TOP STORIES

Asda Chief Financial Officer Rob McWilliam to Step Down in Summer

U.K. grocer Asda said Friday that Chief Financial Officer Rob McWilliam will step down this summer when his fixed-term contract ends and that he will be replaced by John Fallon.

The U.K.'s third largest grocer by market share said that Mr. McWilliam returned to the company in 2018 after a six-year absence to support the board through the proposed merger with J Sainsbury PLC, which subsequently fell apart.

HelloFresh Shares Jump on Preliminary 1Q Figures, Guidance Raise

Shares in German meal-kit maker HelloFresh SE rose on Friday after the company reported preliminary figures for the first quarter which it said should beat market expectations and raised its 2021 revenue growth guidance.

At 0924 GMT, HelloFresh traded 4.5% higher at EUR74.54.

STORIES OF INTEREST

Wall Street Keeps Cheering McDonald's Stock Ahead of Earnings. Here's Why. -- Barrons.com

McDonald's first-quarter earnings are still nearly two weeks away, but analysts' price targets continue to march higher ahead of the April 29 report.

On Friday, more analysts offered upbeat assessments of McDonald's (ticker: MCD) prospects for the first quarter and beyond.

RBC Capital Markets' Christopher Carril reiterated an Outperform rating and raised his price target to $251 from $247 on Friday. He notes that while the company's international operations have been hampered by ongoing pandemic-related closures and lockdowns in key markets, its late 2020 momentum has continued in the new year for its U.S. operations.

The Bull Case for a $100 Million New Jersey Deli -- Overheard

The $100 million delicatessen is the talk of Wall Street. But why be salty about it?

As an example of wild speculation in markets, hedge-fund manager David Einhorn flagged the case of Hometown International in a recent letter to his investors. Hometown, owner of a single deli in Paulsboro, New Jersey, recently attained a market value in excess of $100 million, despite booking just over $35,000 in combined sales over the past two years.

FUTURES MARKETS

Hog Futures Locked in Slump -- Market Talk

1505 ET - Lean hog futures trading on the CME finished trading down another solid chunk - this time falling 2.9% to $1.017 per pound. The most-active contract has dropped over 5% in the past two sessions, part of a larger correction seen at the start of the week. "Big long spec positions left the market vulnerable to a more notable correction once prices topped the psychological $100 (per hundredweight) level this spring," says Arlan Suderman of StoneX. Meanwhile, live cattle futures closed down 0.4% to $1.19175 per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS 


 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Apr 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 
 
Apr 16       +$  5.29            +$ 96.89 
Apr 15       +$ 11.65            +$100.28 
Apr 14       +$  7.37            +$ 92.69 
 
* 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  119.7 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select  121.1 
 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday fell 57 cents per hundred pounds, to $276.05, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose 67 cents per hundred pounds, to $269.10. The total load count was 88. Wholesale pork prices fell $1.58, to $110.80 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-16-21 1725ET