LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
12 November 2018 - 10:39PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Big Food Encounters Familiar Challenges in Pet-Food Aisle
Food makers betting on pets to make up for falling sales to
people are facing some familiar problems.
Pet foods with fancier ingredients are eating away at market
share for mainstream brands. Snacks for dogs and cats are selling
faster than meals. And a flood of new products is putting pressure
on prices.
Wheat Prices Rally on Australian Production Cut
Wheat futures were higher Monday after Australia's winter wheat
production estimates were cut, analysts said, while corn and
soybeans posted small gains and losses.
Wheat contracts for December delivery rose 3.5% to $5.19 3/4 a
bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade. January soybean contracts
fell 0.4%, and December corn contracts rose 0.4%.
STORIES OF INTEREST
Wagamama Deal Turns Up Heat on Restaurant Group: AJ Bell --
Market Talk
1031 GMT - Restaurant Group is under pressure to get right the
acquisition of Wagamama, given the negative shareholder reaction to
the deal, as well as the difficult trading environment in which it
operates, says AJ Bell. The company said it will raise GBP315
million in a rights issue to help fund the deal at a price of 108.5
pence per share. "The existing Restaurant Group portfolio is not
exactly knocking the lights out with a 0.5% decline in total sales
over 42 weeks, although trading has improved since the World Cup,"
says the brokerage, and adds that perhaps the focus should be on
fixing the business rather than on ambitious M&A activity.
(carlo.martuscelli@dowjones.com)
FUTURES MARKETS
Hog Futures End Higher as Disease Spreads in China -- Market
Talk
15:36 ET - African swine fever is continuing to spread in China,
prompting gains in U.S. hog futures Monday, analysts say. CME hog
contracts for December delivery rise 1.3%, while cattle futures
rise 0.3%. Reports of the disease being found in feed mills in
China will make controlling the outbreaks practically impossible,
experts say. "Industry officials are forced to adjust their scope
of how widespread this virus can move," MaxYield Cooperative
analysts say. (francesca.fontana@wsj.com; @francescamarief)
CASH MARKETS
Zumbrota, Minn Hog $1.00 Lower at $34.00 - Nov 12
Barrow and gilt prices at the Zumbrota, Minn., livestock market are
$1.00 lower at $34.00 per hundredweight.
Sow prices are $1.00 lower. Sows weighing 400-450 pounds are at $35.00-$36.00,
450-500 pounds are $35.00-$36.00 and those over 500 pounds are at $38.00-$40.00.
The day's total run is estimated at 100 head.
Prices are provided by the Central Livestock Association.
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Nov 12
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
*
Nov 12 +$ 31.80 +$ 16.18
Nov 9 +$ 28.62 +$ 14.97
Nov 8 +$ 29.56 +$ 17.57
* 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 101.3
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 103.4
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday rose 35 cents per
hundred pounds, to $215.55, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices rose $1.67 per hundred pounds, to $200.39. The total load
count was 87. Wholesale pork prices rose 56 cents, to $69.26 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 12, 2018 17:24 ET (22:24 GMT)
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