It feels like every week, another company is announcing a major project in Texas. Today’s entry: The Korean tech giant Samsung said it’ll build a $17 billion advanced chipmaking plant in Taylor, TX, about 30 miles from Austin.

In dollar amounts and symbolism, it’s a huge deal. You might’ve heard there’s a chip shortage going around? The US never wants to face another one, so it’s going all-in to rebuild its chip industry on American soil.

That’s because a booming chip sector isn’t just a “nice to have.” Given the critical role of chips in everything from cars to smartphones, having homegrown chips is considered a matter of national security.

But right now, the US’ chip supply is as insecure as a person scrolling on Instagram.

• In 1990, the US accounted for 37% of all semiconductor manufacturing. Last year it was down to 12%, after losing market share to Asian countries like Taiwan and China.

Good thing we have Austin

Lured by favorable taxes and a highly educated workforce, tech companies have descended on Texas’s capital like a group of 26-year-old Lehigh grads for Pat’s bachelor weekend.

• Tesla is building a $1.1 billion factory in the area, and will also shift its HQ from Silicon Valley to Austin.
• Oracle made the big move from CA → ATX.
• Facebook, Apple, Google, and Amazon have all expanded in Central TX.

For Samsung, Taylor makes sense because the company already has a chip plant in Austin. Heaps of tax incentives (equivalent to property tax breaks of up to 92.5% for the first 10 years, according to the WSJ) also played a big role.

Big picture: With more manufacturing heft needed to support digital technologies, a chip factory could be coming to a city near you. Chipmakers Samsung, TSMC, and Intel will pour at least $100 billion each into semiconductor factories over the next few years.—NF

Like your bougie uncle trying to keep the NYE party going, President Biden is uncorking some of the private collection. On Tuesday, he announced the release of emergency oil reserves—50 million barrels worth—to combat high fuel prices.

According to the White House, the amount is the most released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in US history and equal to roughly what the US burns through in 2.5 days. China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the UK will join in the coordinated effort.

• The SPR is a government complex consisting of four sites—two each in Texas and Louisiana—with deep underground caverns storing more than 600 million barrels of oil.

So will it help tame prices? Unclear. The release has been rumored for so long that some traders believe it’s already been priced in. In fact, oil prices had been declining for weeks before yesterday’s announcement.

Looking ahead...OPEC+, the group of large oil-producing nations targeted by Biden’s move, could retaliate by holding back a planned output boost, which would offset the new supply released through the reserves.—MK

In Best Buy’s earnings call yesterday, CEO Corie Barry blamed stagnant sales in part on an uptick in theft, pointing to California as a particularly sticky-fingered state.

Retailers in CA have experienced a string of “smash-and-grabs.” Last month, Walgreens announced plans to shut down five stores in San Francisco, claiming that rates of theft in the city had risen to 5x the national average.

What’s going on?

Here are a few theories:

• Facebook Marketplace and eBay have made it easier to resell stolen goods anonymously.
• Home Depot connected the dots between the opioid crisis and an increase in thefts at its stores two years ago. Since then fentanyl, a drug that's 50x stronger than heroin, has pervaded California.
• Rates of unemployment and homelessness rose sharply last year, and California is home to the largest population of unsheltered persons.

Some argue that Proposition 47, which raised the felony threshold for stolen goods, has increased rates of theft, but its impact is debated.

Zoom out: Organized crime costs retailers 0.07% of sales, according to the National Retail Federation, but the emotional toll it takes on retail workers who experience thefts is downright “traumatizing,” Best Buy’s CEO said.—JW

Stat: Dollar Tree said it would raise prices on most items from $1 to $1.25, a move it argued was not a result of higher inflation but instead a strategic business decision. Dollar Tree had offered products for $1 for the past 35 years.

Quote: “The community has taken all actions that it was organized to accomplish.”

ConstitutionDAO is shutting down after a failed attempt to buy a copy of the US Constitution, but the fun is just beginning. The DAO’s donors will be on the hook for 3% of the $47 million raised in transaction fees, aka “gas fees”—which could total more than $1.5 million. When Nic Cage did this it was free.

Read: How the “shortage of everything” is driving a boom in gift cards. (Morning Brew)

The Justice Department says it doesn’t matter if you’re related to Elaine Benes or not, you can’t go around making anti-competitive deals. Antitrust officials filed a suit to block Louis Dreyfus Co.’s sale of Imperial Sugar to US Sugar on Tuesday.

According to the DOJ, if the ~$315 million acquisition were to go through, 75% of sugar sales across the Southeast US would be left in the hands of just two firms—a reduction in competition that it argues would increase costs for consumers.

• US Sugar responded by claiming that the sale would increase sugar supply and production, and ease supply chain issues.

Antitrust DOJ: This marks the fourth major deal challenge from the DOJ in recent months, making good on the Biden administration’s pledge to combat industry consolidation. Recent highlights include:

• Successfully preventing a $30 billion insurance industry merger in July
• A lawsuit against American Airlines and JetBlue’s growing alliance
• A lawsuit to stop the merger of publishers Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster

Fun fact: Seinfeld and Veep’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus is the great-great-granddaughter of Léopold Louis-Dreyfus, who founded the Louis Dreyfus Group in 1851.—MK

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Get planning: We know it’s crazy to consider, but 2022 is just over a month away. On December 9, Marketing Brew is hosting an event that’ll recap the biggest trends of 2021 and help you set your organization up for success next year. Register here.

Thanksgiving weekend recs: 1) This new book on the history of HBO 2) 24 hours with Squid Game’s HoYeon Jung 3) King Richard

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Word Search: Pies. That is all.

Three Headlines and a Lie (Special Wednesday Edition)

Three of these news headlines are real and one is faker than telling your high school bully it's “so great to see them” tonight. Can you guess the odd one out?

1. CEO of Ocean Spray says his $16,000 watch is in a can of cranberry sauce somewhere in Malaysia
2. Octopuses, crabs, and lobsters to be recognized as sentient beings under UK law following LSE report findings
3. Chris Pratt will not say “It’s-a me, Mario” in new Mario film
4. A Michigan woman tried to hire an assassin online at RentAHitman.com

Your eyes are glazing over after endless Zoom calls, your work BFF just left for a new job, and your Tuesday sweatpants are suddenly a bit too snug. Also, when did all of the plants die?

Okay cool—that’s not just us.

The past year has wreaked havoc on the business world and the people powering those businesses. With the transition from IRL happy hours to Zoom karaoke, HR is fast becoming the center of gravity holding all aspects of a company together.

That’s why we launched our newest newsletter. HR Brew delivers the most essential stories for people in the people profession. Expect generous portions of insight, side orders of L&D, plus a chance at some sweet, sweet swag.

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