Make Soup Sexy Again

• Largest US Mortgage Lender Could IPO Next Month
• Europe is Open for Tourism (If You’re-a-Pean)
• Campbell’s Wants to Make Soup Sexy Again
• Taking Stock

 IPO 

Largest US Mortgage Lender Could IPO Next Month

Quicken Loans, the largest mortgage lender in the US, has secretly filed for IPO and could go public as early as next month, according to people familiar with the matter.

(Companies should stop hiring Mr. People Familiar with the Matter. When information leaks to the press, it’s always according to People Familiar with the Matter.)

Peeps Fam with the Matt revealed to CNBC that the mortgage company confidentially filed for public offering in the midst of definitely one of my top 10 least favorite years.

Reportedly, Quicken is partnering with investment banks Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, and JPMorgan to make sure they don’t completely doink this up.

Mowgli Stan, Goldy Sachs, Swiss Money, and JP Morgs all declined to comment on whether or not “we doing this, bro?”

One of the familiar people told CNBC they haven’t landed on a target valuation yet, but will likely be in tens of billions of dollars, making it one of the largest IPOs this year.

The real estate market has been frozen this year, by an almost non-existent supply of homes and nationwide stay-at-home orders keeping prospective buyers from leaving their burrows to view homes.

However, mortgage rates have plummeted to record lows during the pandemic, with the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage falling to a teeny-tiny 2.97% last Thursday.

Home owners have been taking advantage of those apocalyptically low rates to refinance, handing Quicken Loans one of its best months in the company’s history. (Meanwhile, I’m drinking daquiris amid the ashes of civilization.)

Quicken Loans CEO Jay Farner told CNBC that March was the “biggest closing month in our company’s history — nearly $21 billion in mortgages closed.”

Farner added that the company was projecting almost $75 billion in mortgage applications for Q2, compared with about $53 billion for Q1.

 TRAVEL 

Europe is Open for Tourism
(If You’re-a-Pean)

Europe will reopen its borders to fellow Europeans today, in the hopes of turning this summer vacay into, what the French call, le banging rager.

Tourists from US, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East are still banned, which is fine because I don’t want to go to your aggressively sexual countries with amazing food anyway.

Germany, France, and many other EU nations are lifting all border checks today and scrapping a requirement that visitors have a good reason for entering the country.

(Now, you can have a terrible reason for entering the country and it’s fine. Crossing the border to cannibalize the penis of a man you met online? All good, as long as long as you’re a member of the EU.)

That said, the German government is advising caution for Germans who take their particular brand of humor on the road this summer.

“My appeal to all those who travel: Enjoy your summer vacation — but enjoy it with caution and responsibility,” said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, knowing full well that German’s unironically love caution and responsibility.

“In the summer holidays, we want to make it as difficult as possible for the virus to spread again in Europe.”

Meanwhile, some nations are recommending citizens take their vacation in their homeland this summer and maybe check out the rest of Europe when the global pandemic is over.

“The recommendation is still, if you want to be really safe, a vacation in Austria,” Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told ORF Television.

“In Austria, you know that you don’t have to cross a border if you want to get home, and you know the infrastructure and the health system well.”

 FOOD 

Make Soup Sexy Again

Campbell’s Soup seems to be under the impression that demand for its soups has skyrocketed due to some awakened desire for traditional comfort foods.

I’m sure the prospect of food shortages caused by a global pandemic had absolutely nothing to do with the sudden surge in sales of shelf stable foods.

The soup company, that once produced Andy Warhol’s most famous models, has struggled to stay relevant in recent years, as customers gravitate towards items with fresh ingredients that don’t go “gloop” when you turn them upside down.

Since the beginning of the end of the world, however, demand for the classic Campbell’s staples has soared.

Much of that instant, just-add-pandemic demand will dry up as things return to normal. But the 150-year-old company believes it can keep growing in the post-lockdown world.

Under the new leadership of CEO Mark Clouse, Campbell’s has divested its fresh foods and international cookies businesses vowed to focus on the core of its business: soup.

THE PRODIGAL SON HAS RETURNED!

When asked in an interview with the Wall Street Journal how the company will make demand stick and win over younger consumers, Clouse said they’re going to tell ‘em about the tomatoes.

