The Best One Yet - 🚫 “Should TikTok be banned?” — TikTok’s trojan horse. Tupperware’s leftover bite. The housing market’s fire.

Episode Date: November 3, 2022

The awkwardest question in business right now: Should TikTok be banned? Tupperware invented the leftover, but its stock just fell 40% because of philosophy. And buying a home is about to get even harder because the Fed raised interest rates again – To save the family, it’s burning down the house (Literally. Figuratively. Literally figuratively metaphorically).$TUP $METAFollow The Best One Yet on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok: @tboypodAnd now watch us on YoutubeWant a Shoutout on the pod? Fill out this formGot the Best Fact Yet? We got a form for that tooLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday, November 3rd, and today's pod is just the best one. It's a T-boy. It's a T-boy. Jack, what's our first story for the pod, man? Our first story is, should TikTok be banned? Yeties, we just heard the biggest proposal yet on the most awkward question in business.

For our second story, Tupperware is the legend of leftovers. But Tupperware stock plummeted 40% while we ate breakfast. And our third and final story is the fat. It just raised interest rates again. To save the family, it's burning down the house. Literally. Yeah, kind of literally. Metaphorically.

Okay, metaphorically literally. Literally in a metaphorical sense. Yeah, we're going to clarify a letter. It's poetic. But yet he's, before we hit that wonderful mix. Just a wild mix. I love this mix, man. Tonight is one of the most unique matchups in all of sports.

Tonight is the battle of two mega metropolis is twice. In baseball, tonight you got game five of the world. World Series. It's Philadelphia Phillies versus the Houston Astros. In football, you got Thursday night football. Jack, that's the Philadelphia Eagles versus the Houston Texans. Philly versus Houston tonight in two

different sports at the same time. The World Series, the NFL, same cities. Rarely do two cities get such prime time. And rarely, Jack, are two cities so different? That's right. In food, Philly does cheese sticks.

But Houston does real stakes. beer, Philly does yingling. But Houston drinks anything. Philly does cream cheese, Houston does crude oil. Philly created democracy. Houston created Beyonce. In Philly, you've got Apollo cream. In Houston, you got Apollo 13. Philly is twice as old as Houston is. But Houston is twice the size of Philly. Yet he's Houston invented AstroTurf. But Basties, Philly invented the cheese whiz. You know what? No matter who is the victor tonight. Jack, no matter who, wins this final matchup of choice. Remember this.

Chicago does logistics. Yeah, it does. Let's hear three stories. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the bad ass it. I don't even think they need to practice.

50% that's a fat tip. Tea Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, because we're ready to go. We can't wait no more. So just start the show. Start the show. Our first story yesterday, a top government official said that TikTok should be banned.

So the big question, you should discuss at dinner tonight? Here it is. Should TikTok get banned? This is going to be a fun dinner. It's a big question. We got a dinner. We're seeing like two other couples. This is going to be great.

I'm going to be out with Alex tonight. I'll ask her. You kick off the appetizers, boom, should TikTok be banned? Pass the crudite. Yet he's the Trojan horse theory of TikTok. The Trojan horse theory. We've mentioned it on the pod before. Hey, you're trying to watch that TikTok video of the cute,

Corn kids singing about corn. It's innocent and entertaining. And then boom, you get a video like questioning a political election out of nowhere. And you weren't the only one. A hundred million Americans saw that because China tweaked the TikTok algorithm to target Americans with videos damaging to America. That is the Trojan horse risk of TikTok. And that is why the FCC commissioner, Brendan Carr, said this week that the U.S. government

should ban TikTok. We should just repeat this. The commissioner just said, I don't believe there's any path forward other than a ban. Those are his words. Because 200 million Americans have downloaded TikTok. It's right there on our phones. So the app could be a Trojan horse waiting to be unleashed on our phones.

