5.11.26 Temporary Protected Status for Haiti and Syria, labor data, tariff refunds and Rupert Murdoch’s Disney deal, and Milton Hershey’s chocolate business

Summary

Podcast Summary
The World and Everything in It | May 11, 2026
Hosts: Mary Reichert & Nick Iger

Overview

This episode examines critical legal, economic, and historical events shaping current headlines. Key topics include the Supreme Court’s assessment of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti and Syria, the latest labor market data and the impact of tariff refunds, a business case study of Rupert Murdoch’s Disney deal, and the enduring legacy of Milton Hershey and his chocolate empire.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Supreme Court Docket: Temporary Protected Status for Haiti and Syria

[07:00–13:09]

• Legal Question: Can the executive branch end TPS for Haitians and Syrians, and is that decision subject to judicial review?
• Background: TPS was created by Congress to protect foreign nationals already in the US when conditions in their home countries (such as war or disaster) make return unsafe.
  • Haiti granted TPS after the 2010 earthquake; Syria since 2012 due to civil war.
• Trump Administration’s Decision: Found that these conditions no longer justified TPS and moved to terminate protections. Affected: ~350,000 Haitians, 6,000 Syrians.
• Key Arguments:
  • Government: Statute gives sole discretion to the Secretary of Homeland Security, with no court review.
    • Quote at [08:25], Solicitor General John Sauer:
      “There is no judicial review of any determination of the secretary with respect to the designation or termination or extension of a designation...”
  • Justices’ Concerns:
    • Justice Kagan: “You rely on Trump vs. Hawaii in your argument, but that involved the President and entry restrictions. Here...aliens that are already present. Your argument is a significant expansion...isn't it?” [08:46]
    • Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson: "What was the point of Congress putting this statute into being and having requirements for the Secretary if there was no ability for anyone to challenge the Secretary's compliance?" [09:30]
    • Justice Kagan on 'consultation': “You consult with somebody on a topic, that means you ask a question, they give an answer that's on the same topic. Weren't the Dodgers great last night? That does not seem like appropriate consultation.” [09:57]
    • Justice Sotomayor raised the issue of discriminatory intent, citing a derogatory statement about Haiti attributed to then-President Trump [10:51].

2. Immigration Case: Deportability of Lawful Permanent Residents

[13:14–15:29]

• Case: Can a lawful permanent resident returning from abroad be treated as seeking admission, and thus be subject to deportation based on mere criminal allegations?
• Details: "Muk Low" held a green card, left the country before trial on counterfeiting charges, returned, and was detained at the airport.
  • Government claims mere charges are sufficient at the border.
  • Justice Samuel Alito challenged the idea that mere suspicion could be enough for deportability [14:46].
• Insight: The justices leaned towards upholding the government’s power in these scenarios, but showed concern for due process.

3. Judicial Estoppel: Bankruptcy and Lawsuits

[15:29–16:40]

• Case: If someone fails to disclose a potential lawsuit when filing for bankruptcy, should they be barred from pursuing that lawsuit later?

• Justices' Skepticism: Chief Justice Roberts worried about punishing honest mistakes by denying compensation to accident victims.

  • Quote [16:33] (Court Clerk): “...it does seem a little much that the one person who's getting off is the one whose truck hit the other guy.”

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4. World and National News Updates

[01:01–06:04]

• Iran War & Ceasefire Talks: Tensions between Iran, Israel, and global powers continue, with U.S. maintaining a blockade and Iran insisting on ending the war on all fronts before nuclear talks [01:01–02:17].
  • U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz: “He is putting giving diplomacy every chance...but he's absolutely prepared to do that.” [01:29]
• Cruise Ship Hantavirus Outbreak: Evacuation and quarantine of passengers after deaths and illness; public health risk deemed low [02:17–03:34].
• Pakistan Security Attack: Suicide bomb killed 14 police [03:34–04:30].
• Denver Airport Incident: Runway intruder struck by plane, sparking engine fire and chaotic evacuation [04:24–04:32].
• Box Office: Success of "Devil Wears Prada 2" and other films mark a resurgence for theaters [05:08–05:18].

