Reuters — La Nina conditions are likely to continue during the Northern Hemisphere spring, a U.S. government weather forecaster said on Thursday. The La Niña weather pattern, characterized by unusually cold temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, has a 67 per cent chance of persisting from March through May this year, the National Weather Service’s […] Read more

La Niña likely to continue into spring, U.S. forecaster says

Taliban increase payment in wheat as economic crisis deepens
Kabul | Reuters — Afghanistan’s Taliban administration said on Tuesday it was expanding its ‘food for work’ program, in which it uses donated wheat to pay thousands of public sector employees instead of cash as a financial crisis intensifies. Wheat, largely donated by India to the previous U.S.-backed Kabul government, is being used to pay […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs sag on Wall Street woes, worker shortages
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog and live cattle futures closed lower on Monday, pressured by declines on Wall Street along with slowdowns at slaughterhouses due to worker shortages, traders said. CME February live cattle futures settled down 1.075 cents at 136.25 cents/lb., while March feeder cattle futures ended down 1.325 cents […] Read more

Swine fever found in wild boar in Italy
Reuters — African swine fever, a deadly hog disease, has been found in a wild boar in Italy’s Piedmont region, the regional government said in a statement on Friday. Tests confirmed the disease in a dead boar in Ovada, located about 120 km southwest of Milan in northern Italy, the statement said. African swine fever […] Read more

Dreyfus chair owes US$240 million after ADQ deal
Stake sale's proceeds going to repay loan
Paris | Reuters — Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, chairperson and main shareholder of Louis Dreyfus Co., borrowed about $240 million from Credit Suisse in a reduced loan arrangement following the sale of a stake in LDC, an annual company report showed. Louis-Dreyfus told Swiss business magazine Bilanz in late 2020 she planned to use the proceeds of […] Read more

CNH shareholders approve spin-off of truck maker Iveco
Milan | Reuters — Shareholders at CNH Industrial on Thursday approved the spin-off of its truck-making business Iveco Group, the company said, completing a plan launched more than two years ago to reorganize its businesses. Upon completion of the plan, CNH Industrial shareholders will receive one Iveco Group common share for every five common shares […] Read more

Hedge fund TCI seeks delay in CN CEO search
Reuters — TCI Fund Management said on Thursday Canadian National Railway’s search for a new chief executive officer should be delayed until shareholders at the nation’s top rail operator vote for a new search committee to elect a CEO. The announcement comes days after CN said TCI’s pick and former Union Pacific executive Jim Vena […] Read more

Korea suspends Canadian beef imports after BSE case
No other countries yet considering suspensions, CFIA says
Winnipeg | Reuters — South Korea has suspended beef imports from Canada, which last week reported its first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in six years, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Wednesday. South Korea, the fourth-largest beef importer in the world, is seeking more information about the case before lifting its suspension, the […] Read more

Vena withdraws as candidate for CN CEO role
Reuters — Canadian National Railway said on Monday Jim Vena, who was backed by a group of investors to lead the country’s largest railway operator, had pulled out of the running to serve as its new chief. Shares of CN fell as much as 6.5 per cent on the news. The former Union Pacific executive […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soy, corn set multi-month highs
South American crop uncertainty, chart-based buying are factors
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures closed higher on Friday, hitting a 2-1/2 month top on worries about South American crop weather coupled with chart-based buying, traders said. Corn futures set a four-month high near $6 a bushel and wheat followed the firm trend (all figures US$). Chicago Board of Trade January soybeans settled […] Read more