TOP STORIES

Winn-Dixie Parent Southeastern Grocers Shelves Planned IPO

Southeastern Grocers Inc., which had been expected to go public this week, said it has postponed its planned initial public offering.

The Jacksonville, Fla., parent of the Winn-Dixie and BI-LO grocery chains said it plans to evaluate the timing for the proposed offering as market conditions develop.

McDonald's to Provide Time for Employee Vaccination -- Market Talk

14:20 ET - McDonald's says it will provide four hours of paid time off to workers in its 657 US company-owned restaurants, along with its domestic corporate employees, to get vaccinated. "We are actively encouraging McDonald's employees to take this important step," the company says. McDonald's isn't requiring company employees get vaccinated. Franchisees, who run most US McDonald's restaurants, set their own policies for workers. McDonald's says it will also work with government officials and to help with the broader national vaccination effort. (heather.haddon@wsj.com; @heatherhaddon)

STORIES OF INTEREST

Cuomo Says New York City's Indoor Dining Can Restart Feb. 14

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday that New York City's dining establishments will be able to open for indoor dining on Feb. 14. Capacity indoors will be maxed at 25%.

The ability to reopen for indoor dining, however, is tied to the decrease in the rate of people testing positive for Covid-19. Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, said restaurateurs wanted a few weeks to prepare to reopen and plan.

Millennials Most Frequent Users of Restaurant Delivery -- Market Talk

15:40 ET - Millennials are the most frequent users of restaurant delivery and Generation X consumers are the most prone to use delivery, according to consumer survey data from Citi Research. "It is plausible that delivery becomes these 2 generations' most preferred off-premise channel when they grow older (possibly overtaking drive-thru)," Citi says. Delivery sales have not only surged in the pandemic, but ticket sizes have grown as well, as delivery customers were less price sensitive and lockdowns meant customers were buying for whole families, Citi says. "The pandemic accelerated the restaurants' adoption of delivery, and its negative stigma from incremental complexity and costs is fading," the analysts say. (michael.dabaie@wsj.com)

USDA Reports More Corn, Soy Exports To China -- Market Talk

09:35 ET - The USDA reports export sales of 2.1M metric tons of corn and 132K metric tons of soybeans, all for delivery to China, adding to an export streak that is propping up grain prices. Corn is up 1.5% and soy gains 0.4%. China's growing appetite for US grains has been a major relief as Covid-19 keeps curbing demand. Analysts say other factors may also be helping grain prices, including the prospect of a nationwide truckers strike next week in Brazil, which could temporarily reduce the global supply because most Brazilian soy and corn are transported by trucks to seaports. (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)

FUTURES MARKETS

Hogs Gain As Demand Remains Strong -- Market Talk

14:36 ET - Live cattle slides 0.7%, but hogs gain 0.4%. RJO Futures expects hogs to keep rising "due to the packer interest in keeping the processing speeds going at an accelerated rate." The broker says weights are decreasing and demand is very strong. "The large supply of pork is being met with soaring demand and is helping to support the market," RJO says, adding that "continued talk of African Swine Fever in China," is supporting US exports. (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)

CASH MARKETS 


 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jan 29 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Jan 29       +$ 50.40            +$ 45.79 
 
Jan 28       +$ 45.75            +$ 41.81 
 
Jan 27       +$ 42.18            +$ 37.02 
 
* Based on Iowa State University's latest estimated cost of production. 
A positive number indicates a processing margin above the cost of production of the animals. 
 
Beef-O-Meter 
This report compares the USDA's latest beef carcass composite 
values as a percentage of their respective year-ago prices. 
 
                                  Beef 
          For Today              Choice  109.6 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select  105.1 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday rose $1.96 per hundred pounds, to $233.95, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose $1.82 per hundred pounds, to $222.70. The total load count was 75. Wholesale pork prices rose $1.85, to $83.70 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-29-21 1735ET