Latest news with #JoeMaxwell
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Egg Producers Are More Profitable Than Ever, and the Justice Department Wants to Find Out Why
The cost of eggs is almost unbelievable at this point. According to the latest report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the overall value of table eggs "increased 192% for the month, and the average price per dozen exported increased sharply, up 223% from $2.53 to $5.63 per dozen." The rise in cost is so severe that the U.S. Department of Justice has now opened a preliminary probe into why. Here's what to know. As Food & Wine previously reported, several factors have caused the price of eggs to steadily increase over the last several months, including everything from inflation to supply chain disruptions caused by severe weather. However, the most impactful issue has been the avian flu, which has caused farmers to cull millions of egg-laying hens. Some key groups disagree that the avian flu alone could have caused this large of an impact. According to Fortune, the department's civil antitrust enforcers are conducting the investigation, which focuses on whether companies have collaborated to artificially increase pricing or limit the supply of eggs to the general public. The investigation, Fortune added, began under the Trump administration. Related: Concerned About Getting Eggs? Here's How You Can Rent a Chicken "We applaud the Department of Justice's action to address the skyrocketing price of eggs. Every American has felt the financial pain caused by the power of the monopolistic egg industry," Joe Maxwell, the president and CEO of Farm Action, shared in a statement. "While avian flu is real, it is no excuse for the price being charged at the grocery store for one of the country's staples." Farm Action noted that the wholesale price of "Grade-A, Large, White, Shell Eggs" increased from approximately $0.50–$1.30 per dozen in 2021 to $6.00–$8.00 per dozen now. Specifically, it noted that Cal-Maine Foods controls 20% of the egg market and "increased its gross profits by 237%" from the fiscal year 2021 to 2024. However, between 2021 and 2023, "their gross profits shot up by 646%." It added that "Cal-Maine has made more in a single quarter than they made in an entire year prior to the 2022 avian flu outbreak." Farm Action stated that its evidence suggests Cal-Maine and four other "dominant egg firms" have been suppressing their supply and keeping prices elevated to continue acquiring competitive farms, aiming to "further drive market consolidation instead of investing in replenishing or expanding their flocks." It emphasized that if history is any indication, this issue should have been resolved by now, stating, "During the 2015 avian flu outbreak, the national flock numbers were recovered within eight months, yet this time around, a recovery has still not been achieved even though it could have been." Food and Water Watch, another advocacy group, released a new report showing that egg prices were going up before the recent bird flu outbreak despite production costs remaining stable. "We cannot afford to place our food system in the hands of a few corporations that put corporate profit above all else," the report noted. "Nor can we allow the factory farm system to continue polluting our environment and serving as the breeding ground for the next human pandemic. We need to enforce our nation's antitrust laws to go after corporate price fixing and collusion. We also need a national ban on new and expanding factory farms while transitioning to smaller, regional food systems that are more resilient to disruptions." "Make no mistake. Egg farmers are price takers, not price makers, on the egg market, and that market is responding to the uncertainty and chaos bird flu is causing," Emily Metz, president and CEO of American Egg Board, an organization that represents egg producers, said in a statement. "Eggs are subject to the economic laws of supply and demand. The tight egg supply caused by avian influenza, coupled with 23 consecutive months of high sales volume, has created a perfect storm in egg markets." Read the original article on Food & Wine
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SRA Watchtower Raises $4 Million in New Funding Led by FINTOP Capital, JAM FINTOP, and EJF Capital
New Capital to Accelerate Expansion of Watchtower, The Holistic Risk and Business Intelligence PlatformTM GLEN ALLEN, Va., February 18, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Financial technology platform SRA Watchtower, announced today the completion of a new $4 million funding round, led by existing investors FINTOP Capital, JAM FINTOP, and EJF Capital. This funding round follows the successful acquisition of Lumio Insight, further supporting the company's growth and expansion. "Bank leaders and risk committees need reliable and timely data to make informed decisions. We see the industry consistently demanding better and more versatile tools in this space," said Joe Maxwell, Managing Partner at FINTOP Capital and Chairman of SRA Watchtower's Board of Directors. "Watchtower's Holistic Risk and Business Intelligence Platform delivers timely and powerful data analytics. This team is well-positioned to scale and iterate upon this technology to address the evolving needs of the financial industry." This funding will build upon the recently acquired Lumio Insight application suite with its advanced data management and analytics capabilities to create AI-powered 'Risk Insights'. The seamless integration of these technologies will streamline and automate data ingestion into Watchtower's risk engine, enabling transformative reporting and configurable dashboards that deliver actionable insights. "Watchtower creates the clearest picture of data through robust dashboards and reporting, empowering executives to cut through the noise, focus on what matters most, and make informed decisions on critical issues," said Russ Bernthal, SRA Watchtower Board Member. "Automating the ingestion of core system, general ledger, BSA, fraud, ALCO, economic, and other risk-related sources optimizes data aggregation and creates a single warehouse from which to generate risk and financial insights." "SRA Watchtower is committed to helping financial institutions unlock the power of data which we believe is the currency of the future," said Edward Vincent, CEO of SRA Watchtower. "This new funding further validates our mission of empowering institutions with actionable insights to optimize risk." About SRA Watchtower SRA Watchtower is a leading SaaS provider of innovative risk management and financial insight