Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Hamburger company Wendy’s Co. ended its decade-old ties with Arby’s as it sold its 12.3 per cent stake in the sandwich chain’s parent for US$450 million on Thursday, giving it a boost as it battles larger rivals McDonald’s and Burger King. Wendy’s will sell its stake to Inspire Brands, owned by Roark Capital, […] Read more
Wendy’s sells stake in Arby’s owner
Quebec offers aid to lessen brunt of U.S. tariffs
Reading Time: < 1 minute Montreal | Reuters — The Quebec government on Wednesday said it would spend $863 million over five years to mitigate the impact of U.S. tariffs on companies and the province’s agriculture sector. The plan would provide direct financial aid to some companies affected by the tariffs and would support investments to improve productivity, worker training […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Slumping cash prices extend CME hogs’ losses
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hogs closed lower for a second day in a row on Friday, hit by downward-trending prices for market-ready, or cash, hogs amid plentiful supplies, said traders. Hog numbers are at a record high due to affordable feed and farmers adding to herds to satisfy four new U.S. plants […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hogs stumble on lower cash, pork prices
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures ended lower on Thursday after packers paid less money for market-ready, or cash, hogs as prices for pork at wholesale eased, said traders. Packer interest in raising hog bids waned in the midst of plentiful supplies and while Smithfield Foods closed some of their plants to […] Read more
Mexico, Canada insist on three-way NAFTA deal
Reading Time: 2 minutes Mexico City | Reuters — Canadian and Mexican officials insisted that the North American Free Trade Agreement remain a trilateral pact on Wednesday and reiterated their opposition to U.S. calls for a so-called “sunset clause” that could end the deal after five years. After a meeting in Mexico City, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and […] Read more
Trump says agreed with EU to work to lower trade barriers
Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States and the European Union were kicking off talks aimed at lowering trade barriers as officials looked to head off a brewing trade war. “This was a very big day for free and fair trade, a very big day indeed,” Trump told […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cash price uncertainty weakens CME live cattle
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle lost ground on Tuesday after investors exercised caution in advance of this week’s prices for market-ready, or cash, cattle, said traders. There may have been some disappointment after initial bids for cash cattle came in below last week’s sales, a trader said. On Tuesday packers had […] Read more
‘Hi, I’m a soybean’: China deploys cartoon legume to reach U.S. farmers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters –– In the tense trade war with the United States, China’s government has turned to an unlikely weapon: a cartoon bean. “Hi, everybody. I am a soybean. I may not look like much, but I’m very important,” says the animated character in a video posted on Friday on the website of China […] Read more
WTO panel to examine U.S. complaint on B.C. wine sale rules
Reading Time: < 1 minute Geneva | Reuters — The World Trade Organization set up a dispute panel on Friday to rule on a U.S. complaint against restrictions in British Columbia on wine sales in grocery stores, a WTO official said. In line with WTO rules, the decision was taken after Canada made its second request at a closed-door meeting […] Read more
Japan resumes Canadian wheat purchases
Reading Time: 2 minutes Tokyo | Reuters — Japan’s agriculture ministry said Friday it had resumed purchases of Canadian wheat after testing showed no imports that reached the country included grain containing a genetically modified trait discovered in Alberta last summer. Japan’s agriculture ministry said it was seeking to buy 62,957 tonnes of food-quality Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
