McDonald's investor renews push for antibiotic reduction in all meat

Dear Viewers,
McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) shareholder is redoubling efforts to convince the fast-food chain to stop all of its global restaurants from serving the meat of animals raised with antibiotics that are vital for fighting human infections.
More than 70 percent of medically important antibiotics in the United States are sold for livestock use. Scientists have warned that the routine use of antibiotics to promote growth and prevent illness in healthy farms animals contributes to the rise of dangerous, antibiotic-resistant "superbug" infections, which kill at least 23,000 Americans each year and pose a significant threat to global health.
The Congregation of Benedictine Sisters of Boerne, Texas, asked directors at McDonald's to prohibit the use of medically important antibiotics in its global poultry supply chain. McDonald's already has adopted that policy for the chicken served in its U.S. restaurants.
The group also asking the fast-food chain to set global targets and timelines for switching to pork and beef raised without the non-therapeutic use of medically important antibiotics.
Just over 20 percent of McDonald's shareholders voted in favor of a similar proposal at this year's annual meeting. The sisters pulled a prior resolution after McDonald's announced its plans to change its policies on chicken in the United States.
The sisters aim to have shareholders vote on the new proposal at McDonald's 2017 annual meeting.
McDonald's told Reuters it continues "to engage with key experts, including some who serve as advisors to the World Health Organization (WHO), to advance progress across the industry."
The company said its current policy "provides guidance to our suppliers in parts of the world where the industry does not yet have systems in place that would allow them to verify compliance throughout the supply chain."
Sister Susan Mika said the resolution is part of an ongoing process.
"I said we will be back," Mika said in a phone interview. "We want them to set goals and to be moving in a certain direction. We expect them to be a leader in taking on these questions of our time."

The sisters are part of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), which along with ShareAction, Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return (FAIRR) Initiative and As You Sow, also are targeting companies such as Sanderson Farms (SAFM.O) and Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N) with similar campaigns aimed at preserving the efficacy of antibiotics. Thanks.

U.S. drillers add oil rigs for 21st week in 24 -Baker Hughes

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U.S. oil drillers increased rigs this week for a 21th week in the last 24, as energy firms follow through on plans to add rigs made months ago when crude was still trading over the key $50 a barrel level analysts said should lead to more drilling.

Drillers added two oil rigs in the week to Nov. 11, bringing the total count up to 452, the most since February, but still below the 574 rigs seen a year ago, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said on Friday.

Since crude topped $50 a barrel in May, June and October, drillers have added 136 oil rigs, its biggest recovery in over two years since prices collapsed due to a global oil glut.

The Baker Hughes oil rig count plunged from a record 1,609 in October 2014 to a six-year low of 316 in May as U.S. crude collapsed from over $107 a barrel in June 2014 to near $26 in February 2016.

U.S. crude futures were trading above $43 a barrel on Friday, on track to fall for a third week in a row after OPEC said its output in October reached a record high, casting doubt on whether its plans to limit production would ease persistent oversupply in the market. [O/R]

But with oil prices still expected to rise in 2017 and 2018 with a projected tightening of the supply-demand balance, analysts continued to expect energy firms to follow through on previously announced plans to boost spending on new drilling in coming years.

Futures were trading near $47 a barrel for calendar 2017 and near $50 for calendar 2018.

Analysts at U.S. financial services firm Cowen & Co said this week in a note that its capital expenditure tracking showed 17 exploration and production (E&P) companies, including ConocoPhillips and Concho Resources Inc, planned to increase spending by an average of 33 percent in 2017 over 2016.

Cowen said that forecast 2017 increase followed an estimated 48 percent decline in 2016 and a 35 percent decline in 2015 for the 65 E&P companies it tracks.

Analysts at Simmons & Co, energy specialists at U.S. investment bank Piper Jaffray, this week forecast the total oil and natural gas rig count would average 504 in 2016, 685 in 2017 and 896 in 2018. Most wells produce both oil and gas.

That compares with an average of 978 oil and gas rigs active in 2015, according to Baker Hughes data. Thanks.

Volatility shorts cash in despite shock U.S. election

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NEW YORK Nov 10 Options traders who had bet that stock market volatility would plummet after the election made outsized gains even if Donald Trump's win seemed to take financial markets by surprise.

The CBOE Volatility Index, the most widely followed gauge of near-term investor anxiety, collapsed on Wednesday, in the largest one-day decline in more than five years.

While a drop in expectations for stock market volatility after a big news event is not unusual, the intensity of this pullback was.

