Toronto | Reuters — Canada’s upper house of Parliament on Tuesday approved a revised bill to legalize recreational marijuana, setting the stage for the country to become the first Group of Seven nation to legalize cannabis. The Senate voted 52-29 in favour of the revised bill from the House of Commons, paving the way for […] Read more

Senate approves recreational use of marijuana

Trump says ‘getting there’ in NAFTA talks
Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday progress was being made in slow-moving talks to update the NAFTA trade accord between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, but he held out the prospect of striking bilateral pacts if a three-way deal could not be reached. “We’re trying to equalize it. It’s not […] Read more

South Korea halts sale of Canadian wheat, flour
Seoul | Reuters — South Korea has suspended the sale of wheat and flour from Canada after Canadian officials announced last week the discovery in mid-2017 of an unapproved genetically modified trait in southern Alberta. “We will only allow sale of wheat products that are confirmed not to contain unapproved genetically modified wheat,” South Korea’s […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle pivot higher on bargain buying
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle turned up sharply on Friday, with support from short-covering and bargain buying after Thursday’s losses that were partly led by U.S. trade uncertainty, said analysts and traders. On Friday China said it planned to impose similar size tariffs soon after Washington announced duties on $50 billion […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Trade fears drag down CME live cattle, hogs
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle and hog futures closed lower on Thursday, partly weakened by uncertainty over U.S. trade with China, traders said. China on Thursday urged the U.S. to make a “wise choice” on trade, saying it was ready to respond in case Washington chose confrontation, as U.S. President Donald […] Read more

EU backs plan to tackle antimicrobial resistance
Brussels | Reuters — EU member states backed a plan on Wednesday to combat antimicrobial resistance, an increasing global health issue, that would reduce the use of antibiotics in the food chain and limit certain drugs to humans. Antimicrobial resistance threatens the effectiveness of medicines such as antibiotics to treat infections in humans, as bacteria […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME hogs move up with cash prices
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hogs rose for a second straight day on Wednesday as slaughter-ready, or cash, hog prices escalate in the midst of a seasonal supply squeeze, traders said. Sultry weather in parts of the U.S. Midwest caused livestock to eat less feed, which slows their weight gain and delivery to […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME hogs snap back on higher cash, wholesale pork prices
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures on Tuesday recovered from Monday’s selloff, helped by higher wholesale pork values and surging market-ready, or cash, hog prices, traders said. Fund buying and bargain hunting enhanced futures advances, they said. June hogs, which will expire on Thursday, closed up 0.375 cent/lb. at 80.525 cents (all […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Profit-taking, renewed trade fears drop CME hogs
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures on Monday reversed Friday’s advances, hit by profit-taking and renewed concerns over U.S. exports following late last week’s contentious G-7 summit, said traders. Europe will implement counter-measures against U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum just like Canada, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday, voicing regret […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Surging cash prices, easing trade fears boost CME hogs
Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures closed higher on Friday fueled by rising prices for market-ready, or cash, hogs and less concern about U.S. pork trade with Mexico, said traders. On Thursday the Mexican government said it would allow some U.S. pork into the country duty-free under an import quota despite retaliatory […] Read more