Tag - Tsn

In Vermont, the general store is as common as muddy back roads. These local hangouts are commonly the closest available option for bread, milk, and coffee - as well as any fresh produce that may have been grown by local farmers.

They are sort of a potpourri of variety - selling everything from food to Frisbees, and even a few bags of cat food too. If I could buy stock in them I would - because they always have customers and are always open when I need something.

In the United States, pork might be "the other white meat," but in China, it's the only meat. Well, almost.

Far more than any other meat, pork occupies a special place in the Chinese diet and economy. Supporting a hog market estimated to be worth $32 billion annually, the Chinese consume more pork than any other nation. It is prepared in almost every conceivable way, from roasted whole suckling pigs, commonly served during holiday feasts, to sweet and sour pork, whose Americanized version is a Chinese restaurant staple. Pork accounts for two-thirds of the average Chinese's protein intake.

Last year, spiraling pork prices amid shortages tied to severe weather in southern China and an outbreak of "blue ear" disease — a form of swine flu that decimated up to 2 million pigs — left Chinese shoppers suffering from the same sticker shock as Americans filling up at the pump these days. Today, pork prices continue to rise as producers who are feeling the pinch of pricey feed and fuel pass along costs. As of this April, pork prices in China had increased a further 68% from the same time last year.

The vast majority of China's annual population of between 500 and 600 million hogs is raised on small farms. And with the nation's appetite for pork and pork products growing with consumers’ prosperity, producers are unable to meet demand. To fill the supply gap, China has sealed importation deals with U.S. pork and meat processing giant Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE:SFD) and its rival Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) to put American pork on Chinese tables.

Despite surging expenses that are plaguing companies in the sector, AgFeed Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:FEED), a leading pork producer and livestock feed grain maker, is setting the stage to bring home the bacon in the fast-growing market. AgFeed develops, manufactures, distributes and sells pre-mix feed and feed additives primarily for use in China's pork husbandry and slaughter market. It is also engaged in the raising, breeding and sale of hogs for the domestic pork production and hog-breeding markets. The company, which does business through a handful of subsidiaries, has production plants in Shanghai, Nanchang and Nanning, . . .

Small-cap stocks edged slightly lower in early trading, with the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) down 1.09, or 0.15%, at 720.79 at 10:00 a.m. ET.

The market found support into the opening on news that Mars Inc. and Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK) were acquiring Wrigley (NYSE:WWY) for a reported $22 billion to $23 billion. Buffet said his stake was $6.5 billion and that he was acting as a financing agent for the deal. From a broad market standpoint, merger and acquisition activity helps suggest that the worst of the credit crunch may be in the market’s rear view mirror. Wrigley shares were up about 28% on the opening.

In addition, Kirk Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp. said it would purchase 20 million shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) at $8.50 a share, which was up $1 from Friday’s close. Ford shares were up about 9% after the opening.

It was interesting that the market was not initially higher in the wake of this morning’s news, but it’s possible that any boost from the M&A news could be dulled at this stage because of the big economic risk still ahead of traders this week. Wednesday serves up first quarter preliminary GDP, otherwise known as part of the “official recession” question, and then we’ll also have an FOMC announcement Wednesday . . .

A rollercoaster trading day ended with the Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) posting solid gains to snap a two-day losing streak. The small-cap index added 6.40 points, or 0.82%, to 784.23. The Dow moved up 92.84 points, or 0.70%, to 13,358.31.

Trading was choppy with little in the way in the way of economic news or corporate deal-making for either bulls or bears to sink their teeth into.

The day began on a worrying note, following news that German banking company IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG reported that it will fall short of its 2007-2008 earnings forecast, negatively affected by the U.S. subprime meltdown. The Dusseldorf-based bank’s investment fund, Rhineland Funding, had stakes in U.S. sub-prime real estate loans and other structured credit portfolios.

IKB said that last week’s sharp market declines have spread uncertainty among institutional investors, and that Rhineland Funding’s ability to access funding appears to be threatened.

Government-owned development bank KfW, IKB’s main shareholder, had to come to the rescue and implement measures to safeguard its creditworthiness.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Alliance Fiber Optic Products Inc. (Nasdaq: AFOP) raised its revenue guidance for the quarter ended June 30, 2007.  The maker of fiber optic components expects to report net sales above $8.3 million, the company said this morning.  Analyst estimates were unavailable.  The stock has added $0.32, 18%, to $2.11.

Shares of Syntroleum Corp. (Nasdaq: SYNM), which develops a process for converting natural gas or gasified coal into synthetic liquid hydrocarbons, are higher on news this morning that the Tulsa, Okla.-based company has agreed to a $150 million venture with Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) to produce synthetic fuels for the renewable diesel, jet, and military fuel markets.