LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
March 30 2020 - 5:58PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
McCormick, Conagra Results Should Yield New Info On Food Demand
-- Market Talk
1530 ET - Investors focused on food-company stocks amid the
coronavirus pandemic will get fresh commentary tomorrow morning,
with both spice-maker McCormick and Conagra Brands, the owner of
Healthy Choice meals, Slim Jim snacks and other products, scheduled
to report quarterly results. The key focus for many will be on what
surging demand for food that consumers can make and eat at home
means for each company. Both, however, are likely to take hits in
their businesses supplying restaurants. General Mills said earlier
this month it was running factories at near capacity as retailers
in the US and Europe ordered more of its products.
(micah.maidenberg@wsj.com; @MicahMaidenberg)
Hog Futures Halt Trading After Hitting Extended Limit Down --
Market Talk
13:50 ET - Hog futures on the CME have dropped 4.5 cents a
pound, an extended limit from the usual 3c. Percentage-wise, it's a
7% drop for the day, leaving the futures contract at 59.75c. This
makes it the third consecutive day that hog futures have fallen
limit down, amid projections of high hog supply. This week's hog
slaughter is projected at 493k head, roughly 20k hogs more than
this time last year. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
STORIES OF INTEREST
Powdered Milk a New Favorite as Consumers Raid Nonperishables --
Market Talk
10:57 ET - Data from grocery stores demonstrate how
non-perishable goods are driving higher sales during the Covid-19
pandemic. As shoppers prepare to hunker down for periods of social
isolation, year-to-date sales of powdered milk products are 85%
higher than in 2019, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency, citing
data from Nielsen Retail Measurement Services. Unglamorous staples
such as dried beans and canned meat are also among the sales-growth
leaders, surging 37% and 32% year over year, respectively. National
grocers will also benefit from past experience navigating their
supply chains through emergencies, KBRA says. Their success will
come at the expense of restaurants, however, as establishments that
have relied heavily on in-person dining are sure to see a dramatic
falloff in revenue. (matt.grossman@wsj.com; @mattgrossman)
Yum Brands to Fund One-Time Bonuses for Restaurant Managers
Yum Brands Inc. will pay one-time bonuses to the general
managers who run its restaurants, the latest example of a company
providing additional pay for workers as the coronavirus damages the
economy.
The owner of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and the Habit Burger
Grill brands said in a filing Monday that close to 1,200 managers
at its restaurants will receive one-time bonuses of $1,000 "to
acknowledge their efforts managing teams" and provide business
continuity amid the pandemic. Managers at company owned stores will
receive the payments.
FUTURES MARKETS
Big Supplies Weigh Down Livestock Futures -- Market Talk
15:51 ET - Livestock futures on CME finished the day lower, with
hog futures leading the way with a 7% decline to 59.775 cents a
pound. Live cattle futures fall 0.4% to 89.075c. A large supply of
both pork and beef in the US is the primary factor weighing down
livestock futures today. "Bottom line is we have a lot of pork (and
beef too) coming to the market and we need demand," Craig Turner of
Daniels Trading says. "We have seen strong demand lately in the US
but we also need export demand to help balance out the increase in
supplies. With the world on lockdown it could take some time to
ramp up exports again." (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
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 111.0
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 108.8
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday fell $1.87 per hundred
pounds, to $250.97, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell
$4.24 per hundred pounds, to $238.14. The total load count was 151.
Wholesale pork prices fell $2.72, to $70.00 a hundred pounds, based
on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 30, 2020 17:43 ET (21:43 GMT)
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