behind Walmart Inc. and Lidl owner
Schwarz Group. But French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told
Couche-Tard Chairman Alain Bouchard in a closed-door meeting in
Paris on Friday that he was opposed to the takeover, according to
people familiar with the matter.
Conagra Stock Is Slumping, but Chairman Richard Lenny Scooped Up
Shares -- Barrons.com
Packaged-foods giant Conagra Brands has seen its shares slumping
in January, and non-executive Chairman Richard Lenny bought the
stock.
Conagra (ticker: CAG), owner of iconic brands including Peter
Pan, Duncan Hines, and Orville Redenbacher's, reported a strong
second quarter in early January. But analysts worried the company
wasn't spending enough on advertising and promotion to retain new,
younger consumers who have bought Conagra products during the
pandemic. Conagra stock sank in the wake of the report, and has now
lost 6% in the first two weeks of 2021. The drop wipes out a 5.9%
rise in 2020.
FUTURES MARKETS
Hog Futures Ride Cutout Momentum -- Market Talk
15:14 ET - Hog futures on the CME closed higher today making up
for some ground shed this week, with the most-active contract
closing up 2.5% to 67.925 cents per pound Friday. The movement of
hog futures seemed to follow pork cutout prices up today, with pork
cutouts overall rising today. Ham and butt prices in particular
rose - adding $7.62 per hundredweight and $7.79 per cwt,
respectively. Meanwhile, live cattle futures closed up 0.8% to
$1.182 per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jan 15
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations.
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
Jan 15 +$ 47.49 +$ 39.51
Jan 14 +$ 47.71 +$ 40.41
Jan 13 +$ 40.76 +$ 35.00
* 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 96.9
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday fell 45 cents per
hundred pounds, to $212.92, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices rose $2.01 per hundred pounds, to $203.08. The total load
count was 140. Wholesale pork prices fell 42 cents, to $78.78 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 15, 2021 17:16 ET (22:16 GMT)
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