Corny capitalism
Frankenfood future at Bayer
Good morning, faithful farmers. This is your Stock Market Rundown for June 26th, 2024. Thanks for joining me today. Let’s dig in:
TODAY’S TOP STORY: POPCORN PIONEERS
Some people consider genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to be frankenfoods—spooky hybrids cooked up in a lab. But many of the foods you eat contain genetically modified ingredients without you even realizing it.
Prime example: corn—America’s largest crop, by acreage planted. You probably associate corn farming with throwing some corn-on-the-cob on the grill, to enjoy with ample butter and salt.
But only 10% of the US corn crop goes to human food. The rest goes to either animal feed or ethanol production. Yep, those cornfields swaying in the wind beside the highway are more likely to end up in your gas tank than your popcorn bowl.
Bayer is a global agriculture multinational that controls a third of the seed market for many key commodities—including corn. And it just received safety approval from US authorities for a new strain of genetically-modified corn that’s 30% shorter than standard corn varieties.
Genetically modifying plants is done by inserting desired genes into the plant genome, to breed in specific characteristics—resistance to viruses, say, or boosted crop yields.
So why bother growing corn that’s “fun sized”? Well, its small stature makes it better able to withstand wind—it laughs in the face of gale forces up to 75 miles per hour. It can also be planted more densely and cultivated more easily.
Thanks to those farmer perks, Bayer thinks short-stature corn is a potential $1.1 billion opportunity in North America. Seems like the shorter the corn, the closer it is to ruling the entire food chain.
SO WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
The CEO of Airbus says Europe needs more military spending. Coincidentally, Airbus makes military aircraft. Reminds me of the old saying: never ask a barber whether you need a haircut.
Robinhood is betting big on crypto: the brokerage app just paid $200 million to acquire a crypto exchange. It’s all fun and games until your memecoin gets rugged.
JM Smucker, maker of Jif, beat estimates thanks to raising prices. Who knew a peanut-butter-and-jam sandwich could become a luxury purchase?
While you may not be feeling very rich, US household wealth recently hit a record high as the stock market soared and real estate asset values stayed strong. So treat yourself… super-size that french fry order.
That's all for today, superstars; catch you on the flip side tomorrow morning. Yours in capitalism, The Axe
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