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5. Monday Money Beat: Economic Analysis

[17:49–28:15]

a) U.S. Labor Market

• Data: April jobs report shows hiring slightly above expectations, with low jobless claims and no major spike in unemployment [18:52].
  • David Bonson: “The optimistic part is that it isn’t worsening. There’s a modest bias towards things being a bit better.” [19:36]
  • Emphasis on cautious optimism—advises not to extrapolate trends too far yet.

b) Tariff Refunds

• Context: Companies are starting to receive refunds after court-ordered rollbacks of Trump-era tariffs [21:02].
  • Usage: Paying suppliers, rebuilding inventory, paying debts, stabilizing cash flow.
  • Bonson: “If companies are going to use tariff refunds to go invest in their business, that means that the tariffs have been taking away from business investment.” [21:27]
• Tariff Effects on Prices:
  • Bonson clarifies: Tariffs raise prices but aren’t inflationary in the broad monetary sense. Prices may not drop substantially even after refunds due to lingering uncertainty [22:40].

c) Case Study – Rupert Murdoch’s Disney-Fox Deal

• Insight: Murdoch anticipated vulnerability in scripted content (“entertainment content”) and strategically sold to Disney, retaining sports/news assets—the least disruptable by streaming [24:50–28:15].
  • “Sometimes the best decisions are in the things that we sell, but they're also in the things that we don't sell.” [25:55]
  • Disney overpaid; the deal’s value now looks doubtful. The lesson: Market disruption rewards those who can identify emerging vulnerabilities.

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6. World History Book: Milton Hershey’s Chocolate Legacy

[28:51–35:11]

• Early Life: Raised in poverty, minimal education, failed in business several times [30:03].
  • Archivist Jennifer Henderson: “He had two failed businesses, but that didn't stop him.” [30:36]
• Innovation: Pioneer of affordable, mass-produced chocolate bars using local dairy [31:27].
• Hershey Kiss Introduction: Handmade at first; automated wrapping with a unique plume for brand distinction [31:47–32:06].
• Community Builder:
  • Hershey built homes, transit, parks, hospitals for his workers, inspired by his mother’s religious roots and personal experiences with poverty [32:57].
  • “His hands on earth do God's work.” – Henderson, [33:04]
• Lasting Philanthropy:
  • Founded the Milton Hershey School for orphan boys (1909), which still helps underprivileged children [33:26–34:24].
  • Donated fortune to the school; one graduate became Hershey Company’s CEO.
  • “The community and the world has been blessed with what he was able to do for us.” – Henderson [33:19]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Judicial Review of TPS:
  • Justice Elena Kagan [09:57]: “You consult with somebody on a topic...Weren't the Dodgers great last night? That does not seem like appropriate consultation.”
• On Discrimination Claims:
  • Justice Sonia Sotomayor [10:51]: “Now we have a President saying at one point that Haiti is a, quote, filthy, dirty and disgusting s hole country...how is that not a prime example in showing that a discriminatory purpose may have played a part in this decision?”
• On Inflation and Tariffs:
  • David Bonson [22:40]: “As a matter of just economic clarity, I want to say that I believe tariffs push prices higher, which is different than saying that they cause inflation, because I believe inflation is a monetary phenomenon.”
• On the Hershey Legacy:
  • Jennifer Henderson [33:19]: “The community and the world has been blessed with what he was able to do for us.”

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:01] – International & national news headlines
• [07:00] – Supreme Court: TPS for Haiti & Syria
• [13:14] – Supreme Court: Immigration re-entry and deportation case
• [15:29] – Judicial estoppel and bankruptcy case
• [17:49] – Monday Money Beat: Labor data, tariffs, Murdoch’s Disney deal
• [28:51] – History feature: The life and legacy of Milton Hershey

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Tone and Style

The episode mixes insightful legal analysis, clear economic commentary, and engaging storytelling. The language is accessible, with moments of levity and respectful disagreement—keeping a spirit of curiosity and public service throughout.

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For first-time listeners:
This episode offers a balanced blend of legal scrutiny, economic perspective, and historical storytelling—ideal for those seeking depth on Supreme Court dynamics, economic policy, and the roots of American industry in a way that is both informative and engaging.

Transcript

[Mary Reichert]

Good morning. The Supreme Court asks whether the Trump administration may end temporary protected status for Haiti and Syria. And much turns on what counts as a consultation.

[Justice Elena Kagan]

You consult with somebody on a topic. Weren't the Dodgers great last night? That does not seem like appropriate consultation.

[Nick Iger]

That's ahead on legal docket. Also today, the Monday money beats some positive signs in the US Economy. David Bonson is standing by. And the world history book, the humble beginnings of a world famous American chocolate maker.

[Jennifer Henderson]

He had two failed businesses, but that didn't stop him.

[Mary Reichert]

It's Monday, May 11th. This is the world and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Mary Reichert.

