LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS : Top Stories of the Day

TOP STORIES

JBS, Pilgrim's Plan $100 Incentives for Employee Vaccinations -- Market Talk

16:06 ET - Meat companies JBS and Pilgrim's Pride plans to offer a $100 incentive bonus to US employees who take a Covid-19 vaccination, an effort the companies say aims to maximize participation among their nearly 66,000 workers in the country. The companies' internal surveys have shown likely participation rates between 60% and 90%, though some workers still have concerns, prompting JBS and Pilgrim's to launch internal educational campaigns promoting vaccines' safety and effectiveness. JBS is one of the top beef and pork processors in the US, and is the majority owner of Pilgrim's, the second-largest US chicken processor. ([e-mail]; @jacobbunge)

Pizza Hut Expects New Franchisee to Deliver -- Market Talk

14:00 ET Yum Brands unit Pizza Hut says it expects the acquisition of roughly 950 US locations by Flynn Restaurant Group will be a shot in the arm for the chain. A US bankruptcy court has approved Flynn's purchase of the Pizza Hut sites, along with about 200 Wendy's restaurants, from failed franchisee NPC International. Pizza Hut, which has about 6,700 US stores, says it welcomes Flynn, whose near-term plans include modernization of a significant portion of the restaurants it's acquiring. It also notes that Flynn, which owns more than 1,250 restaurants, is already a Yum franchisee with over 280 Taco Bell sites. ([e-mail])

McDonald's Franchisee Arcos Dorados Reports Better 4Q Demand

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. said Thursday that comparable fourth-quarter sales fell year-over-year, but the decline wasn't as steep as in the previous two periods.

Overall, comparable sales were off 7.9% for the fourth quarter, the McDonald's Corp. franchisee focused on Latin America and the Caribbean said. Those sales dropped 51% and 27.2% in the second and third quarters as the Covid-19 pandemic cut into demand and consumers stay at home.

STORIES OF INTEREST

Southeastern Grocers Readies IPO -- Market Talk

1219 ET - Southeastern Grocers, which owns Winn Dixie and Bi-Lo chains, said it launched an initial public offering of 8.9 million shares. It is anticipating a price between $14 and $16 per share and said it has applied to list the shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "SEGR." The regional operator of 419 grocery stores said in a filing that the pandemic has allowed it to solidify its positioning. Same-store sales grew 17.8% for 40 weeks ended Sept. 30. ([e-mail]; @_jaewonkang)

Muscle Maker Moving Into Prepared-Meal-Plan Market

Muscle Maker Inc. said Thursday it is moving into the direct-to-consumer prepared-meal-plan market.

The parent company of Muscle Maker Grill, Healthy Joe's and MMG Burger Bar said it is launching MuscleMakerPrep.com, allowing customers to order ready-made prepared meals shipped to their doorstep. The first location to launch this program is in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City, allowing customers within 250 miles to order ready-made meals.

Unilever Pledges Living Wage for Suppliers, $12 Billion for Diversity

Unilever PLC pledged to ensure all its suppliers and service providers pay their workers a living wage by 2030 and earmarked 10 billion euros ($12.2 billion) over five years to support diversity in its supply chain.

The London-based household-goods giant said Thursday that it would meet the living wage ambition through purchasing practices and by working with businesses, governments and nonprofits.

FUTURES MARKETS

Beef Cutouts Lift Cattle Futures -- Market Talk

15:40 ET - Live cattle futures on the CME finished up 0.9% to $1.1995 per pound. The strength of cattle futures is driven largely by strength in beef products, says Arlan Suderman of StoneX. "The product demand provides encouragement in light of current restrictions on restaurants and food services due to Covid," says Suderman. Boxed beef prices rose across the board Thursday, with the cutout value up 21 cents per hundredweight from yesterday, according to the USDA. Lean hog futures, meanwhile, finished trading Thursday up 1.1% to 73.9 cents per pound. ([e-mail]; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jan 21 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Jan 21       +$ 43.45            +$ 39.47 
Jan 20       +$ 39.73            +$ 39.31 
Jan 19       +$ 40.72            +$ 33.98 
 
* 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  103.1 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select   98.5 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 
 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Thursday rose $2.29 per hundred pounds, to $221.20, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose $3.00 per hundred pounds, to $210.28. The total load count was 127. Wholesale pork prices rose $1.47, to $78.76 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-21-21 1723ET