Monday, December 29, 2014

2014 Top Five

Top Five Wealth Gainers (in billions)
1). Jack Ma $29.2                   2). Warren Buffett $13.5                  3). Bill Gates $10.5
4). Mark Zuckerberg $10.5              5). Patrick Drahi $5.1

Top Five Films
1). Boyhood               2). Birdman                3). Love is Strange
4). The Grand Budapest Hotel                     5). Interstellar

Top Five Investment Strategies
1). Payoff debt                       2). Invest in a retirement fund
3). Always roll-over IRA                   4). Short on commodities
5). Under 40 years of age: 70% equity, 20% fixed, 10% real estate
Over 40 years of age: 70% fixed, 20% equity, 10% real estate

Top Five Jack Asses
1). Michele Backmann                      2). Tiger Woods                    3). Dick Cheney
4). Ted Cruz               5). Pin Ball Wizard

Top Five Books
1). The Third Plate, Dan Barber                  2). China’s Second Continent, Howard French
3). Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piketty
4). The Dog, Jack Livings                  5). The Peripheral, William Gibson

Top Five Internet Hacks
1). Sony                      2). Target                   3). The Snub’s Facebook
4). JP Morgan Chase             5). Celebgate, Apple’s iCloud

Top Five Political Stories
1). Ferguson              2). Mid Term Election                       3). Polarization
4). Health Care                      5). Immigration

Top Five Professional Golfers
1). Rory McIIroy                    2). Jordan Spieth                   3). Lydia Ko
4). Michelle Wie                     5). Bernhard Langer

Top Five Television Shows
1). Homeland, Showtime                  2). The Good Wife, CBS
3). Sherlock, BBC                   4). The Americans, FX
5). Mad Men, AMC

Top Five Albums
1). 1989, Taylor Swift                       2). Platinum, Miranda Lambert
3). G I R L , Pharrell Williams                       4). Here and Nowhere Else, Cloud Nothings
5). Band of Brothers, Willie Nelson

Top Five Sport Stories
1). Donald Sterling   
2). University of Connecticut men and woman national basketball champions
3). Sochi Winter Olympics                4). Derek Jeter retirement
5). Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup Championship

Top Five World Stories
1). Ebola                     2). ISIS                        3). Malaysia Airlines
4). Crimea/Ukraine               5). Ferguson

Top Five Populous States (in millions)
1). California 38.8                 2). Texas 26.9                        3). Florida 19.9
4). New York 19.7                 5). Illinois 12.9

Top Five Hottest Tech Products
1). 1Phone 6              2). Toshiba Chromebook 2
3). Nokia Lumia 830             4). LG G Watch R                   5). Philips Hue Beyond
                       
BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: LeBron James (30), Gayle King (60), Maggie Smith (80).

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICK OF THE WEEK – Rose Bowl Game: Thursday 1/1, 5:00 PM ET, ESPN: #2 Oregon Ducks (12-1) vs. #3 Florida State Criminals (13-0). The Ducks are too much for the parolees, 32 – 24.   Season to date (11-7)

NFL PICK OF THE WEEK – Sunday 1/4, 4:40 PM ET, Fox: Detroit Lions (11-5) vs. Dallas Cowboys (12-4). Another short playoff season for the Lions; Boys 28 Lions 17.   Season to date (12-5)

THE SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS –

(NFL, Jan. 3) Arizona Cardinals (11-5) 17 at Carolina Panthers (7-8-1) 21

(NCAA football, Jan. 1) #1 Alabama Crimson Tide (12-1) 40 vs. #4 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1) 20

(NCAA hockey, Jan. 3) Union Dutchmen (10-7-1) 2 at #1 Boston University Terriers (11-3-2) 5

(NHL, Jan. 3) Montreal Canadians (22-11-2) 4 at Pittsburgh Penguins (22-8-5) 3

Season to date (79 - 67)

MARKET WEEK/DRIVING THE WEEK – U.S. stock futures were lower heading into the final three trading days of the year after the Dow and S&P 500 closed at record highs on Friday. European markets were mostly lower as the Greek presidential election failed, setting up snap elections.

Indonesian authorities say they presume the missing Air Asia flight 8501 with 162 on board has crashed into the Java Sea. An international search for the Airbus A320 has flagged an oil slick and floating objects in the area, but officials cannot confirm either is connected to the disappearance.

German insurer Allianz (ALV-DE) confirmed it was the lead reinsurer to the missing plane, making it the third major airline accident it has been involved in this year. It also insured Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared in March, and flight MH17, which was shot down over Ukraine.

Oil prices rose on Monday morning as clashes in Libya stoked worries about supply from the OPEC member. Fighting in the country caused a fire at its main export terminal that led to the loss of 800,000 barrels of crude.

Russia's economy shrank sharply in November as Western sanctions and a slump in oil prices combined to inflict the first contraction in GDP since October 2009. The Economy Ministry said the country’s gross domestic product shrank 0.5 percent last month.

Next week: 2015 The Swami Says

Until Next Monday, Happy New Year!

Claremont, CA

December 29, 2014
#V-36-246


CARTOON OF THE WEEK –  2014 by M. Wuerker

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