[Nick Iger]

And I'm Nick Iger. Good morning.

[Mary Reichert]

Time now for the news with Kent Covington.

[Kent Covington]

Iran sent its answers to the White House's latest ceasefire proposal on Sunday through Pakistani mediators. Tehran is calling for a permanent end to the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon where Israel is still striking Iran proxy group Hezbollah. Iran also wants to put off discussions about its nuclear program for later talks. President Trump fired back on social media accusing Iran of playing Games for nearly 50 years. U.S. ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz,

[Mike Waltz]

he is putting giving diplomacy every chance we possibly can before going back to hostilities, but he's absolutely prepared to do that.

[Kent Covington]

Drone attacks tested the ceasefire on Sunday. One set fire to a ship off the coast of Qatar while the United Arab Emirates shot down two drones that it blamed on Tehran. Iran's purported new supreme leader, Mojtavak Khamenei also reportedly issued fresh orders calling for quote, continued operations against the enemy. Negotiators are stuck on Iran's near weapons grade uranium. The UN's nuclear agency says Iran is holding more than four hundred and forty kilos of it a short step away from weapons grade. And Waltz told ABC's this Week we

[Mike Waltz]

don't expect a regime that's been obsessed with a nuclear weapon to just give it up freely. It's going to take this type of pressure.

[Kent Covington]

The US Military is maintaining its blockade of Iranian ports while talks continue. Off the coast of Africa, the evacuation of a cruise ship hit by an outbreak of the Hantavirus rolls into a second day. The ship reached port at Tenerife in Spain's Canary islands Sunday, its 140plus passengers and crew flying out one nation at a time. Dozens stepped off in hazmat suits, got hosed down with disinfectant and boarded planes for Europe and North America. World Health Organization epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkova

[Maria Van Kerkova]

explained the passengers and the crew on board will be wearing respirators as they leave. There is a medical assessment that is being done on board before they disembark from the ship. They will be transported separately and directly to these repatriation flights.

[Kent Covington]

Three people have died since the ship set sail from Argentina last month, and one French passenger fell ill on her flight home Sunday. Many passengers are being quarantined upon their arrival in their home countries. Even even so, doctors say the public health risk is low. NIH director Jay Bhattacharya.

[Jay Bhattacharya]

You have to be in close contact with someone who has a lot of symptoms. There have been eight people that have infected all of them. The first two got it from for all things bird watching, probably breathed mouse droppings in Argentina.

[Kent Covington]

The ship will sail on to the Netherlands for disinfection, taking some crew and the body of a passenger who died on board. In northwest Pakistan, hundreds gathered Sunday to bury 14 police officers. They died Saturday night when a suicide bomber and gunman rammed an explosives laden vehicle into a security post in Banu. That triggered a shootout that collapsed the building. A breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban claims responsibility, though authorities call it a front for the main militant group. Pakistan accuses Afghanistan's Taliban government of sheltering the militants. The NTSB is investigating a bizarre incident at Denver International Airport. A Frontier Airlines plane was taking off Friday night when it struck and killed a person who was crossing the Runway on foot. The impact ignited an engine fire.

[Nick Iger]

43, 45, we're stopping on the Runway. We just hit somebody.

[Justice Elena Kagan]

We have an engine fire.

[David Bonson]

43, 45, I see that.

[Kent Covington]

Authorities say a person had jumped a security fence to get onto the Runway. Passengers escaped down emergency slides after smoke filled the cabin. 12 passengers suffered minor injuries. The NTSB is specifically looking into the evacuation of that plane. Videos and passenger reports describe panic and chaos and some people grabbing their carry on bags against evacuation procedures. It is not yet summer blockbuster season, but movie theaters are enjoying a badly needed resurgence in ticket sales with a string of recent hits. The latest is The Devil Wears Prada 2.

[Mary Reichert]

You are here to help us through our current scandal.

[Jeffrey Papoli]

Click, click, click, click everywhere.

[Mary Reichert]

But I did not hire you and all I need to do is bide my time until you fail.

[Kent Covington]

The sequel hauled in another estimated $43 million domestically to top the weekend box office worldwide. It is now over $400 million in ticket sales. Three other films still in theaters have all grossed around or more than a half billion dollars globally. Michael Project, Hail Mary and the Super Mario Galaxy Movie. I'm Kent Covington. And coming up, the Monday Money Beat plus a candy maker's legacy extends beyond his famous chocolate. This is the world and everything in it.

[Nick Iger]

It's the world and everything in it for this 11th day of May, 2026. We're so glad you've joined us today. Good morning. I'm Nick Iker.