And because China owns TikTok, he thinks that the Chinese Communist Party effectively has on-demand access to your data. And he thinks that China could use TikTok to spread propaganda. Yeah, he does. They could subtly feed us videos that turn Americans negative on America. Now, there's no evidence TikTok is doing this, but they could do this. And that's a big risk. But here's kind of the funny thing about this, Yetis. Jack, does this feel like dramatic?

We're talking about banning $300 billion TikTok here. Feels dramatic. TikTok is a huge deal. It's hard to fathom it getting banned. This would be so traumatic, someone would write a musical about it. But Yetis, let's use an analogy. that might make it easier to consider banning TikTok. Okay, Jack, let's try using a different scenario here and see if that changes how dramatic this

TikTok situation really is. Imagine if a Chinese media company came and tried to buy Reuters or tried to acquire NBC News or Twitter. Would that be acceptable, Jack? Definitely not. Absolutely, that's not going to happen. Are top foreign foe acquiring a major U.S. media company? There is no way the government. is going to let that fly. I can tell you that right now. The government would definitely block a deal like that on national security concerns.

But here's the way we're seeing it. TikTok is a major media company in the United States. And it is already owned by China. So the government would theoretically block China from buying TikTok, we just determined. Well, that seems obvious, we just said. Isn't that the same thing as the government banning TikTok in the real world today? Now that we're using this analogy, it does sound kind of. of obvious too, Jack. Yeah. Doesn't sound as dramatic. It doesn't sound as dramatic. So, Jack,

what's the takeaway for our buddies over at TikTok? The question isn't whether TikTok should be banned. It's how it would all go down. Okay, get this besties. According to Pew, a whopping 25% of Americans under 30 are already getting our news from TikTok. It's scary to think that China could control the levers of the news that Americans consume. And when you add in what we heard yesterday, it's increasingly looks like TikTok could actually get banned. But don't stink. I love this app. That corn kid, his song is amazing. There must be another way so that we don't lose this delightfully entertaining app. Well, for example, the government could force a sale of TikTok to a non-Chinese company. That's what Trump tried to do. Exactly. And China,

now China may not agree to this, but that would fix the Trojan horse problem and let TikTok continue to grow. So will TikTok get so? Will it get banned? Baby. Or will things stay the same? What increasingly looks like TikTok will get banned, honestly, in some way. We're curious as to the how. Have a fun dinner.

For our second story, Tupperware, it is the legend of the leftover lasagna. Tupperware should be eating up all your food and money right now. It should. But its stock fell by 40% yesterday. Okay, so Jack, let's go back to that dinner last night. It's 9 p.m. last night, you accidentally cooked. too much broccoli. You overdid it on the okra. Yeah, so what are you going to do, man? What are you going to make? One too many tamales. Toss it in the Tupperware. It's tomorrow's lunch. Okay, Yetis,

we're just going to put this out there. Tupperware invented leftovers. It really did. It really did. Because in the pre-refrigerator days, it's crazy, but you couldn't save leftover food. Before Tupperware, you'd put the plate in the freezer and just leave it. Collecting smells. Correction. They called it an ice box back then, Nick. Yeah, well, nice. In 1946, they also invented Tupperware just outside of Boston. Tupperware, they created the food storage container thanks to Plast. Immediately, that core product became a sidekick to your family dinner. It became the preserver of your half-eaten pork chop.

If you haven't touched a Tupperware, have you even eaten meatlo? This is one of those classic, intense buildups at the beginning of our stories. I feel like we're at the top of a huge roller coaster, not to go down, down. Now, yet is here's what Jack and I find fascinating about the Tupperware company. You'd think Tupperware was living its best life. On paper, you'd think that. And you know what? Get these stats.

Tupperware owns 8,500 different patents. Yeah, so companies can't knock off their products easily. That's a moat. Tupperware is the most recognized logo and name in food storage. So it stands out in Isle 6. That's brand equity. And this is wild. Tupperware has a permanent collection at the...

the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. So your parents and grandparents, they've been telling stories about Tupperware for a century. It makes sense. It's as Americana as Norman Rockwell. Oh, and that's not even our favorite one. According to the Tupperware CEO, guess what percent of meals eaten in the U.S. last year were leftovers? 10% of meals are leftovers.

