Friday Feedback Chex Out, Delivery From Above, Great Stuff’s On A Boat

Honey Nut Great Stuff-Os

Great Ones … you made it!

Fun, fun Friday is back again — and with it, a whole week’s worth of Friday Feedback greatness, courtesy of you and your fellow readers.

If you don’t see your email listed below, it might be because you … you know … didn’t write in. Let’s remedy that for next week’s feedback, capisce?

I know you’ve got some great thoughts and hot takes stewing up there, so start dishing ‘em out! GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com is where you can reach us. After all, it only takes one look at the Great Stuff inbox to realize why we call all y’all the Great Ones.

But enough buttering up — we’re not making toast here. Though if you were in a breakfast-y kinda mood, today’s feature presentation might get you wondering just how late you can take a second breakfast.

What about third breakfast? Fourth? All-day Hobbit-sized breakfasts?

Umm … sure? You do you, just like The Weeshump over here is singlehandedly supporting the Wheat Chex trade:

Whither Kellogg’s?

Welcome back to the spotlight, Jeff-f-f! The Weeshump makes an appearance once more — and my, oh my, do wheat have a lot to cover.

When first reading your return missive, my eyes brightened, aglow at the prospects of finding a fellow fiber-full fanatic. But … Wheat Chex? Really?!

There’s cardboard out there with more zest, my guy! That’s why they made Chex Mix … to give you something else to eat while you pick the wheat Chex out.

Now, I’m not one to knock any obsession — at least you didn’t say Grape Nuts — considering most days at Great Stuff are spent making market memes and vague pop culture gags. I’m just … surprised/impressed? Yeah, let’s go with “surprised/impressed.”

Maybe it was your existential dread of a life sans Wheat Chex. Maybe it was your closet full of Wheat Chex. Maybe it was your Wheat Chex Halloween costume (OK, I’m kidding about that last part).

Sir, wasn’t this an investing newsletter at some point?

Oh, don’t worry, we’re getting there. Sheesh…

If you too read the original Kellogg (NYSE: K) article that Jeff’s talking about, you’d know that Kellogg is splitting its business in three: snacks, cereal and plant-based food. (If you didn’t read that article, well, now you know.)

Great Stuff’s conclusion? While snackers are snacking more than ever, the jury is still out on plant-based foods … and cereal’s stranglehold on the daily diet seems to be slipping.

Compared to other grain-gobbling generations, a lot of young’uns just aren’t as keen on the stuff, no matter how many new ultra-sugary choices come out.

I mean … Wendy’s ice cream cereal? Seriously? This is what you think people want? My guy Jeff sure ain’t biting on that — not as long as Wheat Chex exists in the world.

That said, cereal consumption somewhat perked back up during the pandemic as people stocked up on more packaged foods. A handful of cereal straight from the box is a perfect on-the-go snack while you aimlessly roam around your apartment, mulling over your life choices in isolation. But anyway…

My point is, Great Ones, we can all agree to disagree on our specific choices of cereal (shout-out to the OG Honey Bunches of Oats, what what).

But if you were looking to invest in cereal — without turning your closet into a Wheat Chex stockpile — the soon-to-be Kellogg cereal spinoff might not be the balanced breakfast you’d think it is.

There’s a reason why Kellogg is shedding the dead weight of shredded wheat. As Liz Young, head of investment strategy at SoFi, puts it:

Here’s a hint: It ain’t cereal. It’s snack food. And this spinoff will basically let Kellogg’s new, higher-growth snack division run free … untethered by ho-hum cereal sales. This is about to be a Sugar Smacks smackdown.

If you were looking for something actually worth snacking on, Clint Lee has the hookup:

Some call him Mr. Bullseye. I call him Our Man Clint … but you can call him whatever you want. The one thing you can’t call him is LOSER!

As the market falls out of bed in 2022 — down as much as 20% — Clint has silently been sticking it to the bear market with a 90% win rate and double-digit gains.

And when you see how he’s doing it … you will never look at a bear market the same way again.

Click here for more.

