🚚 Texas-border bottleneck

Border bottleneck… This spooky szn, one line is way longer than the Haunted Mansion’s. After lengthy inspections rolled out last month, cargo trucks crossing from Mexico → US have been queuing at the border for up to 24 hours. The Mexican gov’t estimates 19K trucks carrying nearly $2B worth of goods have been stuck there, with reports saying the holdup has cost exporters $1.1B.

• “Operation Lone Star”: Texas’ truck checks are part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to intercept smuggled migrants and drugs as the US tightens control of its southern border. Last week, President Biden said he was expanding the physical wall in Texas.

• Déjà view: When the Texas gov’t increased truck inspections last year, protesting businesses swayed it to shift into reverse within a week. On Monday, Mexico’s biggest trucking group called the inspections “absurd.”

Spoiled guac… Everything from cars and computer parts to oil and beverages (including tequila) is imported from Mexico… not to mention 80% of America’s avocados. Mexico recently surpassed China as the US’s No. 1 trading partner, with exchanges totaling $863B last year. Trade with Mexico is also an integral part of Texas’ economy, which imported $141B of goods from its neighbor last year.

Travel guidance lifted… A Hawaiian state order discouraging travel to West Maui was lifted this weekend, two months after wildfires raged through the area, killing at least 98 people and burning 2.1K acres. A phased reopening plan is in place, but with schools still closed and thousands living in temporary housing, the decision was met with strong resistance from some residents.

• Check-ins: Five hotels in the region have begun accepting reservations. Occupancy rates are at about 12% and are expected to slowly climb to 32% by mid-November.

• Work/life: About 40% of Maui’s GDP is tied to tourists, who spent $3.5B on the island in the first half of the year (supporting thousands of jobs). 8K+ residents are now out of work and Maui has lost $13M+/day since the fires.

• Pushback: 17K people signed a petition to delay the reopening date, criticizing the plan for not adequately consulting locals, some of whom have been temporarily housed in hotels.

From Maui to Malaga… European wildfires spreading at peak travel season, knee-high flooding at Burning Man, and 116-degree temps on the Spanish coast are just a few of the climate events that’ve recently upended tourism. After the world’s hottest summer on record, vacation favorites (reliant on tourist $$) like coastal Greece and Italy could see visitor drop-offs of up to 10%. Elsewhere, colder regions like Bulgaria and Greenland are anticipating more tourists in the years ahead.

• Green: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that’ll require large companies (like: Apple, Disney, and Chevron) to report their carbon emissions. The SEC’s working on similar federal rules.

• Fizz: Pepsi stock bubbled up after the snack and soda giant raised its annual outlook. It had stronger-than-expected sales growth as consumers stomached higher-priced Cheetos, Lay’s, and Gatorade.

• Penned: After a 148-day strike, the writers’ union officially ratified a fresh three-year contract with Hollywood studios. The deal includes pay bumps, AI protections, and a new streaming residual system.

• Smoked: SCOTUS said it wouldn’t hear a vape co’s challenge to the FDA’s ability to regulate flavored e-cigs. Nicotine vapes have become an $8B+ market, despite the regulator’s crackdown on non-tobacco flavors.

• Block: Israeli officials said they worked with Binance to freeze crypto accounts tied to Hamas. Wallets linked to Hamas had received $41M in crypto between mid-2021 and this June.

• September Producer Price Index report

Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Apple and Disney

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