[Mary Reichert]

And I'm Mary Reichardt. Time now for legal dogget. And I must first correct something we said last week in the Monsanto roundup case. The herbicide we called pesticide. Not only did we say it, but we used to several soundbites from attorneys using the same wrong term. Now, Justice Clarence Thomas once worked for Monsanto as an attorney, and I should have listened to him more carefully.

[Justice Samuel Alito]

Well, I think my point is, first of all, this is a herbicide, not a pesticide.

[Mary Reichert]

Yeah, herbicide, weed killer, not bug killer. Even though both are regulated under the same federal law.

[Nick Iger]

And of course, not to get into the weeds or anything. But this has been bugging us all week. I see what you did there. Well, all right. On now to a case test the power of the executive branch of government over immigration.

[Court Clerk]

We will hear argument first this morning in case 2510 83, Mullen vs Doe, and the consolidated case.

[Nick Iger]

Well, this one asks whether the federal government can end TPS temporary protected status for Haitians and Syrians. Congress created TPS three and a half decades ago. It permits the Secretary of Homeland Security to protect people already in the US when their home countries are not safe. Reasons might be war or disaster or some other crisis. Protection granted for 18 months, but it may be and has been extended.

[Mary Reichert]

Now, Haiti received TPS after its devastating earthquake back in 2010. Syria in 2012 in the midst of its civil war. So temporary isn't so much. The Trump administration concluded the conditions in those nations no longer justify TPS. We're talking about 350,000 Haitians and around 6,000 Syrians. And they sued.

[Nick Iger]

So the question before the Supreme Court is actually twofold. First, did the Trump administration follow the proper statutory steps to ntps? And second, do the courts even have the power to review that executive branch decision? The government says no, it does not. There is no review whatsoever. Foreign policy decisions belong with the executive, full stop. Solicitor General John Sauer argued the statute says exactly that.

[Jeffrey Papoli]

There is no judicial review of any determination of the secretary with respect to the designation or termination or extension of a designation of a foreign state for temporary protected status. That provision means what it says respondents attempts to carve out exceptions to the review bar would eviscerate it.

[Nick Iger]

But Chief Justice John Roberts wasn't so sure.

[Court Clerk]

You rely on Trump vs. Hawaii in your argument, but that involved the President and entry restrictions. Here we're concerned with the Secretary and aliens that are already present. Your argument is a significant expansion of Trump versus Hawaii, isn't it?

[Nick Iger]

You may recall that earlier decision in which the High Court upheld President Trump's travel ban from predominantly Muslim countries, citing inadequate vetting procedures. But in this case, the people are already here inside the country. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson pushed back hard on the process used by the Secretary of Homeland Security to terminate TPS status for Haitians and Syrians.

[Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson]

Now we have a statute in which Congress has clearly required the Secretary to take certain statutory steps to include, for example, consultation. So what was the point of Congress putting this statute into being and having requirements for the Secretary if there was no ability for anyone to challenge the Secretary's compliance?

[Mary Reichert]

Justice Elena Kagan honed in on what exactly is a consultation?

[Justice Elena Kagan]

You consult with somebody on a topic, that means you ask a question, they give an answer that's on the same topic. Weren't the Dodgers great last night? That does not seem like appropriate consultation.

[Mary Reichert]

Note that that's not what happened. But you get the point. The government lawyers stayed firm that the courts have no business interfering.

[Jeffrey Papoli]

So if she sought input from State, she has consulted. How much do I need to talk? Which agencies do I talk to? Is this response good enough?

[Mary Reichert]

Reiterating. This is the kind of discretionary call vested in the Secretary. Justice Jackson tested the government with this.

[Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson]

The Secretary's decision, and I had a hypothetical to pull out a Ouija board. And your view would be that no judicial review of that claim and any

[Jeffrey Papoli]

exception that the court craft here would be something that a truck could be driven through. And that's.

[Nick Iger]

And then there's the allegation of discriminatory intent on the part of the administration. Justice Sonia Sotomayor mentioned some examples, including this one.

[Justice Sonia Sotomayor]

Now we have a President saying at one point that Haiti is a, quote, filthy, dirty and disgusting s hole country. I'm quoting him. I don't see how that one statement is not a prime example in showing that a discriminatory purpose may have played a part in this decision.

[Jeffrey Papoli]

All those statements in context refer to problems like crime, poverty, welfare dependence, drug importation.

[Nick Iger]

Justice Kagan was not buying the racial animus argument.

