Market Currents

• Tuesday, December 2, 2008

• 09:48 AM Pilgrim's Pride's (PPC) Chapter 11 filing yesterday could benefit rival Tyson Foods (TSN) if PPC customers are spooked into seeking another supplier. Comment!

• Tuesday, November 11, 2008

• 00:05 AM Notable earnings before Tuesday's open: CCJ, FOSL, PPC, TJX, TYC Comment!

• Monday, November 10, 2008

• 12:51 PM In an attempt to show banks it's not desperate to borrow, Pilgrim's Pride (PPC +17%) is quietly trying to boost liquidity by pursuing non-core asset sales. Sanderson Farms (SAFM) may bid on some of its plants. Comment!

• Thursday, October 30, 2008

• 15:06 PM Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) is now a penny stock. "A bankruptcy scenario now seems highly probable," CreditSights says. Although it was able to secure a second 30-day waiver, "it appears to be more illusionary than substantive." Comment!

• Friday, October 17, 2008

• 07:05 AM WSJ reports a heavily debt-laden Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) may have to seek bankruptcy protection. A PPC spokesman said the firm doesn't expect to file for protection and is focused on developing a plan to meet financial and operational challenges. Comment!

• Thursday, October 9, 2008

• 15:35 PM Shares of Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) rose more than 30% on speculation Sanderson Farms (SAFM) has an eye on its bigger rival, after a Barclays analyst said Sanderson's strong balance sheet makes it a candidate to buy PPC's depressed assets. Sanderson denies. PPC +5.75%. Comment!

• Wednesday, September 24, 2008

• 15:42 PM Another 100 layoffs at Pilgrim's Pride (PPC). Shares halted down 38% to $6.36. Comment!
• 14:55 PM Shares of meat companies, led by Pilgrim's Pride (PPC -31%), are being hammered amid worries the capital-intensive firms will suffer worse than others from the credit crunch. SFD -10%. SAFM -8%. TSN -6%. Comment!

• Tuesday, August 12, 2008

• 10:18 AM Food, ag-chem stocks higher on healthy corn crops. PPC +5.3%. TSN +3.3%. SFD +2.8%. ADM +1.7%. BG +2.9%. Comment!

• Monday, August 11, 2008

• 14:21 PM Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) +3.7%. Plans to idle two plants and cut 600 jobs to offset surging grain costs. Comment!

• Thursday, August 7, 2008

• 14:24 PM EPA rejects Texas's request to cut the federal mandate for ethanol use in gasoline, driving crude down and corn prices up. Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) +16%; Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) -4.4%. Comment!

• Tuesday, July 29, 2008

• 00:05 AM Notable earnings before Tuesday's open: AAI, AG, ALU, ANR, ARM, BEAV, BMS, BP, CL, CLR, COH, ELNK, ETR, FDP, GM, GTI, HERO, IAR, IMA, JAH, LEA, LPX, MAS, MC, MHP, NCR, NOC, NOV, NRG, PPC, SAP, SEPR, TEVA, TLM, UA, VLO, VSH, WDR, WMI, X Comment!

• Monday, June 16, 2008

• 15:54 PM Food companies were slammed today after Chiquita (CQB) predicted a significant Q3 loss on higher fuel and fertilizer costs. CQB -29.1%. FDP -13.7%. PPC -10.1%. SFD -4.35%. SAFM -4.7%. TSN -1.1%. Comment!