Retail Megadeal:Should Walmart Buy Jet.com?

What does Walmart have to do with aviation,one might have been excused for asking when this morning's news of its record-setting 3.3 billion dollar purchase of Jet.com came across.Yet on visiting the relatively obscure Jet.com's website,you immediately see what Walmart's reasoning was.Jet.com isn't named for aircraft,but for jets as a means of transporting its merchandise.*
Jet.com sells a full line of groceries,including fresh meat from Rastrelli Market and Kirkland brand dairy products from Costco.As you shop,Jet.com deducts your savings from your balance.Two day delivery is standard for their groceries.*
Rastrelli Market has eight retail locations and has expanded into food processing,warehousing and distribution,building a vertically integrated enterprise that is key to their quality assurance.With direct ownership or proprietary partnerships,Rastrelli Foods Group,of South Jersey,provides hand-trimming,processing and packing of an extensive line of gourmet meats,seafood,heat and serve meals,dessert and gift packages.For example,they own their own Black Angus cattle.The vertical integration ensures the quality and safety at all points of distribution,resulting in safer,higher quality products for the consumer.*
Besides groceries,Jet.com sells books,baby products,furniture,appliances,electronics,clothing and sporting goods.Looking over the pleasant,efficient website with discount to moderate pricing and astute,branded partnerships,one begins to sense Walmart made the right move toward improved competitiveness in this age of online merchants that we are in.*
Walmart Stores (WMT)

Farm Facts:Fear in the Grocery Aisles As Drought Deepens

Another heat wave is scorching farms from the Midwest to the East,prolonging a devastating and historic drought.Sentiment is cracking out there,said Ann Duignan,analyst at JP Morgan Chase.Only 40% of crops are in good condition.Farmers will probably take big losses and not spend.You can't switch crops this late.We are in a very,very serious situation as far as grain is concerned.We are likely to continue to see food prices increase.
Farming practices themselves have changed.Farms are becoming larger and adding technology like GPS and auto-steer.Now four people are running a 3,000 acre farm.
Soybeans are also in a squeeze.China's consumption of soybeans is way up.It's the urbanisation of their diet.Chinese consumers want more protein.
Forty percent of our corn crop goes into ethanol for a gasoline additive now.Ethanol drives all crop prices up because farmers planting the corn it is made from means less acreage for other crops,resulting in another scarcity factor.
Food prices are expected to rise markedly by autumn.The worst harvest since 1973 is projected.Cattle feed,ethanol and corn syrup may become more expensive from the drought.One third of the corn crop is in trouble.Corn prices impact 75% of the items in a grocery store.
Cattle is already being sold early because forage is scarce and farmers can't afford to buy feed.Corn and soybean prices were sharply up on Monday.
Archer Daniels Midland(ADM),Safeway(SWY)