[Justice Elena Kagan]

You know, the injection of this racial component into it. I guess I don't quite see how that operates when all of these programs went.

[Mary Reichert]

But the Haitians lawyer Jeffrey Papoli pounded the racial animus argument hard. Listen to this lengthy exchange with Justice Samuel Alito.

[Justice Samuel Alito]

TPS was terminated for quite a list of countries. And I don't like dividing up the people of the world arbitrarily into three racial groups. But you say they're all non white. And that's the distinguishing characteristic.

[Lawyer for Haitians]

That is the distinguishing characteristic that the district court held. But I would emphasize, Justice Alito, do

[Justice Samuel Alito]

you think that if you put Syrians, Turks, Greeks, and other people who live around the Mediterranean in a lineup, do you think you could say those people are all of them? Are they all non white?

[Mary Reichert]

The lawyer hemmed and hawed around for a while, and then Justice Alito invoked his own ancestry.

[Justice Samuel Alito]

How about southern Italians?

[Lawyer for Haitians]

Well, certainly. Certainly 120 years ago, when we had our last wave of European immigration, Southern Italians were not considered white. So I think our concept of these things evolves over time.

[Jay Bhattacharya]

We have a really large, really broad

[Justice Samuel Alito]

definition of who's white and who's not white. As I said, I don't like dividing the people of the world into these

[Nick Iger]

groups, thus showing that whiteness is not a scientific fact, but a shifting social label. And that led back to statutory interpretation as to. What is the meaning of the word determination in the context of how the Secretary decided to end tps. So is determination the final decision, or is it the entire process leading up to the decision?

[Mary Reichert]

Yeah, I have no prediction on how this one will go. All right, next case.

[Court Clerk]

We will hear argument this morning in case 25429, Blanche vs Lau.

[Mary Reichert]

This is another immigration matter, but more technical. The issue is this. When a lawful permanent resident returns to the US from outside the US can the government treat that resident as though he is seeking admission and therefore potentially deportable based simply on allegations of criminal conduct?

[Nick Iger]

A man named Muk Low holds a green card. He is charged with selling counterfeit goods. He left the country prior to his trial, then returned and Immigration stopped him at JFK Airport. A person on the air side of passport control at JFK has not technically entered the US and that gives the government a bit more power. Immigration gave him a type of temporary permission called parole to stay while his criminal case worked out. After he pleaded guilty, then the government moved to deport him.

[Mary Reichert]

Low says the government cannot do that because before he'd pleaded, he hadn't yet been convicted. Justice Sotomayor uncovered the tension, asking Assistant to the Solicitor General Sopan Joshi if the government had enough proof of guilt right there at the airport.

[Justice Sonia Sotomayor]

The border office city have enough proof at that moment for whom? For him?

[Mike Waltz]

Yes.

[David Bonson]

The border officer had enough proof for himself.

[Mary Reichert]

Lowe's lawyer argued that lawful permanent residents might be paroled just based on a mere suspicion. And that can't be right.

[Jeffrey Papoli]

Justice Alito yeah, but that's not what we have here.

[Justice Samuel Alito]

We have a criminal charge. The immigration officer didn't make that up. The charge was leveled by the State of New Jersey. I guess the state of New Jersey is in on this Congress conspiracy.

[Nick Iger]

Justice Amy Coney Barrett saw a practical problem with on site interrogation.

[Maria Van Kerkova]

How would we know whether the border officer had clear and convincing evidence there'd be no administrative record.

[Nick Iger]

A moment of levity came when the government lawyer laid out a three part answer to the question about how low was classified upon re entry to the US and then the third I'm going

[David Bonson]

to try and respond to what I anticipate will be your response to my first two answers.

[Justice Elena Kagan]

Because. Because that would be because the first two wonder sound very good.

[David Bonson]

No, they'll sound fine.

[Mary Reichert]

I think the government will win here on statutory grounds, but maybe not by very much. Okay, quick mention of a case argued in March, Keith Lee v. Buddy Ayers Construction. It's about a legal rule called judicial estoppel. Now that's a fancy lawyer term, but it's basically the court's no flip flopping rule. It stops people from taking inconsistent positions just to win different cases.

[Nick Iger]

So here's what happened in this case. A man filed for bankruptcy, but he didn't tell the court he was also planning to sue someone over a car accident. Since a legal claim is technically an asset, the lower courts tossed the accident case out, saying in effect, you told the bankruptcy judge you had nothing. You can't show up here now and say you're owed a million dollars. But some of the justices on the Supreme Court, including Chief Justice Roberts, seemed skeptical of that all or nothing approach. He worried that by punish paperwork mistake, the court was accidentally giving a get out of jail free card to the person who caused the crash.

