LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
April 14 2021 - 4:42PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Covid-19 Still Shutting Meat Plants -- Market Talk
1233 ET - Though more essential workers are being vaccinated
against Covid-19, infections among meatpacking workers are still
forcing temporary plant shutdowns. Cargill says that on Tuesday it
began idling its London, Ontario poultry plant, which processes
100,000 chickens a day, in what the company said was a
precautionary step as cases rise in the community. A Cargill
spokesman estimated 82 confirmed infections among employees there,
and it's undetermined how long the plant will remain closed. Meat
companies are taking employee temperatures, issuing masks and
spacing out workers where possible in plants, including Cargill's
Ontario facility, and the company says such measures will remain
when the plant reopens. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)
McDonald's to Enforce Workplace Standards -- Market Talk
0848 ET - McDonald's says it's requiring all of its restaurants
to implement a set of workplace standards, including preventing
harassment, discrimination and workplace violence through policies
and training. Restaurant workers and managers will be surveyed
annually, and the company is implementing a process for reporting
complaints, it says. McDonald's is requiring all 39,000 franchise-
and company-owned restaurants to follow its standards by next
January. "When we or our franchisees fall short, we must all have a
system in place to address those shortfalls immediately," CEO Chris
Kempczinski says in a company message. (heather.haddon@wsj.com;
@heatherhaddon)
STORIES OF INTEREST
Tesco Annual Profit Fell Despite Sales Boost, Expects FY 2022
Improvement -- Update
Tesco PLC reported Wednesday a fall in pretax profit for fiscal
2021 as the coronavirus pandemic boosted costs, and said it expects
improved profitability in fiscal 2022 on lower spending.
The British grocer made a pretax profit of 825 million pounds
($1.13 billion) for the year ended Feb. 27, compared with GBP1.32
billion in fiscal 2020.
FUTURES MARKETS
Hog Futures Push Higher -- Market Talk
1502 ET - Lean hog futures trading on the CME finished up 1.4%
to $1.077 per pound. For hogs, momentum continues to come from
China's ongoing struggles with a resurgent African swine fever --
even amid speculation that China's pork supply is swelling due to
hog producers liquidating their existing supplies. "The reopening
of the US economy, and swine flu fears in China have put a strong
bid in the market that continues to grind higher," says Robert
Yawger of Mizuho Securities USA. Meanwhile, live cattle futures
fell 0.7% to $1.2005 per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com;
@kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Apr 14
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
Apr 14 +$ 7.37 +$ 92.69
Apr 13 +$ 13.46 +$ 97.92
Apr 12 +$ 9.91 +$ 92.93
* 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 120.8
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 126.4
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Wednesday rose $2.80 per
hundred pounds, to $272.91, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices rose 77 cents per hundred pounds, to $267.31. The total load
count was 108. Wholesale pork prices fell $2.43, to $108.85 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 14, 2021 17:27 ET (21:27 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.