TOP STORIES

 

General Mills Leans On Price Increases to Boost Results--3rd Update

General Mills Inc. boosted profit with higher prices, but sales slipped in the latest quarter for the maker of Cheerios cereal and Yoplait yogurt.

That reflects the challenge big food makers face as they raise prices on products that in many cases have fallen out of favor with consumers who prefer fresh food.

General Mills reported sales of $4.19 billion, up 8% compared with the year-earlier quarter and in line with analyst expectations for the period.

General Mills reported a profit of $446.8 million, or 74 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $941.4 million, or $1.62 a share, a year prior, when a nonrecurring income-tax benefit increased earnings.

 

Beef + Lamb New Zealand Launches U.S. Branding Campaign

Beef + Lamb New Zealand, an industry group representing the nation's beef and sheep farmers, announced a multi-million-dollar branding campaign aimed at U.S. consumers.

The group said it would, in partnership with several retail brands, launch the marketing campaign to educate consumers about meats from New Zealand. Markets in Los Angeles and San Francisco would be the first markets targeted by the program, which will include online and video ads, a social media component and a bespoke website.

 

STORIES OF INTEREST

 

Roundup Ruling Wilts Agriculture Stocks -- Market Talk

10:52 ET - The second U.S. jury decision in eight months ruling that glyphosate, the world's most widely used weedkiller, caused a defendant's cancer sent shares of Roundup maker Bayer plunging, and also weighed on rival pesticide manufacturers. DowDuPont, which is preparing to spin out its seed and pesticide unit Corteva this year, declines 0.4%, while chemical company FMC falls 0.8% and fertilizer and farm supplier Nutrien falls 1.1%, versus a 0.3% decline in the S&P 500. DowDuPont makes glyphosate-resistant seeds, FMC sells herbicides designed to pair with glyphosate and Nutrien sells it through its retail locations. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)

 

Starbucks Backs Venture Fund Focused on Food, Retail -- Market Talk

09:22 ET - Starbucks is teeing up a $100M for a fund managed by Valor Equity Partners that will invest in companies developing new technologies and products related to food or retail. CEO Kevin Johnson says Starbucks made the investment because the company may want to partner with the startups in the future. Valor hopes to raise another $300M for the fund, named Valor Siren Ventures I L.P. The fund may invest in products, technologies and related solutions. (micah.maidenberg@wsj.com; @MicahMaidenberg)

 

FUTURES MARKETS

 

Hog Futures Lead Livestock Higher -- Market Talk

15:40 ET - CME hog futures rally, gaining 3.4% while cattle futures rise 0.5%. Traders are largely optimistic after China's recent pork purchase, and are watching for sustained demand in this week's export sales data as African swine fever continues to spread throughout the country. "We'll see if that was a one-time hit or a new buying program put into place," Don Roose of U.S. Commodities says. (francesca.fontana@wsj.com; @francescamarief)

 

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Mar 20 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Mar 20       +$ 18.43            +$ 23.18 
Mar 19       +$ 25.11            +$ 23.72 
Mar 18       +$ 24.49            +$ 19.34 
 
* 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  102.4 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select  100.9 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 
 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Wednesday fell 66 cents per hundred pounds, to $228.67, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell 83 cents per hundred pounds to $218.63. The total load count was 100. Wholesale pork prices fell 25 cents to $72.52 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 20, 2019 17:36 ET (21:36 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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