CME October 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures gain

Medium-, long-term supplies tighten

Chicago | Reuters — CME feeder cattle futures firmed on Friday, bolstered by lower corn and wheat markets that may translate into eased feed costs, traders said. CME live cattle also gained and are expected to firm next week as the trade digests the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly cattle on feed report released after […] Read more


CME October 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, purple and dark red lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle up on export demand

CME lean hog futures mixed

Chicago | Reuters — CME cattle futures firmed on Thursday, supported by strong export demand for U.S. supplies, traders said. Hog futures were narrowly mixed, with the nearby contract firm on good weekly exports while deferreds eased on technical selling. CME August lean hog futures gained 0.075 cents to 106.65 cents/lb., while most-active October dipped […] Read more



(Romaset/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. FTC votes to make ‘right to repair’ a priority

Commission also drops 1995 merger policy

Washington | Reuters — The U.S Federal Trade Commission voted Wednesday to make it a priority to address the issue of manufacturers pushing consumers to use licensed dealers to repair items ranging from smartphones to farm equipment, a practice that critics call anti-competitive. The five commissioners, three Democrats and two Republicans, voted unanimously to approve […] Read more



People queue up outside a public supermarket’s doors in Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela, in April 2015. (iStock/Getty Images)

World Food Programme starts distributing food in Venezuela

Reuters — The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said Wednesday it had begun distributing school meals to children in Venezuela, where some seven million people require humanitarian assistance after years of economic collapse in the once-prosperous OPEC nation. The WFP’s first take-home rations were distributed for children under six years old at some 277 schools […] Read more

CME August 2021 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines) and August 2021 live cattle (dark red open/high/low/close). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures rally as China buys pork

Cattle futures, beef cutout values lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures rose three per cent on Monday, supported by rising demand as China moved to buy pork for its reserves to shore up the domestic market, traders said. China’s state planner said on Monday that central and local governments will start buying pork for state reserves to […] Read more


Canada/U.S. border signage in downtown Detroit. (RiverNorthPhotography/Getty Images)

Canada to lift more border restrictions in weeks to come, Trudeau says

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada will further relax border restrictions in the weeks to come as long as the science supports such a move, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday, suggesting Ottawa would move more quickly than initially announced. Trudeau, under pressure to allow non-essential travel from the U.S., was more categorical than he had […] Read more

A view of BHP’s potash mine project north of Jansen, Sask. (BHP.com)

BHP delaying decision on Saskatchewan potash project

Jansen mine decision to be delayed by a few months

Melbourne | Reuters — BHP Group expects to present its board with a decision on whether to proceed with its Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan in a few months’ time — rather than mid-year — after choosing between two port options, an executive said on Thursday. The world’s biggest miner has estimated the project at […] Read more