This time every year the University of La Verne welcomes
business students seeking a certificate in management for this three week study,
the majority of the students are from Brazil. This year 247 are attending,
studying courses in Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Management, Public
Administration, Strategy, and of course Winning in Las Vegas.
The last few quarters Brazil and the great state of
California have been battling for the 7th position in the world’s
largest economies. Yes, California is that big.
But all
is not well in Brazil: Brazil’s economic catastrophe – Just five
years ago, Brazil was being touted as an emerging new world power, with a
booming economy growing by 7 percent a year, escalating middle class, and major
oil reserves discovered off the coast.
But now the economy has stagnated and is about to tip into its worst
recession in 25 years. Inflation has soared to 8 percent, and widespread
corruption has undermined the economy. President Dilma Rousseff is now widely
scorned as corrupt and incompetent.
Brazil was hit by a perfect storm of economic disasters. It
is still a commodities-producing country, heavily dependent on exports of its
crops and natural resources. In the past year the economies of the countries
that buy its goods, particularly China and Germany, have slowed, drying up
demand. The prices of its main exports have plummeted; Oil, sugar, coffee, and
soybean prices are all down by as much as 33 percent. The Brazilian real, has
lost a quarter of its value this year alone. Drought has produced an acute
shortage of water and hydroelectric power, meaning soaring electricity prices.
Government debt interest rates are now past 13 percent, too
expensive to borrow additional capital. President Rousseff is trying to heal
the economy by belt-tightening-but for people to accept lower salaries, they
must have faith in government policies, and Brazil is notoriously corrupt.
What next? As public sector workers face cuts in salaries
and benefits, they are striking all across the nation. Brazil may be reaching
its boiling point.
COLLEGE
CHRONICLES – The department's "state authorization"
regulations are finally on the books, four years after they were established.
Though colleges' time to comply with the new requirements is technically up,
institutions in states still putting in place a sufficient process for
oversight and approval "may have their current status continued for a
reasonable period," Education Department officials said in a Dear
Colleague letter last month. And individual approvals won't really come up
until the department conducts its regular program reviews; at that point,
colleges' eligibility for federal financial aid could be on the line.
- And lower student loan interest rates take effect July 1,
for new borrowers seeking funds for the 2015-16 academic year. The rate for
undergraduate Direct Loans fell from 4.66 percent to 4.29 percent. Graduate and
professional Direct Loan borrowers will pay 5.84 percent, down from 6.21
percent last year. And interest for Direct PLUS Loans now stands at 6.84
percent, compared with 7.21 percent in 2014-15.
UNIVERSITY
OF PHOENIX SIDESTEPS OBAMA: The University of Phoenix has engaged in
an aggressive strategy to recruit on military installations that includes
sponsorships of rock concerts, Super Bowl parties and father-daughter dances,
according to the Center for Investigative Reporting. The recruitment efforts
evade a 2012 executive order signed by President Barack Obama, meant to prevent
for-profit colleges from gaining preferential access to the military.
The Apollo Education Group, which owns the University of
Phoenix, shared a statement that it had sent the center defending its programs
that it says play "an important role in offering career relevant higher
education degree and credential education programs to active-duty service
members, veterans and military families.
INSIDE
JEB'S TAX RETURNS - Bush's firm made him rich - and built nest
egg for family: Shortly after Jeb Bush left the Florida governor's office in
2007, he established his own firm, Jeb Bush & Associates ... More than a
third of the firm's $33 million in proceeds from 2007 to 2013 came from banking
giants Lehman Bros. and Barclays, which paid Bush a combined total of about $12
million for his work as a senior adviser ... An additional $8.1 million ...
came from speaking fees.
More than a third of his company's income was from sources
that his campaign has largely declined to disclose. Bush's small firm paid more
than $2 million in wages over seven years. A large share of that money appears
to have gone to his youngest son, Jeb Bush Jr., 31, who worked as a management
consultant. ... Bush's wife, Columba, ... was collecting an annual salary that
averaged about $31,500 - totaling more than $220,000 over seven years.
BIRTHDAYS
THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: 50 Cent (40),
Susan Ford Bales (58), Huey Lewis (65), Nancy Reagan (94).
GREECE
CRISIS – On a December night in 2009, two larcenous officials in
Pangaio, in the mountains of northern Greece, lured the town’s mayor to a
rendezvous on a quiet coastal road. Fearful that state auditors were about to
expose the three men’s systematic looting of the municipal treasury, they shot
their co-conspirator to death with an Uzi submachine gun to silence him, then
jammed his corpse into the trunk of his car, where it was found three days
later. The killers were sentenced to lengthy jail terms, but – this being
Greece, a country notorious for its bloated work force and a safety net that
even protects the jobs of convicted criminals – they continued drawing a
portion of their salaries while sitting in prison. “They Murdered the Mayor but
Still Get Paid!” ran the headline in one Greek newspaper. This dysfunction is
at the heart of Greek society and how it has led the country to an economic
meltdown.
GREECE
TO CREDITORS: DROP DEAD - Greek voters on Sunday sent a clear
message to their European creditors: Drop dead. In a national referendum, over
61 percent of Greek citizens voted against accepting the deep spending cuts,
tax hikes and other reforms that European creditors are demanding in return for
extending further bailout assistance to the deeply indebted nation. ... The
overwhelming "no" vote pushed Greece closer to a potentially messy
exit from the euro zone common currency union. It also set up possible global
market chaos and presented a fresh headache for the White House, which has had
little success pushing for a deal that would prevent a Greek exit.
