Independence efforts: stories you may have missed

Big U.S. businesses, small businesses, and government institutions alike: They’ve all long-since recognized that the U.S. doesn’t produce much anymore. Instead, we get our resources and many of our completed products from outside the country.

Particularly from China.

For decades, few people (other than the unemployed) cared about that trend. However, the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic put it all into sharp perspective. Suddenly and painfully, we were forced to realize how serious our dependence on not-necessarily-friendly nations really is.

This is true of everything from medical supplies to the critical minerals necessary for running both our everyday and advanced electronic needs. In fact, over 71% of our rare earth imports came from China alone last year.

Without lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, and all those other hard-to-remember building-block materials, we wouldn’t have:

The very important list goes on from there.

That’s why the Trump administration has been busy making deals with friendlier international entities such as the EU, Japan, and Mexico to bolster U.S. supply.

Earlier this month, Trump also announced joint ventures with two higher education teams – one at the University of Nevada, Reno, the other at Georgia Tech Research Corp. – to research rare earth opportunities in key national regions. These efforts, costing a collective $15 million, will work off previous efforts by the Department of Energy’s Carbon Ore, Rare Earth, and Critical Minerals Initiative.

And then there’s the latest news on the subject, just out Wednesday: that the G7 nations (the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Italy) pledged to reduce their collective dependence on Chinese minerals. None of this will yield noticeable results overnight, of course.

Then again, the problem wasn’t created overnight either.

You may have seen how hedge fund owner Ken Griffin is expanding his Miami commercial real estate (CRE) plans. After all, he’s been high-profile ever since New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani made Griffin the face of his tax-the-rich campaign last month.

The billionaire was already developing a business campus in Miami for Citadel before that feud began. But he’s doubling down on the idea now, with new plans to add a 300-unit apartment building and a large parking garage to the site as well.

Many investors have especially noted how Griffin now owns practically two blocks worth of prime, water front Florida real estate. I’m equally intrigued, however, by his main purpose for those properties.

As a Citadel spokesperson told Fox Business concerning the condominium tower it just purchased there:

This is just one more indication that official corporate space is still essential for companies to get business done. Perhaps it’s getting redundant to say such things. But many office landlords continue to struggle under the investor impression that they’ve been rendered unnecessary.

If anything, we’re learning how very necessary they are.

A new study co-authored by New York Federal Reserve Bank economist Natalia Emmanuel found that remote work can actually take quite a toll on people’s mental health. Apparently, as annoying as our colleagues can be, they do still serve a purpose in reminding us that we’re not alone in this world.

Critics point out that a complete return to the office isn’t the automatic solution. It’s probably more of a hybrid setup that keeps employees feeling and acting their best. But the study is nonetheless another checkmark in office CRE’s favor.

And I imagine it won’t be the last.

Two Saturdays ago, I mentioned how McDonald’s (MCD) was undergoing major renovations to its general setup and inside décor, its playgrounds, and even its drive-thru windows. Apparently, customers have been less than impressed with the last 10 years’ worth of updates and upgrades it so intentionally made.

The global fast-food chain will also be upgrading its menu and putting special focus on training and retraining as well.

More recently, Pizza Hut released its own nostalgia-driven news. Dozens of franchisees, it seems, have agreed to bring back the company’s 1980’s and 1990’s style, complete with red plastic cups, checkered tablecloths, and stained-glass lamps.

Of course, we also learned that Yum! Brands (YUM) is done with the chain regardless. It announced on Tuesday that it’s selling part of “the Hut” to Yum China Holdings for $1.2 billion and the rest to U.S. private equity firm LongRange Capital for $1.5 billion.

Yum CEO Chris Turner hailed this as an opportunity for Pizza Hut to “be well-positioned for future growth with ownership that brings deep expertise in the restaurant industry.” But really, I’m sure he’s happy to be rid of the flagging franchise so he can focus on the much more successful KFC and Taco Bell stories.

Still, those 80 or so Pizza Hut franchisees who are betting on nostalgia might very well succeed. A CRE Daily publication earlier this week reported that “Toys and collectibles” are driving “record retail traffic as Gen Z, millennials, and ‘kidults’ chase scarcity and nostalgia.”

Apparently, “The collectibles boom is no longer a fringe trend – it’s now at the core of retail’s most successful strategies.”

Happy SWAN investing!

Brad Thomas
Editor, The Wide Moat Daily

SpaceX (SPCX) is still all over the news, making headlines and causing commentary left and right.

But over here at The Wide Moat Show, we’re content to talk about other topics.

After all, other topics – like the seven “boring” bargain stocks Nick Ward and I cover in this week’s episode – are primed to yield very nice results.

Catch the full episode right here.