TOP STORIES

 

McDonald's Hit by Data Breach -- 2nd Update

McDonald's Corp. said hackers stole some data from its systems in markets including the U.S., South Korea and Taiwan, in another example of cybercriminals infiltrating high-profile global companies.

The burger chain said Friday that it recently hired external consultants to investigate unauthorized activity on an internal security system, prompted by a specific incident in which the unauthorized access was cut off a week after it was identified, McDonald's said. The investigators discovered that company data had been breached in markets including the U.S., South Korea and Taiwan, the company said.

 

Ransomware Attack Roiled Meat Giant JBS, Then Spilled Over to Farmers and Restaurants

Employees at the U.S. division of JBS SA, the world's largest meat company, noticed something wrong in their computer systems over Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial kickoff for the busy summer grilling season.

The culprit, a ransomware attack, didn't just hit its target -- it roiled the U.S. food industry, from hog farms in Iowa to small-town processing plants and New York restaurants. The hack set off a domino effect that drove up wholesale meat prices, backed up animals in barns and forced food distributors to hurriedly search for new suppliers.

 

Nathan's Famous Takes Hit From Closed, Slow-to-Reopen Venues -- Market Talk

0856 ET - Nathan's Famous says it took a hit from venues that were closed or slow to reopen during the Covid-19 pandemic. The hot-dog chain says its sales and income from operations for its branded-product program were hurt because many of its customers operate in venues such as movie theaters, professional sports arenas, amusement parks and shopping malls. Revenue from franchise operations also took a hit, it says. The company says seven new franchised outlets and 130 ghost kitchens opened during fiscal 2021. The company posted 4Q earnings of 50 cents a share, compared with 76 cents a share in the prior year. For the quarter ended March 28, revenue fell to $18.28M from $21.71M. (dave.sebastian@wsj.com; @depsebastian)

 

STORIES OF INTEREST

 

Industry Group Vows to Oppose Stricter Meatpacking Rules -- Market Talk

16:19 ET - The USDA's plan to propose stricter rules for meatpackers, which the agency says will better protect farmers who raise poultry and livestock, will run into opposition from the North American Meat Institute, a Washington DC trade body that represents big meat companies. The group says the ideas behind the USDA's planned rules, including revamping the way chicken farmers are paid and making it easier for farmers to challenge meat processors over pay, have been rejected over and over in court and will leave producers with fewer options on selling livestock. "They were a bad idea in 2010, they were a bad idea in 2016, and they are a bad idea in 2021," says Julie Anna Potts, the group's CEO. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)

 

Black Swans Show Need to Reform Meat Sector -- Market Talk

11:18 ET - Last week's cyberattack on meatpacker JBS briefly upended business for the chicken farmers, hog producers and cattle ranchers that supply the company's plants, but it was only the latest in a string of disruptions that USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack says shows the need to strengthen federal protections for farmers and ranchers. "The pandemic and other recent events have revealed how concentration can take a painful toll on independent farmers and ranchers, while exposing working family consumers to higher prices and uncertain output," says Vilsack, as the USDA says it will propose rules ensuring farmers and ranchers are treated fairly in their dealings with meatpackers. About a half-dozen companies dominate the production of poultry, pork and beef in the US. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)

 

Zambeef Products 1H Profit, Revenue Rose; Warns on FX Hit

Zambeef Products PLC reported Friday a rise in pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2021 on higher revenue but warned over adverse currency effects in the full year.

The Zambia-based, cold-chain food producer, which has a listing in London, made a pretax profit of 54.9 million Zambian kwacha ($2.4 million) for the six months ended March 31, compared with ZMW12.5 million in the year-earlier period.

 

FUTURES MARKETS

 

Hogs Drop With Hams Price Seen Slipping -- Market Talk

1502 ET - A drop in hams prices put pressure on the most-active lean hogs contract on the CME -- with the contract finishing down 1.1% to $1.19975 per pound. "The selling is tied to a spooky quote in the hams yesterday," says Dennis Smith of Archer Financials, pointing to a nearly $10 per cwt drop in ham cutout prices reported by the USDA late yesterday. Although ham prices recovered roughly $7 per cwt by midday today to a price of $97.07 per cwt, traders think the drop in prices could have been related to a drop in demand from Mexico -- a prime customer for US pork. Meanwhile, live cattle futures traded up 1.2% to $1.20025 per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

 

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jun 11 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Jun 11       -$  4.84            +$128.12 
 
Jun 10       +$  9.85            +$131.39 
 
Jun 9        +$ 14.53            +$132.25 
 
* 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  143.0 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select  137.0 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 
 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday fell 69 cents per hundred pounds, to $337.56, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell $5.19 per hundred pounds, to $305.21. The total load count was 78. Wholesale pork prices fell $1.52, to $130.66 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 11, 2021 17:25 ET (21:25 GMT)

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