Markets in Asia dropped on Monday and European stocks opened
lower following the Greek vote. The euro also dropped while futures contracts
suggested U.S. stocks could open sharply lower. But no immediate signs of panic
emerged in overseas trading, something Wall Street analysts say reflects a
belief that the European Central Bank could step in as soon as Monday to offer
emergency support should Greek banks come close to failing. Greece has limited
cash withdrawals and implemented other capital controls. But the nation's banks
could still run out of cash this week.
CHINA
STOCKS RISE ON GOVT ACTION – Perhaps an even bigger crisis looms in
China, with the troubles in the Chinese equity markets; stocks rose on Monday
after Beijing unleashed an unprecedented series of support measures over the
weekend to stave off the prospect of a full-blown crash that was threatening to
destabilize the world's second-biggest economy. ... In an extraordinary weekend
of policy moves, brokerages and fund managers vowed to buy massive amounts of
stocks, helped by China's state-backed margin finance company, which in turn
would be aided by a direct line of liquidity from the central bank.
The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai
and Shenzhen was up 2.5 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC had
gained 2.2 percent, pulling back after an initial burst of euphoria sent them
up around 8 percent when trading began ... The rapid decline of China's
previously booming stock market, which by the end of last week had fallen
around 30 percent from a mid-June peak, had become a major headache for
President Xi Jinping and China's top leaders, who were already struggling to avert
a sharper economic slowdown.
THE NEW
ECONOMY -- Buying a car could soon be a thing of the past, and Ford
is desperate to find what's next: Ford last month sent letters to 14,000 of its
American drivers with an unusual suggestion: For extra cash, they could rent
their cars to fellow urbanites wanting a cheap ride. ... It would put Ford
closer to the front of a movement in which cars are shared, ignored or Uber-ed
- not bought.
BUSINESS
BURST -- Wal-Mart ... plan ... should terrify Whole Foods, Kroger,
and Trader Joe's: The retailer's smaller-format stores, called Neighborhood
Markets, are a major threat to traditional supermarkets ... The Markets focus
on three of Wal-Mart's strongest categories - groceries, pharmacies, and fuel -
and they are more conveniently located to urban centers ... Supercenters are
typically located on city outskirts.
Don’t mention this to the citizens of the City of La Verne,
CA.
TRUMP
TROUBLE - All jokes aside, the Republican Party is officially
afraid of Donald Trump. He has virtually zero chance of winning the
presidential nomination. But insiders worry that the loud-mouthed real estate
mogul is more than just a minor comedic nuisance on cable news; they fret that
he's a loose cannon whose rants about Mexicans and scorched-earth attacks on
his rivals will damage the eventual nominee and hurt a party struggling to
connect with women and minorities and desperate to win. 'Donald Trump is like
watching a road-side accident,' said former George W. Bush press secretary Ari
Fleischer. 'Everybody pulls over to see the mess. And Trump thinks that's
entertainment. But running for president is serious. And the risk for the party
is he tarnishes everybody.
POLL – Who will
be the first woman on the $10 bill? Rink
Rats did a survey: Eleanor Roosevelt 33% ... Susan B. Anthony 17% ... Helen
Keller 12% ... Sojourner Truth 11% ... Abigail Adams 10% ... Nellie Tayloe Ross
5% ... Henrietta Lacks 4% ... Alice Paul 3% ... Jeanette Rankin 2% ... Carli
Lloyd 1% … Wendy Lau 1% … Martha Rountree 1%.
THE
SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS –
Wimbledon: Gentlemen’s Winner – Novak Djokovic,
Ladie’s Winner – Petra Kvitova
Season
to date (59-27)
MARKET
WEEK – Investors expect the rest of 2015 to be a bumpy ride. The
stock market has shifted to neutral lately while bonds have gone into reverse.
The oil market came roaring back in the second quarter, but more pain may be in
store for investors. Mom-and-pop investors are putting on the brakes after
years spent piling into stock and bond mutual funds—reflecting anxiety that the
rally in capital markets is growing long in the tooth. As
mergers-and-acquisition activity has raced ahead in other parts of the globe,
economic worries have kept Europe relatively quiet. And in China, action in
Shanghai has been volatile, but a torrid start to the year means stocks are
still up.
Greece's decision in Sunday's referendum to reject the terms
of its creditors sent shockwaves across global financial markets Monday, as
investors wonder whether Athens can achieve a debt deal to stay in the euro.
DRIVING
THE WEEK - President Obama this afternoon receives on
update on the fight against ISIS and will make a statement following the
meeting … Greek creditors hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday … Senate Banking
has a hearing Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. on "The Role of the Financial
Stability Board in the U.S. Regulatory Framework” … FOMC on Wednesday at 2:00
p.m. releases minutes from its June meeting … The Managed Funds Assoc. and BPC
on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. host a forum on the Dodd-Frank act at five … Senate
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday at 10:00 a.m.
holds a hearing on "Understanding America's Long-Term Fiscal Picture"
… Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Friday at 12:30 p.m. delivers a speech on the U.S.
economic outlook to the City Club of Cleveland's Sally Gries Forum Honoring
Women of Achievement … ISM Non-manufacturing Survey this morning at 10:00 a.m.
expected to rise to 56.4 from 55.3 … Allen & Co. holds its annual media and
technology conference in Sun Valley, Idaho … Comic-Con begins Wednesday in San
Diego.
Next
week: Summer BBQ, Air Conditioning and those who get it.
Until Next Monday, Adios.
Claremont, CA
July 6, 2015
#VI-5-267
CARTOON
OF THE WEEK – Tom
Toro: congratulates U.S.A. Women’s Soccer
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