[Court Clerk]

In terms of the court's integrity, it does seem a little much that the one person who's getting off is the one whose truck hit the other guy.

[Mary Reichert]

In other words, judicial estoppel should not be a windfall for reckless drivers. We expect the Supreme Court to send the case back with instructions to be more flexible and that the this week's legal docket.

[P]

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[Mary Reichert]

Coming up next on THE World and everything in it, the Monday Money beat.

[Nick Iger]

Time now to talk business markets and the economy with financial analyst and advisor David Bonson. David heads up the wealth management firm the Bonson Group, and he is here now. Good morning to you, David.

[David Bonson]

Well, good morning, Nick. Good to be with you.

[Nick Iger]

Well, David, we have talked about being stuck in an economic data purgatory, seeing a combination of bad data and mixed signals, and that has made it difficult to tell what direction the economy is headed. But I figured that I would use the opportunity of a couple new reports that came out. A new jobs report for April from the Labor Department, the Labor Statistics office, bls, and then a week ago from the Commerce Department. We didn't talk about it then, but first quarter GDP is now out, not to mention the equity markets have put up some record highs on Wall Street. Do you think that we're getting out of the purgatory? Are we seeing any clearer?

[David Bonson]

Yeah, I think it's a little early to say, but I do think that I feel a little bit more optimistic about the direction than I did a few months ago. I think there is a long way to go. I mean, nobody should get carried away with the data being optimistic. But what does appear to be the case is that isn't worsening and it very well could have. The vulnerability of that kind of slowing of new job hiring very often is going to lead to an increase in terminations and firings that obviously are higher unemployment, and you're not seeing that. And so while the hiring rate evidenced in the new BLS report wasn't dramatic, it was positive. It was higher than expectation. Those weekly jobless claims have continued to be low. That's a good sign, Nick. But the purgatory element of kind of no hirings and no firings, that's still the predominant theme we see in the labor data. So the optimistic part is that it isn't worsening. There's a modest bias towards things being a bit better. The job revisions in this week's report for the month of April, the April report did not have worse revisions for March and February. They were, I think, down 16,000. And I was worried it could be down 50 to 100,000. So I think that those things are positive. And yet I still recommend looking at the data month by month, not jumping to any forward conclusions at this time?

[Nick Iger]

Well, David, we knew that this was coming because of rulings in the courts striking down some of the Trump tariffs. But the Wall Journal a couple days ago had a piece on companies that are beginning to receive their tariff refunds. The story said that businesses plan to use the refunds to pay suppliers and rebuild inventory and pay debt down and stabilize cash flow. Is that kind of what you wanted to see?

[David Bonson]

Well, that's an all of the above thing there. So there's not a whole lot more they could do with it. The issue of rebuilding inventories and of doing other capital expenditures is a very good sign. But let's be really clear about what, what that means. If companies are going to use tariff refunds to go invest in their business, that means that the tariffs have been taking away from business investment. And to the extent that there still exists a couple hundred billion dollars of additional tariffs, that means that we are able to better identify what the source is of this vastly diminished capital expenditures. That outside of AI spending right now is negative. But it is a positive thing to see that. We're seeing some of these declarations come to companies. Certain businesses that were invested in have gotten notice now that they're receiving their tariff refunds. We weren't sure how long the red tape was going to last to process some of these. And I don't believe a lot of companies have received the cash yet. But once you get the notice that the cash is coming, the cash is coming. And so it is a positive. And I, I think at the same time, it gives us a really clear market signal that some of the depressed capital investment is a byproduct of the cost of import tariffs.

[Nick Iger]

Well, David, we did talk about the fact that the tariffs were pushing up consumer inflation because we know ultimately who pays those tariffs. The consumer buying the product tariffed. So will this bring some relief that way?