"That's a truly remarkable turnaround in less than one full trading day," said Ophir Gottlieb, chief executive of Los Angeles-based Capital Market Laboratories.

VIX November futures contracts roared to a four-month high of 23.46 on Tuesday night as the results of the election began to favor Trump, counter to earlier expectations that the victor would be Democrat Hillary Clinton.

On Wednesday, the VIX closed down 23 percent at 14.38 and the November futures contracts fell 37 percent from their session peak.

The collapse in volatility was good news for options traders who went against the grain and bet on a decline in stock market volatility even as the options market grew more jittery as Election Day approached.

Even before Election Night, some traders were already betting that volatility would return to pre-election levels, strategists at BNP Paribas said in a note on Thursday.

On November 4, a record 769,214 VIX puts were traded, according to the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Since the VIX usually moves inversely to the stock market and puts offer the opportunity to profit from a decline in the VIX, owning a VIX put is a bet on lower volatility.

The collapse in the VIX makes the value of these puts jump.

For instance, November VIX puts with a strike price of 17 traded as low as $1.05 on Friday. On Thursday, these contracts traded for as much as $3.

On Wednesday, these puts traded in heavy volume, including a large trade were a trader appeared to be selling 26,500 of the contracts for $2.25. While it is not clear when these contracts were bought, they traded for an average price of $1.66 in the two weeks before the election on November 8. Thanks.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks, Mexican peso advance ahead of U.S. election results

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NEW YORK Global equity markets climbed and the Mexican peso rallied on Tuesday as investors leaned toward the potential victory of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential election.

Markets turned higher after treading water for the early portion of the session, although U.S. equities retreated from their session highs.

While the dollar strengthened slightly against a basket of currencies, the Mexican peso shot to a two-month high versus the greenback.

The Mexican currency has been a market proxy for sentiment over the U.S. election and has performed in inverse correlation with Republican candidate Donald Trump's perceived chances of winning the White House. The iShares MSCI Mexico ETF, touched its highest level since mid-August and was last up 2.2 percent.

Mexico is considered most vulnerable to Trump's planned trade policies as 80 percent of its exports go to the United States.

Market participants cited projections from data firm Votecastr, which showed Clinton in the lead in several battleground states.

"The Votecastr thing is absolutely helping the market move higher," said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. "Investors will take whatever data they can get, although I really don’t know how accurate the data is."

The market has been pricing in a win for Clinton, including a 2 percent jump in the S&P 500 on Monday after the FBI maintained its view that no criminal charges were warranted in a probe over her email practices.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 70.29 points, or 0.38 percent, to 18,329.89, the S&P 500 gained 6.1 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,137.62 and the Nasdaq Composite added 20.03 points, or 0.39 percent, to 5,186.20.

Safety play gold weakened, down 0.3 percent to $1,276.65 an ounce and yields on U.S. Treasuries touched a one-week high.

At the end of a bruising election campaign, the Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation poll gave Clinton a 90 percent chance of defeating Trump and said she was on track to win 303 Electoral College votes out of 270 needed, to Trump's 235.

Europe's index of 300 leading shares, which posted its biggest gain in two months on Monday, closed 0.3 percent higher. MSCI's all-country world index was up 0.4 percent after notching its best day since late June on Monday.

Clinton, generally seen as a known quantity, has been the preferred candidate for investors over political wild card Trump. But markets remained wary, noting Britain's shock vote in June to leave the European Union had caught investors and pollsters off guard.

"I’d be a little hesitant to waive the all clear signal at this point," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.

Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes fell 11/32 in price to yield 1.8672 percent after touching a high of 1.876 percent, up from Monday's 1.828 percent. Thanks.

UPDATE 2-U.S. tentatively approves Delta-Aeromexico venture

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WASHINGTON/NEW YORK Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N) and Aeromexico can set prices and coordinate schedules for their U.S.-Mexico flights, but they must free up certain airport slots to bolster competition, the U.S. Transportation Department tentatively ruled on Friday.

The decision paves the way for the two companies to dominate the second-busiest market for travel to or from the United States. It comes after the U.S. airline industry has consolidated, with carriers operating more efficient itineraries and having more power to raise fares on some routes.

Opponents of the tentative ruling, which lets the airlines cooperate with immunity from U.S. antitrust law, have until Nov. 30 to raise objections.

The department said the decision benefits the public because Delta and Grupo Aeromexico SAB de CV (AEROMEX.MX) can plan shorter layovers, increase flights and offer more destinations. The U.S. government has approved similar arrangements for many other airlines.

However, the department has proposed that the carriers divest 24 takeoff and landing slots in Mexico City and six at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to give budget airlines room to add flights.

