TOP STORIES

Tyson Fires Pork Plant Managers After Probe Into Covid-19 Bets

Tyson Foods Inc. said it fired seven managers of an Iowa meatpacking plant following the company's investigation into allegations that they had wagered on Covid-19 infections among employees.

Tyson announced the investigation in November, after a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of a deceased Tyson worker claimed that managers of the company's Waterloo, Iowa pork-processing facility organized a betting pool around how many employees would contract the coronavirus, and pressured sick employees to stay on the job.

Tyson Idles Columbus Junction, Iowa, Pork Plant After Malfunction in Refrigeration System

Tyson Fresh Meats is idling production at its Columbus Junction, Iowa, pork plant, potentially for a few days, due to a mechanical malfunction in the refrigeration system Tuesday evening.

The Tyson Foods Inc. unit said no one was hurt in the incident.

Chipotle Up 5%; Stifel Upgrades to 'Buy' From 'Hold'

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. shares were up 5%, to $1,415.92, and touching all-time highs in Wednesday morning trading.

Stifel upgraded the fast-casual restaurants company to "Buy" from "Hold" and boosted its target price to $1,500 from $1,400.

STORIES OF INTEREST

Sit-Down Chains Scrap Guidance as Indoor Dining Shuts -- Market Talk

07:56 ET - Brinker International withdraws its 2Q guidance as new dining room restrictions during the latest coronavirus surge curb its sales. As of Dec. 9, 77% of its Chili's and 69% of Maggiano's restaurants had open dining rooms, down from at least 90% for the brands in late October. Maggiano's same-store sales fell 64% year-over-year as of Dec. 9, a 30 percentage point drop from October. Sit-down chain J. Alexander's Holdings pulled its guidance Monday as it also reports losing indoor dining sales. Brinker falls 7% in pre-market trading. (heather.haddon@wsj.com; @heatherhaddon)

FUTURES MARKETS

Cattle Futures Rise Ahead of Monthly Report -- Market Talk

15:36 ET - Live cattle futures trading on the CME finish 0.8% higher to $1.13775 per pound. Cattle futures have rallied in price in recent days--gaining 2.7% over the past six sessions. The string of upticks comes ahead of the USDA's release of the monthly Cattle on Feed report on Friday. "The average trade estimate calls for a November marketing rate at 98% of last year, a placement rate of 91%, with a December 1 feedlot inventory at 100%," says AgResource. "If confirmed, the November placement rate would be at a 4-year low but right at the 10-year average." The firm places its price targets for cattle futures at $1.19 per pound. Meanwhile, hog futures finished trading down 0.7% at 65.975 cents per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS 


 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Dec 16 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Dec 16       +$ 35.75            +$ 31.43 
Dec 15       +$ 35.60            +$ 29.09 
Dec 14       +$ 40.51            +$ 36.79 
 
* 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   97.4 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select   94.4 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Wednesday fell $1.60 per hundred pounds, to $207.22, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell 11 cents per hundred pounds, to $192.09. The total load count was 143. Wholesale pork prices rose $1.09, to $73.69 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-16-20 1731ET