LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
January 21 2021 - 5:38PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
JBS, Pilgrim's Plan $100 Incentives for Employee Vaccinations --
Market Talk
16:06 ET - Meat companies JBS and Pilgrim's Pride plans to offer
a $100 incentive bonus to US employees who take a Covid-19
vaccination, an effort the companies say aims to maximize
participation among their nearly 66,000 workers in the country. The
companies' internal surveys have shown likely participation rates
between 60% and 90%, though some workers still have concerns,
prompting JBS and Pilgrim's to launch internal educational
campaigns promoting vaccines' safety and effectiveness. JBS is one
of the top beef and pork processors in the US, and is the majority
owner of Pilgrim's, the second-largest US chicken processor.
(jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)
Pizza Hut Expects New Franchisee to Deliver -- Market Talk
14:00 ET Yum Brands unit Pizza Hut says it expects the
acquisition of roughly 950 US locations by Flynn Restaurant Group
will be a shot in the arm for the chain. A US bankruptcy court has
approved Flynn's purchase of the Pizza Hut sites, along with about
200 Wendy's restaurants, from failed franchisee NPC International.
Pizza Hut, which has about 6,700 US stores, says it welcomes Flynn,
whose near-term plans include modernization of a significant
portion of the restaurants it's acquiring. It also notes that
Flynn, which owns more than 1,250 restaurants, is already a Yum
franchisee with over 280 Taco Bell sites.
(colin.kellaher@wsj.com)
McDonald's Franchisee Arcos Dorados Reports Better 4Q Demand
Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. said Thursday that comparable
fourth-quarter sales fell year-over-year, but the decline wasn't as
steep as in the previous two periods.
Overall, comparable sales were off 7.9% for the fourth quarter,
the McDonald's Corp. franchisee focused on Latin America and the
Caribbean said. Those sales dropped 51% and 27.2% in the second and
third quarters as the Covid-19 pandemic cut into demand and
consumers stay at home.
STORIES OF INTEREST
Southeastern Grocers Readies IPO -- Market Talk
1219 ET - Southeastern Grocers, which owns Winn Dixie and Bi-Lo
chains, said it launched an initial public offering of 8.9 million
shares. It is anticipating a price between $14 and $16 per share
and said it has applied to list the shares on the New York Stock
Exchange under the ticker "SEGR." The regional operator of 419
grocery stores said in a filing that the pandemic has allowed it to
solidify its positioning. Same-store sales grew 17.8% for 40 weeks
ended Sept. 30. (jaewon.kang@wsj.com; @_jaewonkang)
Muscle Maker Moving Into Prepared-Meal-Plan Market
Muscle Maker Inc. said Thursday it is moving into the
direct-to-consumer prepared-meal-plan market.
The parent company of Muscle Maker Grill, Healthy Joe's and MMG
Burger Bar said it is launching MuscleMakerPrep.com, allowing
customers to order ready-made prepared meals shipped to their
doorstep. The first location to launch this program is in the
Chelsea neighborhood of New York City, allowing customers within
250 miles to order ready-made meals.
Unilever Pledges Living Wage for Suppliers, $12 Billion for
Diversity
Unilever PLC pledged to ensure all its suppliers and service
providers pay their workers a living wage by 2030 and earmarked 10
billion euros ($12.2 billion) over five years to support diversity
in its supply chain.
The London-based household-goods giant said Thursday that it
would meet the living wage ambition through purchasing practices
and by working with businesses, governments and nonprofits.
FUTURES MARKETS
Beef Cutouts Lift Cattle Futures -- Market Talk
15:40 ET - Live cattle futures on the CME finished up 0.9% to
$1.1995 per pound. The strength of cattle futures is driven largely
by strength in beef products, says Arlan Suderman of StoneX. "The
product demand provides encouragement in light of current
restrictions on restaurants and food services due to Covid," says
Suderman. Boxed beef prices rose across the board Thursday, with
the cutout value up 21 cents per hundredweight from yesterday,
according to the USDA. Lean hog futures, meanwhile, finished
trading Thursday up 1.1% to 73.9 cents per pound.
(kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jan 21
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
Jan 21 +$ 43.45 +$ 39.47
Jan 20 +$ 39.73 +$ 39.31
Jan 19 +$ 40.72 +$ 33.98
* 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 103.1
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 98.5
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Thursday rose $2.29 per
hundred pounds, to $221.20, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices rose $3.00 per hundred pounds, to $210.28. The total load
count was 127. Wholesale pork prices rose $1.47, to $78.76 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 21, 2021 17:23 ET (22:23 GMT)
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