00:00It's Benzinga, bringing Wall Street to Main Street.
00:02The Trump administration has taken or agreed to take equity stakes in at least 10 U.S. companies,
00:07reaching a scale rarely seen outside wartime or economic crises, according to CNBC.
00:13The stakes span smaller critical mineral firms, such as USA Rare Earth and MP Materials,
00:18as well as larger companies, including U.S. Steel and Intel.
00:22Administration officials say the investments aim to reduce reliance on Taiwan for semiconductors
00:27and China for critical minerals.
00:30Critics argue that the open-ended ownership model creates legal, political, and market risks
00:34and raises conflict of interest concerns.
00:37Historically, the U.S. has taken equity stakes only as temporary bailout measures,
00:42with the expectation that the government would exit once a company regained financial viability.
00:46For all things money, visit Benzinga.com.
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