Beyond Meat offers food products that provide protein from plants as an alternative to meat - the production of which is increasingly seen as harmful to the environment. The company's goal is to find 'a better way to feed the planet' while addressing human health, climate change, constraints on natural resources, and animal welfare. These concerns have become increasingly important over the years, especially among younger consumers. Based in El Segundo, California, Beyond Meat has approximately 800 employees.

Confounding the Experts

Beyond Meat offers food products that provide protein from plants as an alternative to meat - the production of which is increasingly seen as harmful to the environment. The company's goal is to find 'a better way to feed the planet' while addressing human health, climate change, constraints on natural resources, and animal welfare. These concerns have become increasingly important over the years, especially among younger consumers. Based in El Segundo, California, Beyond Meat has approximately 800 employees.

Stocks rose on Friday morning as investors weighed new comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Speaking at Spelman College in Atlanta, Mr. Powell warned that it would be 'premature to conclude with confidence' that the Fed had completed its rate hike cycle, or to speculate on the timing of rate cuts. Mr. Powell also reiterated that the central bank was 'prepared to tighten policy further if it becomes appropriate to do so.' Meanwhile, manufacturing data was weaker than expected, as the manufacturing purchasing managers' index showed contraction for the 13th straight month. The Institute for Supply Management said that its manufacturing PMI held steady at 46.7 in November, below the Reuters consensus forecast of 47.6. The Dow rose 0.5%, the S&P 0.4%, and the Nasdaq 0.3%. Crude oil traded near $76 per barrel, while gold rose $21 to $2079 per ounce.