Now that we’ve covered that not-so-cereal discussion, let’s see what else is floating around the Great Stuff mailbag this week.

Around The World, Around The Woooorld

Six months of access to the buffet? Do you want me to have a heart attack on board?!

If you’re confused about the six months of pure enjoyable laziness that Ronn here is enticing us with, you might have missed this issue of Great Stuff. In it, we talked up Disney’s (NYSE: DIS) new $100,000-plus around-the-world jet tour.

First, the fast facts and quick math: Six months of not having to clean, cook, make your bed … versus near-daily flights on a jet with 70 other Disney uber-fans? Yeah, it’s not that difficult of a decision (unless you happen to be one of said Disney uber-fans).

Now, anecdotally, certain members of the Great Stuff team have, in their own travels, run into folks who have basically abandoned all onshore worries and lived aboard cruise ships for extended periods of time.

That’s like “people kinda familiar with the people familiar with the matter,” but it is possible and it does happen. (Some say you can even get Wheat Chex on board.) So if you’re that into cruising, who am I to judge?

But … but … then you don’t get to brag about paying The Mouse $100k for a kinda-sorta-not-really “private” private jet!

Exactly right. And that’s why Disney’s off doing its Disney thing — for those with that kind of cash to throw around and will probably be OK with any upcharge or add-on Disney decides to tempt them with.

But Ronn here? You’re a bang-for-your-buck kinda traveler — a traveler after my own heart.

Cruising, with its various price points between party/puke boat and luxury voyaging, might not be everyone’s definition of “luxury.” But for many folks, it perfectly fits the definition of “value.”

Can you put a value on folded towel animals and chocolates in your cabin? I say nay nay. That’s one point for cruising … and nada for The Mouse.

Hehe, what about Disney cruises? Checkmate, Great Stuff.

Free Stuff! In The Sky!

Puuuuuuull, Black Betty … BLAM BLAM BLAM.

Black Betty had a drone … BLAM BLAM BLAM.

The damn thing got stoned … by the neighbor’s kid with his slingshot. Probably not what Ram Jam had in mind, but hey, best intentions…

Speaking of best intentions, I don’t think dronemakers intend for their drones to be slingshot-proof, let alone protected from any other projectiles. And as for invisibility tech, Captain Jay … well, the U.S. government is staying mum on that one.

But first thing’s first. It’s actually a federal crime to shoot down drones — delivery or otherwise — under U.S. aviation laws. In fact, the punishment is just as harsh as shooting down any crewed cab.

Will this deter every drone-happy hunter who really wants to get his hands on your aunt’s brand-new crock pot? No. Of course not. But it’s enough to keep most people in line.

Second, thanks to cameras and AI tech relaying information back to base — not to mention tracking devices transmitting each drone’s location in real time — it’ll be pretty easy for companies to see where their drones “disappeared” if they’re shot down.

These days, stealing someone else’s packages is akin to shoplifting in a store. Sure, you can do it … but you’re probably gonna get caught right quick. (Hey, not everyone remembers their ski mask when they’re out committing crimes.)

But let’s say none of those factors work in big box retailers’ favor.

What we have here is a situation that Amazon and Walmart would call “the cost of doing business.” Basically, there are a certain number of drones that will either disappear or incur damage each year — and so long as it remains a small minority, stores will simply eat those costs.

Hey, I never said it was a perfect system … but retailers already account for theft, shipping damages and equipment malfunctions in their day-to-day businesses, and this isn’t all that different.

As for unemployed delivery drivers using trucks for target practice … well, that’ll go down about as well as shooting planes out of the sky.

But since we’re on the topic of driverless tech already … and the AI software behind it, check this out:

Tech leaders in Silicon Valley are rushing to roll out their versions of this brand-new AI tech.

Bank of America says it will spur the “fastest rollout of disruptive tech in history.” And the CEO of Microsoft says this is “the defining technology of our time.”

But the window for reaping the biggest profits in the shortest amount of time is closing soon … and only savvy investors who get in today have the best shot at raking in these big gains.

To read more about this major AI tech breakthrough, click here.

AOL Still Exists? Noted.

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