Cava just posted same-store sales growth of 10.8% while Chipotle, McDonald’s, and Sweetgreen all watched customers slip away. It’s a strong quarter for the Mediterranean chain, and maybe an even stronger signal that we’re living in a bifurcated lunch economy.

According to the company, diners are trading up from fast food and down from casual dining, settling into that warm, $14 bowl comfort zone where housemade juices and premium pita chips are just part of the routine. Traffic was up, tabs were higher, and apparently inflation anxiety doesn't extend to harissa honey chicken.

Elsewhere, things were not so sunny. McDonald’s said lower- and middle-income diners are pulling back. Chipotle transactions fell. Sweetgreen’s once-loyal crowd is getting less loyal. But Cava? It’s opening stores, raising guidance, and now pulling in over $1 billion in annual revenue.

You could call this brand strength. Or you could quietly nod at the widening space between those with enough accumulated financial cushion to keep lunch aspirational and those for whom a combo meal now counts as a luxury.

The company says performance was strong across income brackets. That may be true. But it's also true that the kind of person who trades a $3 burger for a $14 grain bowl probably isn’t worried about car payments this quarter.

Cava didn’t cause the wealth gap, but it’s definitely serving around it. With a side of tzatziki, of course.

What Do China, Congo, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos Have in Common? Cobalt

China isn’t sweating Congo’s cobalt export bans, and Bezos and Gates don’t want to sweat China. With major players circling, the cobalt market is heating up fast.

THE GIST

Don’t look now, but the cobalt market is heating up… literally and figuratively. New data shows global demand is on track to outstrip supply within five years, driven by, well, everything: smartphones, satellites, paint, AI, and especially electric vehicles. The scramble is on, and the biggest player? China, naturally.

WHAT HAPPENED

Cobalt demand is expected to grow 7% annually, hitting 400,000 tonnes by the early 2030s, up from 222,000 tonnes in 2024.

And it’s not just because cobalt is one of only three naturally magnetic elements. It’s in everything: EV batteries, paint pigments, gas turbines, jet engines, even cancer treatments. But it’s the rise of electric vehicles that’s accelerating depletion. In 2024, batteries made up 76% of cobalt usage, with EVs alone accounting for 43%. That figure is expected to climb to 57% by 2030. Portable electronics, aerospace, AI, and defense are also helping push demand higher.

But cobalt is a classic case of limited supply meeting runaway demand. The Democratic Republic of Congo produces roughly 70–76% of the world’s mined cobalt. Indonesia, currently at 12%, is expected to reach 20–22% by 2030. China isn’t a top miner, but it’s the kingpin refiner, processing over 75% of the global supply via imports from DRC and joint ventures across Africa and Indonesia.

To stabilize prices after a brutal drop, the DRC imposed a four-month export ban in February. It worked. Prices rebounded from $10 a pound in late 2024 to $16. But as the ban nears its end, the country is now considering stricter export controls to keep prices up. The catch? Chinese refineries are already sitting on massive stockpiles.

WHY IT MATTERS

China’s traders reportedly hold reserves equal to 12 months of global demand. So even if the DRC tightens exports further, China has both time and leverage. By the time those reserves run low, Indonesia’s supply will have ramped up. And cobalt’s strategic value all but guarantees the race won’t be one-sided.

Cobalt Holdings, a UK-based trading firm, has announced plans to raise £174 million ($230 million) in what would be the largest IPO on the London Stock Exchange in two years. The company wants to ride the EV wave by physically stockpiling cobalt. Mining giant Glencore is on board with a $24 million investment for a 10% stake.

Then there’s KoBold Metals, backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. It’s expanding in the DRC with AI-powered tools to locate untapped deposits of cobalt, lithium, and copper, both critical minerals for the energy transition. It’s Silicon Valley versus Beijing, with Africa in the middle. What could go wrong?

WHAT'S NEXT

At the current pace, global cobalt deposits could be critically depleted by 2030. Until then, the world’s biggest players are quietly securing supply chains, stockpiling reserves, and squeezing geopolitical advantage from every pound of metal. China’s ahead for now, but the money, machines, and mega-billionaires are coming.

The question isn’t just who gets the cobalt. It’s who controls what comes next.

Marks & Spencer Reels From Devastating Ransomware Attack

The retailer’s systems remain down weeks after a data breach that wiped £1.3 billion off its market value.

THE GIST

Marks & Spencer just got digitally pantsed. A sophisticated ransomware attack has crippled its online operations, compromised customer data, and may trigger a £100 million insurance payout. With sales tanking and shares down 16%, the high-street icon is now facing the existential question of how to reboot trust.

WHAT HAPPENED

The cyberattack struck over Easter weekend, courtesy of the “Scattered Spider” hacker gang, known for high-level social engineering. They tricked M&S’s IT help desk into granting access, then encrypted critical systems and reportedly made off with a trove of customer data (names, addresses, birthdays, order histories). No passwords or payment info, per M&S, but that hasn’t calmed the storm.

The fallout was immediate. Online sales halted. Click & Collect collapsed. Inventory systems in stores glitched. While some functions are limping back, the website remains offline nearly a month later, bleeding millions weekly.

