TOP STORIES

J&F's Bribery Settlements Highlight Compliance Breakdowns, Remediation Efforts

Settlements between Brazil's J&F Investimentos SA and U.S. authorities to resolve charges arising from an alleged bribery scheme illustrate the importance of maintaining anticorruption programs and making sure top executives undergo compliance training.

J&F, which controls the world's largest meatpacker, JBS SA, pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of conspiring to violate the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in a federal court in New York on Wednesday. J&F agreed to pay $128 million to settle the case.

US Foods Names Bill Hancock Chief Supply-Chain Officer >USFD

US Foods Holding Corp. on Friday said it named Bill Hancock executive vice president and chief supply-chain officer, effective Nov. 9.

The Rosemont, Ill., foodservice distributor said Mr. Hancock most recently served as senior vice president of supply-chain operations at American Tire Distributors.

STORIES OF INTEREST

Chipotle Reports Earnings Next Week. Digital Orders Are Fueling Growth. -- Barrons.com

Chipotle Mexican Grill reports earnings results next week. Wall Street analysts are raising the bar for the stock.

The stock (ticker: CMG) has soared 60% in 2020, as consumers turned to Chipotle's digital app and delivery offerings during the pandemic. With Americans avoiding indoor dining, Chipotle has been one of the key beneficiaries, especially among young people. Last month, the company brought back carne asada, a popular higher-priced protein offering that drove sales growth when it first launched in 2019.

China Wants to Screen You for Coronavirus--and Your Frozen Fish

Many countries around the world are screening people at their borders for the coronavirus. China is also inspecting incoming frozen fish.

Since June, when Covid-19 cases emerged at a market for seafood, meat and vegetables in Beijing, Chinese authorities have identified imports of refrigerated and frozen foods as a potential culprit. A dramatic case for caution is playing out now in the city of Qingdao, where officials are testing roughly 11 million residents for the coronavirus after an outbreak they say is linked to two dock workers who were infected last month. The workers were likely infected after handling imported frozen seafood that was contaminated by the virus, officials said.

FUTURES MARKETS

Livestock Futures Finish Week Lower -- Market Talk

Livestock futures finished lower -- with live cattle futures falling for a seven consecutive session ending at $1.08625 per pound, down 0.9% for the day. For cattle, the slippage seen in prices is due to the combination of an elevated slaughter rate in tandem with flagging consumer demand for beef -- something that is not expected to pick up until the holiday season. "The boxed beef trade remains a disappointment," says AgResource. Prices for select-grade cutouts fell $1.90 per hundredweight today, the USDA says. Meanwhile, lean hog futures finished down 0.1% to 69.8 cents per pound, ending a two-day streak of higher closes for the contract. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS 


 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Oct 16 
 
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 
 
Oct 16       +$ 69.08            +$ 83.49 
Oct 15       +$ 71.55            +$ 88.45 
Oct 14       +$ 65.08            +$ 77.79 
 
* 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   96.3 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select  100.5 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday fell 45 cents per hundred pounds, to $210.03, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell $2.98 per hundred pounds, to $193.52. The total load count was 127. Wholesale pork prices fell $2.31, to $97.90 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-16-20 1653ET