That means 10% of meals should involve Tupperware. On paper, Tupperware looks tasty. Well, despite all of that and Tupperware is one. $1.6 billion in annual sales. How is Tupperware stock doing lately, Jack? Not good. It's down 70% this year, and it fell a shocking 40% yesterday. It plummeted 40% yesterday because sales are down 20% in every single region. They announced their earnings yesterday, and they also warned that they may not be able to pay back their IOUs to their lenders. This is how bad it is. Jack, how much do investors dislike Tupperware right now? Sales are $1.6 billion, but the market value of the stock,

the market cap is one-tenth of sales, which is an awful valuation. So Wall Street is basically saying, hey, Tupperware, you got great cultural value. You don't have much financial value right now. Wall Street's saying, you belong in that museum. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Tupperware? When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. Yeties, that is a quote by Chinese philosopher Lao Su who instructs you to let go of the past. But here's the problem.

Tupperware won't let go over the past. Plastic was crucial to Tupperware's invention in the 40s, but Tupperware is still obsessed with plastic. But Gen Z and millennials are trying to reduce plastic. We prefer glass, honestly. Also, Tupperware's main sales channel. Nick, it's those Tupperware parties we see in the TV shows from the past. Which honestly, sound fantastic.

We would love to attend one, but that is their main sales channel. You arrange for a Tupperware sales representative, to come to your home, you invite all your friends over, and you buy Tupperware in a party-like environment. That's where most of their sales come from. So you can't get Tupperware on Amazon or at your neighborhood grocery store right now. And if you want glass Tupperware, they're out of luck. So investors are upset that Tupperware won't let go of who it is. Because that prevents Tupperware from becoming what it might be. Now, a word about our sponsor, Robin Hood.

You can do just about anything from your phone, but some industries, they've just been slow to move. The finance industry was slow to move from phone to computer and then from computer to app. Robin Hood wasn't. It's the Silicon Valley based brokerage that's been updating app since it was born in 2015. Using the Robin Hood app for your stocks and crypto is almost as easy as downloading it. So you can invest to your pace on your terms by downloading the Robin Hood app. If you're not investing on Robin Hood yet, to get started, go to robin hood.com slash T-Boy and choose your free stock. That's robin hood.com slash TBOY limitation supply. Stocks are offered by Robin Hood Financial LLC, member SIPC.

Crypto offered through Robin Hood. All investments involve risk. By the way, this podcast is not owned by or part of Robin Hood, and we are not employees of Robin Hood. For our third and final story, the Fed just did it again. Another increase in interest rates, record increase. To save the family, the Fed is burning down the house. Yeah, literally.

Metaphorically. Figuratively metaphorically. Okay, Jack, I know you love some good weekend trivia, but like some records just are not fun. Like this one. The Fed just raised its interest rate by 0.75%. All right, besties. That is the fourth straight record increase by our nation's central bank.

That is the fourth time the Fed is yelled at us. Stop spending so much money. We need the economy to slow down a little. They're trying to stop inflation. They don't want a gallon of milk to cost more than a gallon of peanut. So the Fed funds rate, is now up to 4% from like zero last year. And then yesterday, the Fed chairman, Jerry Powell, said,

uh, we still have a ways to go. We still have a ways to go means more rate hikes are coming. Investors were sad and stocks dropped yesterday. But funny thing Jack and I noticed about the Fed's campaign yelling at us to spend less money. It turns out the average American today still has a bunch of savings from the pandemic year. The average American has got cash in the bank. Yeah, you did some revenge spending on that trip to Tahiti. Not too shabby.

You deserved it. But you still have 75% of your pandemic savings on average. Now, here's the funny part. Those higher borrowing rates that Jag and I were talking about, they don't affect you from splurging if you have cash. If you're paying with your savings, the Fed's high interest rates don't impact you from buying that double-digit morning latte routine. Jack, more anything, more everything.

