Monday, June 3, 2013

Tee It Up For Charity

This week ends a two month run of seven charity golf tournaments for this writer. April through June is the time many organizations raise money via a golf event. I have participated in University, Hospital, American Red Cross, Athletic, and Military fundraising events.

What is a charity golf tournament? Well simply it is fairly wealthy individuals (the average fee to participate is $250) getting together in a “captain and crew” format. Captain and crew format you say. Yes four players hit (usually dressed in loud slacks and shirts), you select the best shot and play out the hole always selecting the best shot. Intriguing don’t you think? The weaker player (yours truly) is usually carried by the better players who hit all the shots.

In addition to all this massive amounts of alcohol, sandwiches, and swear words are dispensed throughout the round. But all this serves an important task. To raise money for organizations in financial need, who provide very important services to our fellow citizens: citizens who may be homeless, poor, in need of an education, hungry, or just in need.

So don’t laugh at my funny looking Bermuda shorts, don’t laugh at my errant tee shot hitting the roof of a house, don’t laugh at my foolish athletic ability – praise me for I am giving back to the community in the best way I know how: humiliation.

BULLETIN - "Garcetti wins race for L.A. mayor; Greuel concedes: Garcetti's victory caps a nearly two-year campaign that saw a record $33 million spent by the candidates and outside groups," by L.A. Times' Seema Mehta and Laura J. Nelson : "Wendy Greuel called Eric Garcetti early Wednesday morning to concede the mayoral election, a Greuel campaign source told the Times, ending a two-year campaign to determine Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's successor and the new political leader of Los Angeles. Garcetti will be the first elected Jewish mayor of the city. At 42, he will also be the youngest in more than a century. He is scheduled to take office July 1.

 ... During early returns Tuesday, Greuel led the mayor's race by a slight margin. But as the night wore on, Garcetti's lead grew. Election tallies from the City Clerk's office posted at 1:38 a.m., with nearly 73% of precincts reporting, showed Greuel had fallen eight points behind Garcetti. After seeing those numbers-Greuel 46%, Garcetti 54%-she called Garcetti at 1:42 a.m. to concede the race."

LATEST COST OF WALL STREET 'BAILOUT': ALMOST NOTHING -The latest Congressional Budget Office report confirms that banks mostly repaid Uncle Sam at a profit for taxpayers. Only AIG along with the much beloved auto industry and even more beloved homeowners still owe taxpayers any money: "By CBO's estimate, $428 billion of the initially authorized $700 billion will be disbursed ... The cost to the federal government of ... TARP's transactions ... including grants for mortgage programs that have not yet been made, will amount to $21 billion ...

"The estimated cost of the TARP stems largely from assistance to American International Group (AIG), aid to the automotive industry, and grant programs aimed at avoiding home mortgage foreclosures. Other transactions with financial institutions will, taken together, yield a net gain to the federal government, in CBO's estimation. CBO's current assessment of the cost of the TARP's transactions is $3 billion lower than the $24 billion estimate shown in the agency's previous report on the TARP.'

PETRAEUS TO KKR - David Petraeus, the former U.S. Army general who resigned last year as Central Intelligence Agency chief, is rebooting his career with KKR ... the giant private-equity firm. KKR, known for large debt-fueled corporate takeovers, hopes Mr. Petraeus's experience and Rolodex will help the firm seek and size up deals, said people familiar with the move. The former general will be chairman of a new internal 'institute' focused on macroeconomic forecasts, communications, public policy and advice on investments in emerging markets, they said.

Mr. Petraeus, 60 years old, instantly becomes one of the most recognizable faces at KKR. A former four-star general who led forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr. Petraeus has traveled the world and knows military, economic and political leaders"

MORNING WARS - "'GMA' Wins First May Sweep in 18 Years: ABC's 'Good Morning America' has hit another milestone, winning the May sweep for the first time in 18 years in total viewers and the first victory in the adults 25-54 demo in 19 years. 'GMA' averaged 5.704 million total viewers and 2.102 million adults 25-54 during the sweep period ... 'Today' drew 4.783 million total viewers and 1.992 million demo viewers ... 'CBS This Morning' averaged a third-place 3.004 million total viewers and 1.058 million adults 25-54. Compared to the year-ago May sweep, when Ann Curry was still in the anchor chair for 'Today,' 'GMA' improved 10% in total viewers and 2% in adults 25-54 while 'Today' declined 8% in total viewers and 11% in the demo. 'CTM' improved the most, up 19% in viewers and 13% amongs adults 25-54. 'GMA' has now won the last three sweeps periods --May, February and November in the key demo."

--"CBS THIS MORNING" - co-hosted by Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell -- posts network's largest morning-news audience in a May sweep since 1994 - CBS release : "CBS THIS MORNING added +476,000 viewers in the May 2013 sweep compared to May 2012, representing the largest May sweep viewer gain for a CBS morning news program in over twenty years. CBS THIS MORNING cut the viewer deficit with NBC by over three-quarters of a million viewers compared to last May, representing the closest competitive position against NBC in viewers in a May sweep in nineteen years. ... Chris Licht is the Vice President of Programming, CBS News, and Executive Producer of CBS THIS MORNING."

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: Barbara Bush (88), Johnny Depp (50), Rafael Nadal (27), Michelle Phillips (70)

MARKET WEEK – The stock market's best May since 2009 also ended with its biggest losses since April 15, as investors grapple with the potential end QE or at least tapering QE of the Fed's accommodative monetary policy: the major averages sit at 2-week lows as the market enters the month of June, which saw solid gains a year ago.

THE SWAMI’S TOP PICKS: NHL Playoffs, Conference Finals – Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins. Season to date (9-4)

HUNGRY CHINA GOBBLES UP PORK - "China is hungry. The world's most populous country has for years been on an agricultural buying binge, scooping up supplies of soybeans, palm oil, cotton ... Now, with 1.3 billion mouths to feed, the Asian giant is turning its eyes to meat. Last Wednesday, a Chinese meat processor agreed to purchase the world's largest pork producer, Smithfield Foods Inc., for $4.7 billion. The deal, the largest-ever purchase of a U.S. company by a Chinese firm, underscores the rapidly evolving taste of China's growing middle class, which is demanding more high-quality protein in a nation that has been beset by food safety scares. But the deal also speaks to the increasingly dominant role of China in global agriculture."

DRIVING THE WEEK - Congress returns with the IRS scandal back in the spotlight. House Appropriations subcommittee holds a hearing today at 3 p.m. EDT featuring IRS Acting Commissioner Daniel Werfel and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George ... House Oversight has an IRS hearing on Thursday scheduled to focus on the agency allegedly wasting money on conferences. ... Huge week for economic data highlighted by the May jobs report on Friday at 8:30 a.m. Expectations are for a gain of 165K with the unemployment remaining at 7.5 percent and hourly earnings up 0.2 percent. ... ISM manufacturing this morning at 10 a.m. expected to dip to 50.0 from 50.7 ... ISM non-manufacturing on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. expected to dip to 50.0 from 53.1 ... President Obama today delivers remarks at 9:40 a.m. as part of a White House Conference on Mental Health ... Obama travels to California later this week to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday and Saturday.

Next week: Top Five and Jack Ass of the Month.

Until Next Monday, Adios!

Claremont, CA
June 3, 2013


#IV-7, 164

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