US and Tech Powerplayers Welcome China & Home Depot’s Impressive 45-Year ROI
September 25, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readThe leaders of the world’s two largest economies met in Washington yesterday for a summit that was big on pageantry but light on deliverables. Elsewhere, Oracle invoked a rarely used legal clause to protect itself from delays on a massive AI data center in New Mexico. Wall Street is pricing in a new fear: that AI agents will start canceling subscriptions and shopping around for better deals. And the best-performing stock of the last 45 years turns out not to be a tech giant, but a hardware retailer from Atlanta.
China Summit: Frenemies, Pandas, and No AI Deal
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Washington for the first time in over a decade, receiving a red-carpet welcome, a military flyover, and a state dinner that was reportedly the hottest ticket in town. The tone was strikingly warm. Trump wrote online that Xi looked “strong, vibrant, and fit,” while Xi said he was “ready to work with you to steer the giant ship of China-U.S. relations on a steady course.” The hosts described the mood as “diplotainment” — diplomacy as entertainment — with Trump personally greeting Xi at the airport, a courtesy normally reserved only for the Pope.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:35) **Show Open & Trivia Teaser** - Hosts Neal and Toby introduce the day’s topics: a surprising 45-year best-performing stock and Oracle’s use of "Force Majeure."
- 2 (02:29) **Xi Jinping’s Washington Visit: The "Diplotainment" Summit** - Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with President Trump in Washington D.C., marked by pageantry but yielding minimal concrete results.
- 3 (08:12) **Oracle’s "Force Majeure" & The Data Center House of Cards** - Oracle invokes a "Force Majeure" clause for its massive "Project Jupiter" data center in New Mexico, as a critical natural gas pipeline is stuck in permitting.
- 4 (12:35) **Dog of the Week: AI Agents vs. Consumer "Laziness" Stocks** - Wall Street is selling off companies that rely on consumer inertia, as AI agents capable of canceling subscriptions and shopping around for better deals become a threat.
- 5 (19:30) **Stock of the Half Century: Home Depot’s 45-Year Reign** - Home Depot is revealed as the best-performing S&P 500 stock over the last 45 years, turning a $1,000 IPO investment into $16 million.
- 6 (23:21) **Housing Market Stuck: The 7% Psychological Barrier** - The average 30-year mortgage rate has topped 7% for the first time since January 2025, freezing an already stagnant housing market.
- 7 (25:03) **Starbucks Closes 250 Stores** - The coffee giant is shutting down 1% of its North American footprint, focusing on underperforming locations to reinvest in the "coffee house experience."
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
#941: Neal and Toby discuss the State Dinner President Trump and the US threw for China, and the who’s who from the tech world who were there to welcome Xi Jinping. Then how Oracle is choosing to defend themselves against lengthy payments. Then investors are not impressed with AI agents that impact consumer inertia and Home Depot proves to be a long-term play. Finally the headlines you should know before the weekend.
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