Because of Americans' big savings, the Fed can't stop us from spending more. except for one thing. Except for one really big thing. Buying a home with a mortgage. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who may want to buy a home with a mortgage? To save the family, the Fed is burning down the house. Are we going with the talking heads quote there?

Yeah, I didn't even realize it until now. The talking heads go. Okay, Yeties. One industry is getting crushed right now more than any other and its residential real estate. As the Fed increases its interest rates, mortgage. rates have surged to a whopping 7%. Now, a 7% mortgage rate, that makes it really expensive to borrow money to buy a house right now. And that is why the housing market has frozen.

Our central bakers are smart. They see how their hikes are stopping home builders from building homes. And they know that they're preventing home buyers from buying. But the Fed has one focus. Stop the price of milk and gas from rising someone. It's trying to save the family from inflation. And it's willing to burn down the house, literally kind of. to save that family.

Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? An FCC commissioner just said the U.S. should ban TikTok. Should TikTok be banned? The better question is how it would go down. For our second story, Tupperware's got to move on from plastic and Tupperware parties. When I let go of what I am, I become what I may be. Our third and final story is the Fed. It just announced a fourth straight, record-sized interest rate increase.

Yeah, they're plagiarizing the talking heads. to save the family, they're burning down the house. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by James Brenzick from lovely Port Washington Long Island. Side note, my dad is a Port Washington Viking, a former quarterback. And he is going to be craving this fact, Jack, if I know Big Dead. November 2nd Yeties is National Deviled Eggs Day. Put away the candy, you picked up a hard-boiled egg with some stuff on it.

Turns out deviled eggs were first referenced way back in Ancient Rome. Ancient Romans would boil the eggs and then toss some spice on and then go watch the gladiators hit some things. But the name, Deviled, that didn't get used until the 18th century. Because in the 18th century, that's when they used the word deviled in cooking to mean spicing up a dish. So deviled eggs are literally older than sliced bread.

And Long Islanders love both of them. Chicago does logistics. Long Island does hors d'oeuvrees. Long Island does deviled eggs. Feeling pigs and blankets, too. Yetis, you'll look fantastic today. And if you want to help grow the pod, the number one thing you can do is talk to that person in line with you today

and say, hey, H-Y-H-T-B-O-I. Have you had the best one yet? It's a 20-minute daily pod. You're going to love it. If you know, you know. Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go,

congratulations to Yeti, Brent Fukushima, who has a new baby named JJ over in Hawaii. And congratulations to Jeremiah Laza, who has a new position operating tractors at the 12th. Twin Terrace's dairy farm in New Zealand. And Jose Munoz just got promoted to leader on the design team in Guanabo, Puerto Rico. Happy birthday to Larissa Sclar in Auburn, Washington. And a happy birthday to John Osborne in San Jose.

And happy 27th to Carlos in Kansas City, Missouri. And congratulations to everyone in Philadelphia and Houston. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a tea boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon, and Nick and I both own stock. of Robin Hood. Now a word about our sponsor, Robin Hood. Jack, rule number one about a kitchen renovation.

Tell your friends about your kitchen renovation. We know the cabinets are expensive. Well, in the pandemic, a lot of companies renovated their businesses focusing on apps and digital. Robin Hood didn't have to. It was built digital from the start. Robin Hood's mobile first and intuitive design makes investing a little easier for every stage of your investing journey. Whether you want to trade options, ETFs, or stocks through Robin Hood Financial, or buy

some Bitcoin on Robin Hood crypto, you can do all that right on the Robin Hood app. If you're not investing on Robin Hood yet, to get started, go to Robinhood.com slash T-Boy and choose your free stock. That's Robinood.com slash T-B-O-I. Limitations apply. Robin Hood Financial LLC, member SIPC, all investments involve risk. By the way, this podcast is not owned by or part of Robin Hood, and we are not employees of Robin Hood.