Obama Administration Pushing Chicken, Russian Ban of U.S. Poultry Lifted.

 Livestock producers have complained loudly over the past few years about the lack of U.S. government support as producers faced challenges from ethanol expansion, rising grain costs, and unstable export markets. We think the news flow from the Obama administration has been uncharacteristically positive over the past few weeks. After years of pain, protein producers are now enjoying something a “sweet spot” in the agribusiness cycle. We maintain neutral ratings on Tyson and Smithfield Foods, however, because we think consensus already reflects the expectation that they will achieve close to peak earnings.

Peter Orszag resigned as budget director in part b/c of frustration over what he felt was the White House’s lack of seriousness

US budget outlook – the FT says Peter Orszag resigned as budget director in part b/c of
frustration over what he felt was the White House’s lack of seriousness when it came to
tackling longer-term budget problems. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fa3f6bda-807d-11df-be5a-00144feabdc0.html  link