It's Monday and markets are very quiet
It's Monday and markets are very quiet
But here's a few bits and pieces
Slow Monday… picked up a copy of Amor Towles’ new book, Table for Two, in the weekend. Recommended. Recommend the tiny chillies that Farro Fresh are selling at the moment (if you are in Auckland, run, don’t walk, and get those ludicrously overpriced tiny chillies). Also really enjoyed this article about a semi-retired Florida couple ending up with the treasure of the long-sunk Prince de Conty, a 1746 treasure ship. Wild read. Also read Rory Sutherland’s Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life. It’s a good reminder in the power of not being logical — there is magic in that. Loved this part:
It needs to concentrate on what people feel! Yes!
Think about the companies I write about a lot that do well over time — Hermes, LVMH, HongKong Shanghai Hotels — they are all about how they make you feel. A good reminder for us all…
Otherwise, markets are oh so quiet. Noting the retirement of Chuck Royce, the bow-tied wearing investor (always dressed so natty!) — I loved listening to him on Wealth Track back in the day, when I used to chef and was developing my chops as an investor and analyst.
Also noting the passing of Martin Phillipps, the great and troubled Dunedin songwriter, of The Chills. Everytime I saw The Chills play it was a new experience, never the same, always different, and always full of life. Go well, Martin.
NZ
WHS/ARV — Lots of (mostly useless) media commentary regarding The Warehouse — certain outlets have charts, while others speculate on the lost potential of a third supermarket “disruptor”. End of day the question is i) will the Normans vote “yes” to taking WHS private and ii) how will the company be revived. And let’s be really clear — right now The Warehouse is a limp, ineffective, embarrassment of a company that can barely sell discount goods right. Speaking of — Anko, Kmart’s house brand, is by some counts valued at +$8bn and continues to just go gangbusters — link in the AFR here; WHS leadership should read.
Re Arvida — lots of hand-wringing around NTA (“why are we letting this company go at $1.70!”), you know, the price is the price — if a company is trading below $1.00 and then you get a bid for $1.70, you should probably take the money.
RAK — More volume on this thing again…86c and moving…I am bullish on RAK…
A boring investment - Kenvue
Kenvue (KVUE.NYSE), a spin-off from Johnson and Johnson (JNJ). It holds their consumer products — i.e Tylenol, Listerine, Band-Aids, etc. Incredibly boring stuff! I can hardly keep awake to tell you about it!
JNJ owned a lot of Kenvue stock when they spun it off, and they have sold that stake down. The resulting selling pressure saw the stock drop about 30% since listing. Most of JNJ’s stock in Kenvue has been sold now. The selling pressure is gone. You can buy a good consumer stable company with a 4.5% dividend at 22x fwd earnings. It is dreadfully boring, I know. I love boring.
We have added some to the BBR Global Model Portfolio. Boring is good.