Sep 23, 2019

Beef prices tumble as America's tastes shift toward chicken

A butcher arranges meat products. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Chicken is starting to become Americans' favorite meat and beef looks to be be paying the price, per Bloomberg.

Why it matters: While there’s normally a decrease in demand of beef around this time at the end of grilling season, the declines this year are far more drastic than usual and beef prices are tumbling.

By the numbers: Wholesale-beef prices, a proxy for short-term demand, have fallen 10% from a peak in August, and an indicator for burgers has tumbled about 35%.

  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture this month cut its outlook for beef consumption and now projects that demand for beef will stay stagnant from last year.

Of note: Darden Restaurants Inc., the operator of Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse, said beef inflation has been cutting into profit margins during its first quarter.

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Some countries are hardly testing for COVID-19 at all

Data: IRC; Chart: Axios Visuals

Coronavirus testing is barely scratching the surface in much of the developing world.

By the numbers: Americans are more than 200 times as likely to have been tested as people in countries like Nigeria and Somalia, according to data compiled by the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 8 a.m. ET: 5,235,452 — Total deaths: 338,612 — Total recoveries — 2,072,768 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 8 a.m. ET: 1,601,434 — Total deaths: 96,007 — Total recoveries: 350,135 — Total tested: 13,398,624 — Map.
  3. Federal government: HHS watchdog to audit $50 billion in health care bailout funds — Trump calls for churches to reopen "right now."
  4. States: DOJ warns L.A. against "long-term" lockdown, as county reopens — Michigan governor extends stay-at-home order until June 12.
  5. World: Africa reaches a new milestone as cases exceed 100,000 — Secret clinics treat Chinese coronavirus patients in Philippines.
  6. Public health: Hydroxychloroquine usage linked to increased risk of death.
  7. Google Trends: How people are searching "coronavirus" versus "covid"
  8. What should I do? Hydroxychloroquine questions answered — Traveling, asthma, dishes, disinfectants and being contagious — Masks, lending books and self-isolating — Exercise, laundry, what counts as soap — Pets, moving and personal health — Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — How to minimize your risk.
  9. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it, the right mask to wear.

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What's driving Biden's strength with seniors

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President Trump's declining support among older voters since the coronavirus took hold is well documented, but new data offers a clearer understanding of why that's happening — and how it could impact the November election.

The big picture: Among the 65+ crowd, it's women driving the exodus. Joe Biden's appeal with senior men climbed during his surprise comeback to be the presumed Democratic nominee, but not necessarily at Trump's expense — and new polling suggests it may be ebbing in any case.

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