TOP STORIES 



  Retail Meat Prices Slipping Amid Higher Production -- Market Talk 


  13:11 ET - Consistently high production of beef and pork in the US has retail prices for both slipping, according to USDA data. "Retailers have responded to the recovery in supply by slowly increasing the number of beef features they run in their weekly printed or web circulars and also by lowering the average price of product featured," says Steiner Consulting, adding that a similar reaction has also happened in pork. According to the firm, the ongoing realities of a US economy hampered by the coronavirus pandemic are causing prices to dip. "Fear of the unknown and willingness to spend has been replaced [by] income uncertainty," says Steiner Consulting. "Congress and the White House have not bridged the gap in order to put in place another round of stimulus." (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais) 


  McDonald's Pushes for Case to Proceed Against Former CEO 


  McDonald's Corp. pushed back at former CEO Steve Easterbrook's attempts to dismiss its lawsuit seeking to claw back his severance, saying that his attorney's questions about the thoroughness of its investigation into his affairs should be addressed in court. 


  The burger company fired Mr. Easterbrook without cause in November after he acknowledged having a consensual relationship with an employee. The company said in August that an investigation stemming from a tip found evidence that Mr. Easterbrook lied to investigators and its board to cover up additional sexual relationships with employees to secure a multimillion-dollar severance package. 


  Citi Upgrades Beyond Meat on Foodservice Offerings -- Market Talk 


  1233 ET - Citi upgrades Beyond Meat to neutral from sell and boosts its target price to $141 from $123. Citi notes that "as we move past the worst of the pandemic, we expect more foodservice operators will add plant-based meat offerings to their menus, and we expect BYND will get a share of that incremental foodservice business over time - both in the U.S. and overseas." Citi also cites the recent unveiling of a new e-commerce site, saying one of its initial concerns about BYND was that it lacked direct-to-consumer distribution. Beyond Meat shares up 2.2% to $133.93. (michael.dabaie@wsj.com) 


  STORIES OF INTEREST 


  Yum China Launches Hong Kong Public Offering 


  Yum China Holdings Inc. said Monday it launched its Hong Kong public offering, which forms part of the global offering of 41.9 million new shares of common stock and the listing of its shares of common stock on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Ltd. 


  The company's shares will continue to be listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Upon the secondary listing in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong-listed shares will be fully fungible with the shares listed on the NYSE. 


  Olive Garden Owner Eliminates Senior-Management Positions, Including COO, in Restructuring 


  Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants Inc. said it is eliminating certain senior-management positions, including Chief Operating Officer David George, in its restructuring due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as laying off others. 


  The company, which also operates LongHorn Steakhouse and other brands, on Monday said it is also offering about 225 corporate-support center and field-management employees early retirement, which its executive officers and other members of senior management aren't eligible for. 


  FUTURES MARKETS 


  Cattle Futures Rise on Chinese Interest -- Market Talk 


  15:09 ET - Live cattle futures on the CME finish higher, closing up 0.4% at $1.053 per pound. "We are now seeing China increase its beef imports with last week's purchases totaling 3,315 metric tons, the most on record for one week," says Karl Setzer of AgriVisor. "The building trade tensions between China and Australia are thought to be behind the increase in US trade, as is the simple ongoing rise in Chinese meat demand on a whole." Meanwhile, lean hog futures closed trading Monday down 0.1% to 53.6 cents per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais) 


   CASH MARKETS 

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Aug 31 
 
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 
 
Aug 31       +$ 57.53            +$ 27.86 
Aug 27       +$ 61.34            +$ 28.55 
Aug 26       +$ 55.45            +$ 25.39 
 
* 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   98.4 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select  101.4 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 


  Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday fell $1.45 per hundred pounds, to $227.95, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose 46 cents per hundred pounds, to $215.32. The total load count was 73. Wholesale pork prices rose $1.39, to $72.03 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.