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General Mills posts Q1'20 EPS beat; Starbucks China, Alibaba expand partnership

TOP NEWS

* General Mills Inc. said adjusted diluted EPS for the first quarter of fiscal 2020 came in at 79 cents, up from 71 cents in the year-ago period and beating the S&P Global Market Intelligence consensus normalized EPS estimate of 77 cents. For the quarter ended Aug. 25, adjusted net earnings attributable to the company increased year over year to $484.4 million from $427.6 million. The food manufacturer also reaffirmed its fiscal 2020 outlook.

* U.S. coffee giant Starbucks Corp. is expanding its digital retail partnership with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. with the launch of a voice order and delivery service via the Chinese e-commerce giant's smart speaker, Tmall Genie. Starbucks customers can now order drinks and food by voice command through Tmall Genie and have their orders delivered within 30 minutes through Ele.me.

FOOD RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION

* German investment firm Haniel Finance Deutschland GmbH reaffirmed its intent to off-load its remaining stake in German hypermarket retailer Metro AG, En24 News reported, citing Haniel CEO Thomas Schmidt's interview with German business daily Handelsblatt.

* Walmart, in collaboration with Capital One Financial Corp. is rolling out a new credit card program, which offers a signature co-branded card and a private-label card exclusively for Walmart purchases. The two credit cards, which reward customers for shopping at Walmart and elsewhere, will be available starting Sept. 24.

* The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found that Walmart Inc. likely discriminated against 178 female workers across more than 30 states, adding that they were allegedly paid less than their male counterparts and denied promotions because of their gender, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing EEOC documents. A spokesperson for Walmart, Randy Hargrove, told S&P Global Market Intelligence in an email that the allegations are more than 15 years old and do not reflect the "the positive experiences millions of women have had working at Walmart."

* Amazon.com Inc. has started hiring its own last-mile delivery drivers in Germany and is set to open 11 more distribution centers and two sorting facilities in the country, Bernd Gschaider, Germany director for Amazon Logistics told Reuters.

BEVERAGES

* Strike action has been suspended at Diageo PLC's Scottish distilleries after the Johnnie Walker owner reached an agreement with the GMB and Unite unions on worker pay, Reuters reported, citing a company representative. The distiller's offer is a two-year commitment, including a 3% pay increase in the first year and a cost of living increase and a performance-based incentive bonus in the second year.

* Molson Coors Brewing Co.'s Canada unit said it opened its C$300 million brewery, which will employ 100 people, in British Columbia.

TOBACCO & SMOKING PRODUCTS

* Juul Labs Inc. said its products are no longer available on e-commerce websites in China. "We look forward to continued dialogue with stakeholders so that we can make our products available again," a Juul spokesperson said in an email. The e-cigarette company, which is facing mounting scrutiny for its alleged role in the spread of youth vaping in the U.S., launched its products on JD.com Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s Tmall platform Sept. 9, but they became unavailable Sept. 13, according to Vapejoin.com.

* New York's Public Health and Health Planning Council voted to implement a ban on the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes and nicotine e-liquids in the state, after Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for an emergency executive action Sept. 15. The prohibition is now in effect, Cuomo's office said in a statement.

* Japan Tobacco Inc.'s domestic cigarette sales in August dropped 3.4% year over year to ¥42.3 billion from ¥43.8 billion. The Tokyo-based cigarette-maker said it sold 6.6 billion cigarettes in the month, down 10.6% from 7.3 billion cigarettes sold a year ago.

PACKAGED FOODS

* New Zealand-based Keytone Dairy Corp. Ltd. inked an agreement to acquire Sydney-based 40Forty Foods Pty. Ltd., trading under the frozen smoothies brand Super Cubes, for A$726,000 plus an earnout subject to performance milestones. The deal is expected to be completed in the short term, subject to customary closing conditions.

* Japanese confectionery company Meiji Holdings Co. Ltd. said its Meiji Co. Ltd. unit established a Chinese dairy company, Meiji Dairies (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., with a capital of 620 million yuan in a bid to expand the group's dairy sales in China. Production at Meiji Dairies' 54,000-square-meter facility is slated to begin in the second half of the fiscal year ending March 2023.

RESTAURANTS

* Restaurant chain Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. posted diluted EPS of $2.70 for the fourth quarter ended Aug. 2, up 6% year over year from $2.55 and above the S&P Global Market Intelligence's mean consensus estimate of $2.49. Net income increased to $65.0 million from $61.4 million a year ago. For fiscal 2020, the company said it expects diluted EPS to be between $9.30 and $9.45, excluding any impacts from its investment in entertainment-restaurant company Punch Bowl Social.

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The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng lost 0.13% to 26,754.12, and the Nikkei 225 declined 0.18% to 21,960.71.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 rose 0.05% to 7,324.54, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.16% to 1,089.03.

On the macro front

U.S. housing starts, the U.S. Energy Information Administration Petroleum Status Report, the Federal Open Market Committee meeting announcement, the FOMC forecasts and the Fed chair press conference are due out today.

Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.

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