TOP STORIES 



  African Swine Fever Spreading in Nigeria -- Market Talk 


  12:11 ET - Cases of African swine fever, the disease that devastated hog herds in southeast Asia, have popped up with increasing frequency in Western Africa, the World Organization for Animal Health, or OIE, says. The OIE didn't disclose the exact amount of hog deaths in the region due to the disease but says that "the outbreak started in February but with minimal fatality, but then, the number of mortalities increased drastically in May/June." According to the OIE, the infections are concentrated in "a large pig farm settlement that feeds several other pig markets within and outside the country."  (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais) 


  Beyond Meat Up; Introducing Burger Value Packs, Credit Suisse Boosts Target Price 


  Beyond Meat Inc. shares rose 7.5% to $163.36 in morning trading. 


  The plant-based meat company said it is making Cookout Classic burger 10-packs available at a majority of Walmart and Target stores nationwide and select retailers across the U.S. beginning the week of June 22. 


  Former Bumble Bee CEO Sentenced for Role in Tuna Price-Fixing Scheme 


  The former chief executive and president of Bumble Bee Foods LLC, was sentenced to more than three years in jail for his lead role in a conspiracy to fix prices of canned tuna, the Justice Department said. 


  A jury, after a four-week trial in late 2019, convicted the former executive, Christopher Lischewski, for participating in an antitrust scheme to fix canned-tuna prices in the U.S. from around November 2010 to December 2013. He had been charged in May 2018 for the case. 


  STORIES OF INTEREST 


  Worker Turnover Drops at Wendy's -- Market Talk 


  0927 ET - Wendy's says that its restaurants are retaining more of their workers during the pandemic, improving efficiency. Fast-food chains had cycled through workers prior to the pandemic due to low unemployment, requiring costly training. The burger chain says its now working with franchisees to figure out how to keep turnover low. Wendy's up 1.2% pre-market. (heather.haddon@wsj.com; @heatherhaddon) 


  Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben's to Change Brands With Racist Histories -- 5th Update 


  The PepsiCo Inc. unit that sells Aunt Jemima products said it would retire the brand because of its origins in racist imagery of black people. Hours later, Mars Inc. said it would change its Uncle Ben's brand and Conagra Brands Inc. said it was reviewing its Mrs. Butterworth's bottle. 


  The owners of the supermarket staples, much like the owners of classic films like "Gone With the Wind" and popular police TV shows, are rethinking their products and marketing as the U.S. confronts racial disparities following the killing of George Floyd. More companies are commemorating Juneteenth, and Nascar has banned the Confederate battle flag at its events. 


  Domino's CEO: Pandemic Proving Delivery Approach -- Market Talk 


  12:38 ET - Domino's CEO Ritch Allison says the pizza company's stance to do all its own delivery will help it keep some of the customers it gained during the pandemic through direct marketing. "At a time like this, when you bring in a lot of new customers, that's the most valuable aspect of the model," he says at an investor conference. Third-party delivery apps erase some of that customer connection, Allison says. The company is also now looking for real-estate opportunities in the US from retailers and restaurants that have closed as a result of the pandemic, he says. (heather.haddon@wsj.com; @heatherhaddon) 


  FUTURES MARKETS 


  Weights Pressure Livestock Futures -- Market Talk 


  15:21 ET - Livestock futures on the CME managed to find their way slightly higher after trading lower for most of the day. August live cattle futures finished trading up 0.1% to 96.85 cents a pound, while July lean hog futures finished trading unchanged at 49.65c. For most of the day, concerns about excess meat supply flowing through supply chains kept futures down. "One thing that is being noted as this takes place is the higher weights of animals being processed," AgriVisor's Karl Setzer says. "Hog weights are up an average of seven pounds per hog which is a generous amount. The same is being noted in cattle, where a 2% decrease in numbers of being negated by a 2% increase in weights." (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais) 


  CASH MARKETS 

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jun 17 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Jun 17       +$ 71.10            +$  5.92 
 
Jun 16       +$ 68.71            +$  3.88 
 
Jun 15       +$ 67.98            +$  6.07 
 
* 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   98.8 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select  103.1 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 
 


  Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Wednesday fell $9.96 per hundred pounds, to $217.93, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell $5.09 per hundred pounds, to $208.08. The total load count was 200. Wholesale pork prices rose 95 cents, to $64.49 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.