TOP NEWS
* Imperial Brands PLC shares fell more than 10% after the tobacco company lowered its sales and EPS forecast for fiscal 2019 amid the growing backlash on vaping in the U.S. The company now expects revenue growth of 2% for the year ending Sept. 30, down from the previous guidance of nearer 4%, and EPS is projected to be largely flat compared to its medium-term guidance for 4% to 8% growth. Imperial Brands also said it completed its C$123 million investment in Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. to diversify its next-generation product portfolio.
* Public health officials in Georgia and Florida have identified the first cases of lung injury associated with vaping in their states. The Georgia Department of Public Health said the state had its first death from a vaping-associated illness. The Florida Department of Health has identified one death associated with vaping on its online database. The deaths in Georgia and Florida bring the number of reported deaths linked to vaping to at least 11.
FOOD RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
* British online grocer Ocado Group PLC said it completed its investment in Infinite Acres, a vertical farming joint entity that the retailer formed with U.S.-based 80 Acres Farms and Netherlands-based Priva Holding BV.
* Alternative meat producer Impossible Foods Inc. said it started selling its plant-based Impossible Burger across all 100 stores of Wegmans Food Markets Inc. in seven U.S. states along the east coast. The vegan burger also will be available at two Fairway Market Inc. locations in Manhattan, N.Y.
* Food retailer Kroger Co. said it opened its first-ever food hall, called On The Rhine Eatery, inside its newly established two-story, 52,000-square-foot store in Cincinnati. Along with fresh produce, ready-to-eat meals and other grocery products, the store will offer an exclusive coffee blend by Starbucks Corp. and a walk-up window for beverage orders.
* Russian food retailer X5 Retail Group NV said it plans to transform its Karusel hypermarket format over a period of about two years, including the closure of 20 stores by 2022 and conversion of 34 Karusel stores into large supermarkets under its Perekrestok brand. The plan will result in a non-cash negative impact on third-quarter net income of between 5 billion rubles and 6 billion rubles.
* U.K. grocer Tesco PLC is shuttering one if its Jack's discount store locations, The Telegraph reported, citing a company spokesperson. Staff at the store reportedly will be transferred to Tesco.
* Rallye SA, the parent company of French food retailer Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA, met with bankers to present its safeguard plan, which includes individual consultation for creditors and repayment of loans over a 10-year period. The retailer also is seeking a six-month extension for the safeguard proceedings and aims to get court approvals of its plans by the end of the first quarter of 2020 at the latest.
BEVERAGES
* Constellation Brands Inc. said it elected Christy Clark and Jose Madero to its board, effective Sept. 24. The new appointments increase the size of the New York-based beer brewer's board to 12 members from 10.
* Luckin Coffee Inc. and Louis Dreyfus Co. BV have inked an agreement to form a joint venture for developing a co-branded juice business in China. Under the agreement, the agricultural goods processor plans to set up a bottling plant, while the coffee chain will primarily market the fruit and vegetable juices.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
* Agribusiness Cargill Inc. is reorganizing its animal nutrition and health business, which now consists of three units: animal nutrition, aqua nutrition and health technologies, Reuters reported, citing a company statement. Chuck Warta, president for its animal nutrition and pre-mix business, will head the new unit, the report said.
* The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has extended its review of ANZ Terminals Pty. Ltd.'s proposed A$350 million acquisition of GrainCorp Ltd.'s liquid terminals business. The antitrust regulator will now announce its decision Oct. 31, instead of Oct. 17.
TOBACCO & SMOKING PRODUCTS
* Philip Morris International Inc. launched a new heating device, IQOS 3 DUO, in Japan. The cigarette company plans to roll out the product across most of its markets where its IQOS heat-not-burn system is available by the end of 2019.
PACKAGED FOODS
* Conagra Brands Inc. reaffirmed its fiscal 2020 guidance, as it reported first-quarter adjusted EPS of 43 cents, ahead of the S&P Global Market Intelligence normalized EPS estimate of 38 cents. For the three months ended Aug. 25, the maker of Slim Jim snacks posted a 30.3% year-over-year increase in net sales to $2.39 billion from $1.83 billion, driven by the addition of operating profit from its $10.9 billion acquisition of Pinnacle Foods Inc.
* The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission cleared Canadian cheese company Saputo Inc.'s proposed A$280 million acquisition of Tasmanian-based cheese business of Lion-Dairy & Drinks Pty. Ltd. The competition authority, which had previously raised concerns, said the deal does not "have the effect of substantially lessening competition."
* New Zealand's Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd. incurred net loss after tax of NZ$605 million for fiscal 2019, after the total asset write-downs of NZ$826 million. The dairy company said normalized EPS came in at 17 cents in fiscal 2019 and expects fiscal 2020 EPS to be between 15 cents and 25 cents. Additionally, Fonterra revealed a new business strategy, which aims to focus on its local production, and said it would source milk components offshore "when required." Separately, the company announced the closure of its Te Roto specialty cheese plant, which employs 65 workers.
* Nestlé SA CFO Francois-Xavier Roger said the food giant's infant formula business in China grew by about 4% to 5% in the first half of 2019 despite a 16% drop in the birth rate in the country last year, Reuters reported.
* Nestlé said it opened its expanded Milo production facility in Malaysia with a 30% increase in production capacity. The food company aims to meet increasing domestic demand and exports to more than 20 countries for the chocolate malt beverage brand through the expansion.
* Nestlé, through its brand Sweet Earth, has started selling its plant-based Awesome Burgers across supermarkets in the U.S., including Stop & Shop, Safeway and Wegmans, Bloomberg News reported.
* New Jersey-based Campbell Soup Co. declared a regular quarterly dividend of 35 cents per share, payable Oct. 28 to record holders at the close of business Oct. 10.
* Salmon farming company P/F Bakkafrost agreed to acquire 68.6% stake in The Scottish Salmon Co. PLC from Northern Link Ltd. for an enterprise value of 4.35 billion Danish kroner. After the completion of the transaction, Bakkafrost will launch a mandatory offer to buy the remaining 31.4% stake in the salmon producer.
RESTAURANTS
* L Catterton Partners closed its purchase of Del Frisco's Restaurant Group Inc. in an all-cash deal worth approximately $650 million.
* McDonald's Corp. said it will conduct a 12-week trial of a burger made with Beyond Meat Inc.'s plant-based patty across 28 of its restaurants in southwestern Ontario, beginning Sept. 30.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Australia has legalized the possession, use and cultivation of small amounts of cannabis in the Australian Capital Territory, which includes the capital city of Canberra and surrounding jurisdictions, CNBC reported. The law will come into effect Jan. 31, 2020, the report said.
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The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng jumped 0.37% to 26,041.93, and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.13% to 22,048.24.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.99% to 7,362.13, and the Euronext 100 climbed 0.70% to 1,089.32.
On the macro front
The GDP report, the international trade in goods report, the jobless claims report, the corporate profits report, the retail inventories report, the wholesale inventories report, the pending home sales index, the EIA natural gas report, the Kansas City Fed manufacturing index, the Fed balance sheet and the money supply report are due out today.
Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.
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