Slot allocation in Mexico City depends "on confusing and often unwritten rules, making it extremely difficult for new entrants," the department said. "This remedy would allow for new, competitive entry at these airports that would not otherwise be possible."

In an unusual move, the department also proposed limiting Delta and Aeromexico's antitrust immunity to five years because it was unclear whether the divestitures and reforms in Mexico City would be enough to ensure low fares for travelers.

In a statement, Delta said it was reviewing the tentative decision and looked forward to implementing a cooperation agreement with Aeromexico. It is in the process of buying 49 percent of Aeromexico, similar to stakes it has taken in other airlines to influence how they operate and where they fly.

Friday's ruling "really gives Delta a huge advantage" over United Continental Holdings Inc (UAL.N) and American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O), which will be unable to compete for Mexico flights outside their major hubs, said industry consultant Robert Mann.

Delta's shares were up nearly 3 percent at $43.03 on Friday afternoon. Aeromexico's rose nearly 5 percent.

Budget carrier JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU.O), which had wanted the airlines to divest at least 30 slots in Mexico City, said it commended the department for ensuring greater airport access.

Aeromexico did not immediately comment.

Mexico's federal competition commission approved the airlines' joint venture in May. Thanks.

UPDATE 2-Lockheed Martin's quarterly profit handily beats estimates

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Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), the world's largest defense contractor, reported a quarterly profit on Tuesday that handily beat analysts' expectations, as sales of its Sikorsky helicopters pushed total revenue up 14.8 percent.

Lockheed's shares were up about 7 percent in afternoon trading following the company's earnings conference call.

The company also raised its adjusted profit and sales outlook for the year.

Results from the Pentagon's No. 1 weapons supplier are often seen as a bellwether for the U.S. defense sector. Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) and Raytheon Co (RTN.N) are due to report quarterly results later this week.

The company said third-quarter sales in its rotary and mission systems business unit jumped 55 percent to $3.35 billion, which included about $1.2 billion from sales of Sikorsky military and commercial helicopters. Lockheed completed the $9 billion acquisition of Sikorsky from United Technologies Corp (UTX.N) last year.

Lockheed said sales in its aeronautics business, the biggest division, increased 6.8 percent due to higher net sales of approximately $300 million for the F-35 jet program due to higher aircraft production and sustainment activities.

Only 10 F-35 aircraft were produced this quarter compared with 12 for the same period last year. On their quarterly results conference call, management said a problem with the insulation in the F-35's fuel lines and fuel tanks, and the subsequent fix for aircraft still on the production line, was the reason for "lighter" F-35 deliveries this quarter.

Lockheed is developing and building F-35s for the U.S. military and eight other countries. With estimated development and procurement costs of $391 billion for the United States alone, the F-35 is the world's most expensive weapons program.

Lockheed's space systems division, the third largest unit at the Bethesda, Maryland-based company, delivered $185 million in additional operating profit for the quarter, a 70 percent increase over the same period last year.

According to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S calculations, the company's income from continuing operations was $3.27 per share, versus the average analyst estimate of $2.87.

Net income more than doubled to $2.40 billion, or $7.93 per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 25, from $865 million, or $2.77 per share, a year earlier.

"Most investors who take a look at the trading chart will conclude that this result is more than enough for a stock that has underperformed sharply of late," Barclays analyst Carter Copeland said in a research note.

Lockheed's net income included a one-time special cash payment of $1.8 billion from the company's $5 billion tax-free deal to merge its information systems and global solutions business with Leidos Holdings Inc (LDOS.N) earlier this year.

The company said it expected 2017 net sales to increase by 7 percent compared to 2016. The company also said it expected business segment operating margins to be between 10 and 10.5 percent.

Lockheed raised its adjusted outlook 2016 profit forecast of $11.15 to $11.45 per share to $12.10 and said its forecast for adjusted sales of $45 billion to $46.2 billion had been raised to $46.5 billion.

Net sales rose to $11.55 billion from $10.06 billion a year earlier.


MANCHESTER, N.H./ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton slammed rival Donald Trump on Monday for saying that the week-old effort to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the control of Islamic State was going badly.


MOSCOW Two Moscow airport workers involved in a plane crash in which Christophe de Margerie, the CEO of Total, was killed had been drinking alcohol, Russia's aviation regulator said on Tuesday, saying the accident could have been avoided altogether.

 PARIS The sale of aerospace firm Thales's rail signaling business to transport company Alstom is no longer on the agenda, a government source told Reuters on Tuesday. Thanks.