By Gabriel T. Rubin 

The partial government shutdown is affecting a wide range of business and financial concerns nationwide.

Shuttered government offices are stalling the approval of new loans, initial public offerings, the processing of tax documents, and the approval of new products such as prescription drugs, among other effects. While some programs are reopening on a temporary basis or providing workarounds for affected companies, most services won't return to normal until the government fully reopens and 800,000 federal workers sift through the backlog. Here is a round up of the impact:

--The partial closure of the Securities and Exchange Commission is delaying the ability of companies to open the IPO market. Companies that were seeking to list shares in January are delaying plans since the regulator has stopped reviewing and approving new and pending corporate registration statements. Publicly traded companies also could have to put shareholder proposals they oppose to a vote if the shutdown doesn't end before many U.S. companies hold annual meetings at the end of winter. Banking regulators remain open, operating on fees collecting from the companies they oversee.

--Airlines expect to have sluggish revenue growth in the first quarter in part because of revenue lost from government travel cancellations. Delta Air Lines Inc. Chief Executive Ed Bastian, for instance, said the shutdown would cost his airline $25 million in lost revenue from government travel. Delta also can't start service on its new Airbus A220 airplanes until it gets approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.

--The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has dramatically curtailed inspections of domestic facilities at food-processing companies during the shutdown, though unpaid inspectors have resumed work inspecting higher-risk products such as fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, seafood and dairy products. Meanwhile, businesses seeking to launch new alcoholic beverage products can't get needed approvals in the tightly regulated industry. The FDA is set to run out of money in early February for evaluating new prescription drugs if the shutdown continues, potentially slowing the release of new therapies including cancer treatments.

--At the Internal Revenue Service, the shutdown has created delays in getting some employer identification numbers, holding up some routine business deals. Many IRS auditors and collection workers are on furlough, making it difficult for tax practitioners to know if the government has received paperwork in business and individual cases. The IRS called workers back after mortgage lenders complained the government wasn't processing forms that lenders use to verify borrowers' incomes for loans.

--Some small-business loans are also stuck in limbo. The Small Business Administration has stopped approving routine loans that the agency backs to ensure entrepreneurs have access to funds, halting their plans for expansion and repairs and forcing some owners to consider costlier sources of cash. The Agriculture Department's Farm Service Agency reopened on Thursday to help process loans and tax documents, but did so only for three days. The agency also wasn't processing new loans, just renewals of existing ones. The delay has also slowed regulations on an incentive for investing in low-income areas.

--The government process for reviewing proposed mergers has been slowed by the shutdown, but it is still operating. Sizable mergers must be reported to the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department. Because the agencies don't want companies to be able to consummate problematic mergers without government scrutiny, they have concluded such matters are an essential function that can continue during the shutdown, but staff levels are limited and deadlines are slipping. The government also isn't processing streamlined approval for straightforward deals.

--Businesses that have government contracts are feeling the strain across a variety of industries, including the building of highways and bridges. The nine major federal departments affected by the shutdown committed to spend $61 billion for contracted services in fiscal year 2018, according to public data, roughly 11% of the total $544 billion allocated for such work. Most government contractors are defense and military companies that are shielded from the shutdown. But some defense contractors are still feeling the strain.

--The shutdown is having an effect on cryptocurrency markets. Bakkt, a bitcoin futures trading platform, cannot launch its contracts until the Commodity Futures Trading Commission weighs in on its business plan.

--The shutdown has spread into space. Lockheed Martin warned in a regulatory filing that furloughs threaten the launch of a commercial satellite for a Saudi Arabian customer, as well as some other SpaceX launches. Lockheed needs government approval for a giant, Russian-owned cargo jet to fly satellites from California to Florida, and cautions that the timetable for some planned military launches later this year could slip.

Write to Gabriel T. Rubin at gabriel.rubin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 21, 2019 08:14 ET (13:14 GMT)

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