M&S has alerted authorities, looped in the ICO and NCSC, and is prepping what could become the UK retail sector’s largest-ever cyber insurance claim. The company’s £100 million policy (structured by WTW and underwritten by Allianz and Beazley) may offer relief, but won’t stop the PR bleeding.

WHY IT MATTERS

Bank of America estimates this little IT snafu will cost £43 million in weekly revenue losses, with full-year earnings projected to take a 12% hit. That’s a gut punch for CEO Stuart Machin, who was mid-revival tour after dragging M&S’s digital playbook out of the 1990s.

If insurance pays out as expected, it’ll set a record for UK retail. The policy could cover business interruption, liability, reputational cleanup, and legal costs. Especially if a third-party vendor is found to have left the backdoor open, as some internal whispers suggest.

The broader insurance market is watching closely. A cyber claim of this size recalibrates the risk models, especially as ransomware attacks grow in scale and precision. UK businesses have reportedly lost £44 million to cybercrime over five years, and the regulator drumbeat is getting louder.

Enter the Information Commissioner’s Office and the National Cyber Security Centre, both now involved. Their warnings are clear: social engineering is surging, help desk protocols are a soft target, and legacy systems across retail are a problem no one wants to admit they still have.

WHAT'S NEXT

All eyes are on M&S’s May 21 results, where the market expects a damage audit. A formal profit warning hasn’t landed yet, but the forecast may include £60 million in lost online sales. Rivals like Next and John Lewis are likely enjoying the spillover traffic.

Meanwhile, the hackers still hold the data. If that leaks, the reputational dent could deepen into a crater. Insurers are now quarterbacking recovery efforts, a test of how useful “cyber coverage” really is when the breach runs this deep and long.

With shares down, systems offline, and millions of customers left wondering, M&S is in survival mode. The question now: can it reboot fast enough, or is this the breach that rewrites the brand?

Vought Axes CFPB Data Rule, Wall Street Cheers

The CFPB’s retreat lets Allstates (ALL) Arity roam unchecked while Oracle and LiveRamp eye deeper cuts into consumer privacy.

THE GIST

The Trump administration just gave data brokers a giant, unregulated green light. Acting CFPB Director Russell Vought killed a rule designed to stop the worst actors from selling your sensitive information. Who’s cheering the loudest? Not consumers. Probably Oracle.

WHAT HAPPENED

On Tuesday, Vought formally killed a proposed rule from his predecessor, Rohit Chopra. The rule, “Protecting Americans from Harmful Data Broker Practices,” aimed to restrict how data brokers collect and sell sensitive consumer info.

The summary of cancellation was as blunt as it gets: “The Bureau has determined that legislative rulemaking is not necessary or appropriate.” The rule, introduced in December 2024, was tossed because it no longer aligned with the CFPB’s “changed policy objectives” and a “revised” interpretation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Translation: Trump’s back, and anything Chopra touched is on fire.

That includes consumer data protection. No replacement rule has been announced, which means brokers are free to continue mining, selling, and leveraging American data however they please.

Privacy advocates aren’t thrilled. “The Trump administration is ensuring that Americans will continue to be bombarded by scam texts, calls, and emails,” said Sean Vitka of Demand Progress, “and that spies and blackmailers can target military members and their families.”

WHY IT MATTERS

Allstate might be grinning behind closed doors. Through its data-centric arm, Arity, it collects, analyzes, and sells mobility data, with much of it pulled from smartphones and in-car telematics. With 242 million licensed drivers in the U.S. and 40 million active mobile connections, Arity is sitting on a goldmine of behavioral data. The death of this rule is a get-out-of-jail-free card for data monetizers like them.

Then there's LiveRamp, a data onboarding firm used by everyone from ad agencies to credit card companies. JPMorgan Chase also wins here, as one of the largest institutional consumers of third-party data for fraud analytics and marketing.

But the sleeper winner might be Oracle. Larry Ellison, a vocal Trump supporter, stood shoulder to shoulder with the President in January to announce a $500 billion AI joint venture. Oracle’s marketing division slurps up third-party consumer data via Oracle Data Cloud, often without extra consent layers. The lack of restrictions dovetails nicely with its Fusion CX suite, giving Oracle a fresh edge in hyper-targeted marketing just in time for campaign season.

On the flip side, identity protection services like Equifax and TransUnion could be in trouble. If data’s suddenly fair game again, the value prop for credit monitoring services becomes… vague. That could lead to either a consumer stampede toward premium protection or just resignation. Given the price tags, recession fatigue, and general vibes, the latter might win out.

WHAT'S NEXT

The timing is wild. The U.S. saw 3,158 data compromises in 2024, with 1.35 billion victim notices issued, a 211% spike over 2023, mostly driven by five mega-breaches. Cybercrime is already projected to balloon from $3 trillion in 2020 to $10.5 trillion by 2025.

Rolling back protections now is like cutting fire codes during a wildfire. And with no replacement rule in sight, the market is left to regulate itself (it won’t). If you thought scam calls were bad now, buckle up. It’s open season on American data, and the regulators just left the building.

© MOBY TECHNOLOGIES

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