[David Bonson]

As a matter of just economic clarity, I want to say that I believe tariffs push prices higher, which is different than saying that they cause inflation, because I believe inflation is a monetary phenomena. Tariffs cause the thing being tariffed to go higher, but they don't create new money supply, which would be lasting inflation. Now, for all practical purposes, people don't really care about the difference between what I just said. If a price has gone higher, then that's the issue that folks are dealing with. To me, I think there is a chance that you will see some downward revision, but there is a stickiness in certain prices. And I also would argue that the higher cost in the supply chain is not merely on the direct cost of a tariff that now might be coming off, but also in the uncertainty premium that there is a higher price that gets baked in around not knowing what to expect. And we've seen this in shipping cost as well, even well before the Iran war started and strait of Hormuz issues. So no, I don't think it's going to be deflationary, but I do hope it could be disinflationary to some degree. But you're still talking about $200 billion of new tariff cost this year versus what existed two years ago. That's less than 300 billion, but it's a lot more than 30 billion. So there's a number of uncertain factors

[Nick Iger]

out David, I'd like to turn to your Dividend Cafe this week. It takes an interesting look back at the Disney Fox deal from a couple of years ago, not so much as a media story or political story, but as a business model story. You argue in the Dividend Cafe that Murdoch was correct in identifying which parts of the media business were becoming more vulnerable to disruption and which parts of the media business were not so vulnerable to disruption. What did he see that now looks so prescient?

[David Bonson]

I think what he saw was the fact that sports programming and news programming are real time events that get delivered the way they get delivered, where the creation of entertainment content and scripted content in the moment of the streaming disruption was wildly changing, was becoming incredibly expensive. And the factors that were pushing prices higher were in early innings they were going to make the creation of content even more expensive, while the cable model that he had of course accumulated a lot of wealth from and built an unbelievable business in the 80s and 90s from was being totally disrupted. And so his decision to move that Fox entertainment content to Disney for a wild premium that was made even wilder because Comcast came in and bid for it. So it pushed prices up. And Disney was never one to be a cheap bidder. They were always willing to come in quite high and they did. I think it was a prescient move and I think, as I point out in Dividend Cafe, Nick, this is true of a lot of us in our businesses. Sometimes the best decisions are in the things that we sell, but they're also in the things that we don't sell. And in keeping the Fox sports programming and in keeping Fox News, he held onto the elements that that were least likely to be disrupted by streaming and sold off the things that were most likely. And almost immediately he was vindicated that what happened was a massive Price war, huge amounts of competition. The streaming companies continue to have a lot of success in building new scripted content, but then they have to put out a lot of other shows that don't succeed to get to the ones who do. And that model is incredibly capital intensive. And we're living in a time where that capital intensity is not being rewarded in markets. It creates a lot of uncertainty. And you put a lot of money into an investment and you say, okay, well, it's capital intense now, but it pays off down the line. Well, that could very well be true in a lot of cases. But what it also does is expose your investment to whatever changes come along the way. The more time that goes by, the more things that can come up and disrupt that thesis. So as I studied this transaction, it occurred to me that so many people have talked about it because they don't like Rupert Murdoch and they don't like Fox News and they don't like conservative media. And they focused on it in that framework as opposed to the business element where, you know, Disney made a big decision that has not been rewarded and in fact looks right now to, to be very unlikely to ever be rewarded. They're going to be okay. They're going to get through it. And they did buy some real trophy assets with Avatar and Marvel and some of these things. But, but at the end of the day, I found it to be an instructive business lesson for all of us in one way or the other. And, and Murdoch, look, he's a polarizing figure. You can say good things and bad things, personal life, business life, whatever. But this was an fascinating transaction and so I enjoyed studying it a bit further there.

[Nick Iger]

David Bonson is founder, managing partner and chief investment officer at the Bonson Group. He [e-mail] and at World Opinions. David, I hope you have a great week. We'll see you next time.

[David Bonson]

Thanks so much, Nick.

[Nick Iger]

Good morning. This is the world and everything in it from Listener supported World Radio. I'm Nick Iker.

[Mary Reichert]

And I'm Mary Reichard. Up next, the story behind a chocolate empire. Hershey's chocolate recipe has stood for decades. You change it, people notice. That was evident recently when complaints about the use of artificial ingredients in the brand's Reese's peanut butter cups led to a public company promise to revert to the real thing.

[Nick Iger]

The company's history began 150 years ago next month when founder Milton Hershey opened his first confectionery store. The chocolatier ultimately employed and contracted with thousands of local workers and dairy farmers in a township in Pennsylvania. The town was later named in honor of him and his many contributions to the community. World's Emma Eicher paid a visit to the town now known as Hershey, Pennsylvania to get a glimpse, and I am reliably told, a taste of how chocolate made life sweeter for the workers and the world.

[Q]

Milton Hershey was born in 1857 into a poor family, the son of a failed entrepreneur. They often moved around, so Hershey's schooling was inconsistent.

[Jennifer Henderson]

Later in life, he said he had about the equivalent of a fourth grade education.