“If we’re talking to a millennial household: helping them understand that tomato soup has six tomatoes in every can, that the quality is high and that pairing it with a grilled cheese is a great meal,” said Clouse, who’s market research has identified millennials’ overwhelming desire to consume six tomatoes per meal.

Despite the boom in sales, Campbell Soup Co.’s stock (CPB) is down 2.97% year to date.

Goblins and warlocks will also be affected (Source).

ONE LAST THING Taking Stock

When we talk about “investing,” we’re usually referring to stocks, gold, moolah, clams, ka-ching, bread, pesos, benjamins, cash money, baby.

But one of our top investors, Graham Summers, says that line of thinking is counterproductive for investors.

“It suggests that provided you put your money in the right places, you will end up ‘secure’ and with ‘peace of mind,’” says Graham. “I have met many people who have loads of money and little if any peace of mind. But what good is being rich if you’re miserable?”

We all know on some level that money alone doesn’t make you happy (so sayeth the cartoons). But ironically Graham has found that when he has peace of mind, and invests his time and energy wisely, it makes him a better investor.

Invest Your Time and Energy Wisely
By Graham Summers

When it comes to investing to obtain quality of life, you need to think about other things besides just money. Specifically, you need to think about how and where you invest your time and energy.

Are you investing your time and energy in things that get you closer to the quality of life you want… or are you simply coasting through life assuming that you’ll somehow end up being the person you want to be, living the life you want to live, by chance?

There is no “buy and hold” investing when it comes to our time and energy.

You cannot simply say, “I want to be fluent in a second language,” and then wait for it to happen. Accomplishing anything – whether it’s learning a new language, becoming a day trader, or finding peace – requires active, daily choice.

Personally, I’ve decided to consciously invest my time and energy in things that are geared toward “quality of life.”

For me personally, this has meant intentionally choosing to avoid people that don’t bring anything positive to my life.

If someone is dishonest multiple times in front of me – a person I know directly or a talking head on TV – I choose to avoid that person. Why invest my time and energy in someone who isn’t willing to be truthful?

Similarly, if I find that something has a negative effect on me, I try to avoid it as much as I can.

What good is watching the news to “be informed” if it only puts me in a terrible frame of mind that makes me unpleasant to be around? How does that improve my quality of life?

You only have 24 hours a day, of which a handful are free to you outside of work and responsibilities. Why invest those precious hours in things that don’t make your life better?

So for me personally, I’ve been using the last 12 weeks to invest my time and energy in things that make my life better. This has made me a better person, which in turn has resulted in me having a more positive impact on those around me. And in the grand scheme of things, that makes the world a better place.

In terms of personal habits, I’ve been working out a lot more. I try to read more rather than watch TV. And I’ve started journaling for both the purpose of writing down significant events in my life and my family’s lives, and to track my progress on the various projects and habits I’m working on.

The great irony of all of this? Investing my time and energy wisely has had a profound impact on my success in the financial markets.

A Positive Life Can Lead to a Positive Portfolio

My own trading is dramatically impacted by my state of mind. If I’m tired or in a negative state of mind, it doesn’t matter how good the setups are, I don’t perform well.

In contrast, when I invest my time and energy wisely, I approach the markets from a well-grounded and neutral state of mind that allows me to be more flexible and precise with my trading.

The results are incredible.

My biggest losers/worst days have occurred during those negative periods.

My biggest winning streaks/portfolio growth have occurred when I’m maintaining discipline with how I invest my time and energy.

And that’s the key: discipline.

As I mentioned earlier, there is no “buy and hold” investing when it comes to time and energy.

You have to choose how to invest those things on a daily basis. And I can tell you from personal experience, the better you invest your time and energy, the better your monetary investing performance will be.

And best of all, you will obtain that quality of life you’re seeking.

MARKET MOVEMENTS

Closing Data for Today

• Sugar demand will drop this season for the first time in four decades.
• The Supreme Court ruled today that a landmark civil rights law protects gay and transgender workers from workplace discrimination.
• United Airlines secured a $5 billion loan backed by its frequent flyer program in an effort to shore up liquidity.

Cheers,

Shane Ormond
Editor, One Last Thing

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