Jesse Newman (3:04)

Joined by 17 Republicans, have partnered in a bipartisan way to protect the health care of the American people.

Caitlin McCabe (3:13)

The vote underlines how some centrist Republicans are willing to break with their party ahead of the coming midterms, arguing that an extension could give the party more time to improve the program. The bill will now go to the Senate, where pressure is building for a compromise. In corporate news, Elon Musk's XAI is under fire from child safety groups and regulators after an update to its Grok chatbot in late December allowed users to create sexualized photos, including of children. In a post overnight, Grok said it had switched off its image creation function except for paying subscribers, making it unavailable for the vast majority of users. We are exclusively reporting that the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus is nearing a 1.25 billion dollar bankruptcy deal to be announced within days. The Chapter 11 proceedings are being led by a group of bondholders, including Bracebridge Capital and Pentwater Capital. But Pimco has also submitted a competing offer to finance the business with a $1.5 billion loan, and talks are underway to create the world's largest mining company with a market value of more than $200 billion. Rio Tinto is expected to buy copper miner Glencore and has until February 5th to confirm the deal under rules. The deal comes as miners across the industry look to capitalize on a scramble for copper, which is used in data centers supporting AI and cloud computing. Coming up, we take a look at which food giants stand to win and lose under America's new dietary guidelines, plus why Saudi Arabia is quietly lifting its booze ban. Those stories after the break.

Jesse Newman (5:01)

Hi, this is Gunjan Banerjee, and this is Telus Demos. We're reporters at the Wall Street Journal.

Caitlin McCabe (5:06)

And The hosts of WSJ's take on the Week.

Jesse Newman (5:08)

Take on the Week is a weekly show that gives listeners a leg up in the world of markets and investing.

Caitlin McCabe (5:13)

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Caitlin McCabe (5:25)

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Daniel Bock (5:30)

Foreign.

Caitlin McCabe (5:34)

This week, when Trump administration officials unveiled sweeping changes to federal nutrition guidelines, one thing was immediately clear. Investors weren't thrilled about what it means for food giants like Kraft, Heinz, Mondelez, General Mills and PepsiCo. The new inverted food pyramid recommends that people avoid highly processed foods, dramatically increase protein intake and skip added sugar. In his remarks, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Suggested the American government's guidance in the past was aimed at protecting corporate profits. So what could the changes mean for the business of food in America? For more, our producer, Daniel Bock spoke to Journal food reporter Jesse Newman.

Jesse Newman (6:17)

Yeah, you know, I think it's pretty safe to say that the new updated dietary guidelines are bad news for most big food companies. I mean, the big food companies here in the US Their entire business model is really based on making processed food. And so, you know, any government guidance that takes a hard line against highly processed foods in particular, this is pretty bad news. And to be honest, you know, the big food companies, they have been thinking about this and trying to figure out what to do for months. I'm not sure that they all really have an answer for the dietary guidelines yet. So, you know, we know that many of them have task forces that were set up to sort of deal with Maha. So they are going to be looking at how can they simplify their recipes, how can they use cleaner ingredients, how can they take out additives? Essentially, they're just trying to figure out how to make their food, you know, appear less processed. And yet this is a pretty tough task because we're also in a moment where prices, food prices and affordability are really top of mind for consumers. And a lot of these moves that they're going to have to make are going to make food more expensive, not less.

Daniel Bock (7:29)

Okay, so there is some downside for consumers and evidently for big food businesses. But are there companies and parts of the agricultural industry that stand to benefit from these changes? I'm thinking about this huge conversation amongst Americans about eating more protein, and now we see that reflected in the guidelines.

Jesse Newman (7:47)

Yeah, protein is obviously a huge trend. You know, I just can't underscore here in the US how, you know, pick your word craze, obsession. It seems to be a protein bonanza. It's everywhere. In fact, there was a General Mills investor day where there was a Wall street analyst who said, you know, it sort of seems like food companies are sprinkling protein over everything. And then you walk the aisles of a grocery store, and it's very true. You know, protein is being added to cereal and to snack bars and to just about every category. And that is a real tailwind for the dairy industry, for the meat and poultry industries. They are all feeling pretty good this morning. We're seeing definitely interest in products from consumers, also from private equity for goods that are high in protein. On Thursday, we saw a private equity firm take a majority stake in a small cottage Cheese brand, good culture. So whether you are a high protein yogurt or you're cottage cheese or you're a cattle rancher, the emphasis on protein is just, is really good news.

Daniel Bock (8:57)

So good news for the dairy industry that has suffered from really low prices for a long time. How important will this be for farmers and producers?

Jesse Newman (9:06)

You know, I would say that this is a win for dairy overall in the sense that, you know, it really promotes dairy products in particular, promotes full fat dairy products. The one place I would say, you know, it's just not a, it's not a total slam dunk. There is a lot of high sugar dairy out there. So if you think about the yogurt aisle, you've got your whole milk, plain yogurt, but then you also have plenty of yogurts with added sugar, or if they don't have added sugar, sometimes they'll have other types of alternative sweeteners. And so dairy manufacturers are going to be looking at their product lineups to see what will be a fit because there's plenty of yogurt with granola, chocolate, granola crumbles on top. That would still fall into the processed food category with a lot of added sugar. And those are less in favor by the administration.

Daniel Bock (10:00)

Jesse Newman is a food reporter for the Journal. Jesse, thanks for your time.

Jesse Newman (10:03)

Thanks for having me.

Caitlin McCabe (10:07)

And in another major change, Saudi Arabia has begun allowing select residents to buy alcohol. It's part of the kingdom's push to attract expats. But as Middle east correspondent Omar Abdel Baki explains, the process of actually buying booze at the only known liquor store in the country's capital, Riyadh, remains a bit unusual.

Omar Abdel Baki (10:29)

I spoke to an expat who did buy alcohol from the store, and basically he only knew it existed through word of mouth. It's attached to a grocery store, sort of unmarked and discreet. It's accessible to either diplomats or people with that premium residency card. And premium residency is status given to high income earners or high skilled workers, expatriates. And they verified that he was not Muslim and that he qualified to purchase alcohol through his residency status. And when they verified that he was, they put his phone in a bag so he wouldn't take pictures and he was able to peruse the liquor store. It might not sound like a big deal, but for a conservative kingdom that has banned alcohol since the 1950s, it's quite a big deal.

Caitlin McCabe (11:13)

According to analysts and people familiar with the Saudi rulers, thinking more changes could be in store, including allowing alcohol at new resorts popping up along the Red Sea. And that's it for what's news for this Friday morning. Today's show is produced by Hattie Moyer and Daniel Bach. Our supervising producer was Sandra Kilhoff. And I'm Caitlin McCabe for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back tonight with a new show. Until then, have a nice weekend, and thanks for listening.