Hormel Foods (HRL), the maker of Spam and other food products, jumped to a new high Thursday after announcing plans to buy the Skippy peanut butter business from Unilever (UL). The $700 million deal will help Hormel diversify away from meat products and expand into overseas markets such as China, where Skippy is the leading peanut butter brand. The acquisition, to be financed mostly through cash, requires regulatory approval. "It reinforces our