[Q]

That's Jennifer Henderson, a senior archivist for the Hershey community archives. She says Hershey had the same entrepreneurial spirit as his father. At 14, he apprenticed for a candy maker in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He then borrowed money to open his first candy store in Philadelphia. But the store failed and he declared bankruptcy. A second store in New York City also closed. Henderson says Hershey's parents influenced their son to keep going.

[Jennifer Henderson]

He had two failed businesses, but that didn't stop him.

[Q]

While his father was an idealist, his mother was a hard working and devout Mennonite.

[Jennifer Henderson]

We always think that Milton Hershey got the best of both of his parents in that he was a dreamer. But he kept persevering to realize that dream.

[Q]

In 1900, Hershey's dream came true when he sold his his first chocolate bar. He opened a new factory in Derry Township five years later and set a goal to produce chocolate bars everyone could afford. Hershey's chocolate was unlike any other on the market. Gallons of fresh milk, cocoa beans and sugar were mixed into a warm liquid called chocolate liquor, though it didn't contain alcohol. Then the liquor was rolled and rotated for better flavor. The Hershey Museum shows the process of using a machine to churn the mixture.

[Kent Covington]

But in the end, it makes Hershey's chocolate super smooth.

[Q]

The result was silky rich chocolate used in the company's most iconic candy.

[Nick Iger]

For the big taste you can't resist. It's the big taste of chocolate and a little Hershey's Kiss.

[Q]

In 1907, Hershey began selling the Hershey's Kiss.

[Jennifer Henderson]

The Kisses at the time were all wrapped by hand. You would have your piece of foil, put the Kiss tissue down and then put the Kiss on top of it and then wrap it all up.

[Q]

Since the Kiss was so popular, there were a lot of imitations. When packaging became automated, Hershey added a plume at the top of each kiss that was so shoppers could tell it

[Jennifer Henderson]

was the real deal and so you could now see without Having to open the Kiss that it was a Hershey's product.

[Q]

Underneath the museum is a huge collection of artifacts, including original candy packaging. Henderson pointed out one of her personal favorites in the collection.

[Jennifer Henderson]

So this is the Kiss tissue. It's tiny, but that's the little baby in the cocoa bean that was their trademark for the company.

[Q]

For until 1968, Hershey's factory attracted dairy farmers and workers. He paid fair wages and invested in the community. He built homes for his employees, established public transportation, parked and a hospital. And of course, he created what we now know as the Hershey Amusement Park.

[Jennifer Henderson]

It started out as beautiful green space with a little playground for the kids. And over time, he kept adding new attractions to it.

[Q]

Henderson says Hershey's philosophy was simple. Happy workers are more efficient and create a better product. But Hershey's generosity also stemmed from his mother's religious upbringing and his own childhood poverty. He followed biblical values, though he did not claim a formal religion. Hershey once said that his hands on earth do God's work.

[Jennifer Henderson]

The community and the world has been blessed with what he was able to do for us.

[Q]

Those blessings extended far beyond running a company. Nine years after Hershey sold his first chocolate bar, he started a school for orphan boys. Anthony Hubbard is the PR manager for the museum.

[Jeffrey Papoli]

He has helped probably hundreds of thousands of underprivileged children since its creation in 1909. So he just really had just a wonderfully generous heart.

[Q]

Later, the Milton Hershey School changed from providing for orphans to offering services to any child in need. Today, it provides housing, clothing, food, and medical care to K12 students. One of those students eventually became the CEO of the company, fulfilling Milton Hershey's dream of having a Hershey School graduate run his business. Hershey died in 1945 at 88 years old. He and his wife donated their fortune to the school, which still uses the money to operate. Here's Henderson again.

[Jennifer Henderson]

I don't know if there's anyone still living who actually met him, but we still hold him in very high regard and we want to do what's right by him.

[Q]

These days, the Hershey Company is one of the biggest chocolate manufacturers in the world, but its greatest legacy is a thriving community that loves to tell the Hershey story. That's this week's world history Book. I'm Emma Eicher in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

[Mary Reichert]

Tomorrow, an update on the war with Iran and how parents can give reluctant teen drivers the courage to take the wheel. That and more tomorrow. I'm Mary Reichard.

[Nick Iger]

And I'm Nick I the world and everything in it comes to you from World Radio. World's mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates and inspires. The Bible says, let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. Now, when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brothers, what shall shall we do? And Peter turned to them and said, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off. Everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. The Book of Acts, chapter 2, verses 36 through 39 go now in grace and peace.