solutions, serving the financial services industry and beyond. Our suite of proprietary technology solutions and methodologies was built "by risk pros for risk pros" and designed to help customers optimize risk to accelerate growth. Watchtower, The Holistic Risk and Business Intelligence Platform™ provides practitioners, executives, and the Board with a timely, panoramic view of risk, enhanced by AI-powered data analytics, to make risk-informed decisions. Learn more at About FINTOP Capital FINTOP Capital is a venture firm focused on early-stage, B2B fintech companies. With $700+ MM in committed capital across five funds, the team has decades of industry experience as entrepreneurs, operators, & investors. FINTOP partners invest in experienced founders and products changing the way financial institutions, businesses, and their customers interact with money. For more information, visit About JAM FINTOP JAM FINTOP is a joint venture between JAM Special Opportunity Ventures and FINTOP Capital. The partnership brings together bank experts and seasoned fintech entrepreneurs. 90+ banks with $1.3 T in combined assets are investors in JAM FINTOP funds. For more information, visit About EJF Capital EJF Capital LLC ("EJF") is a global alternative asset management firm focused primarily on regulatory event-driven investing within the financial sector. EJF was founded by Manny Friedman and Neal Wilson in 2005 and is headquartered just outside of Washington, D.C., with an additional office in London. EJF manages approximately $5.4 billion of private equity assets, hedge fund assets, and separately managed accounts, which includes $2.9 billion of CDO assets through its affiliates. EJF's approach combines investment expertise across the capital structure with a corporate finance focus to unearth creative solutions for investing in complex, mispriced securities and other assets. To learn more, please visit and please read additional Risks and Limitations located here. View source version on Contacts Gabriela Fowler // Angelo Jonesgabriela@ // angelo@ 678.781.7229 // 678.781.7230
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SRA Watchtower Raises $4 Million in New Funding Led by FINTOP Capital, JAM FINTOP, and EJF Capital
New Capital to Accelerate Expansion of Watchtower, The Holistic Risk and Business Intelligence PlatformTM GLEN ALLEN, Va., February 18, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Financial technology platform SRA Watchtower, announced today the completion of a new $4 million funding round, led by existing investors FINTOP Capital, JAM FINTOP, and EJF Capital. This funding round follows the successful acquisition of Lumio Insight, further supporting the company's growth and expansion. "Bank leaders and risk committees need reliable and timely data to make informed decisions. We see the industry consistently demanding better and more versatile tools in this space," said Joe Maxwell, Managing Partner at FINTOP Capital and Chairman of SRA Watchtower's Board of Directors. "Watchtower's Holistic Risk and Business Intelligence Platform delivers timely and powerful data analytics. This team is well-positioned to scale and iterate upon this technology to address the evolving needs of the financial industry." This funding will build upon the recently acquired Lumio Insight application suite with its advanced data management and analytics capabilities to create AI-powered 'Risk Insights'. The seamless integration of these technologies will streamline and automate data ingestion into Watchtower's risk engine, enabling transformative reporting and configurable dashboards that deliver actionable insights. "Watchtower creates the clearest picture of data through robust dashboards and reporting, empowering executives to cut through the noise, focus on what matters most, and make informed decisions on critical issues," said Russ Bernthal, SRA Watchtower Board Member. "Automating the ingestion of core system, general ledger, BSA, fraud, ALCO, economic, and other risk-related sources optimizes data aggregation and creates a single warehouse from which to generate risk and financial insights." "SRA Watchtower is committed to helping financial institutions unlock the power of data which we believe is the currency of the future," said Edward Vincent, CEO of SRA Watchtower. "This new funding further validates our mission of empowering institutions with actionable insights to optimize risk." About SRA Watchtower SRA Watchtower is a leading SaaS provider of innovative risk management and financial insight solutions, serving the financial services industry and beyond. Our suite of proprietary technology solutions and methodologies was built "by risk pros for risk pros" and designed to help customers optimize risk to accelerate growth. Watchtower, The Holistic Risk and Business Intelligence Platform™ provides practitioners, executives, and the Board with a timely, panoramic view of risk, enhanced by AI-powered data analytics, to make risk-informed decisions. Learn more at About FINTOP Capital FINTOP Capital is a venture firm focused on early-stage, B2B fintech companies. With $700+ MM in committed capital across five funds, the team has decades of industry experience as entrepreneurs, operators, & investors. FINTOP partners invest in experienced founders and products changing the way financial institutions, businesses, and their customers interact with money. For more information, visit About JAM FINTOP JAM FINTOP is a joint venture between JAM Special Opportunity Ventures and FINTOP Capital. The partnership brings together bank experts and seasoned fintech entrepreneurs. 90+ banks with $1.3 T in combined assets are investors in JAM FINTOP funds. For more information, visit About EJF Capital EJF Capital LLC ("EJF") is a global alternative asset management firm focused primarily on regulatory event-driven investing within the financial sector. EJF was founded by Manny Friedman and Neal Wilson in 2005 and is headquartered just outside of Washington, D.C., with an additional office in London. EJF manages approximately $5.4 billion of private equity assets, hedge fund assets, and separately managed accounts, which includes $2.9 billion of CDO assets through its affiliates. EJF's approach combines investment expertise across the capital structure with a corporate finance focus to unearth creative solutions for investing in complex, mispriced securities and other assets. To learn more, please visit and please read additional Risks and Limitations located here. View source version on Contacts Gabriela Fowler // Angelo Jonesgabriela@ // angelo@ 678.781.7229 // 678.781.7230
