Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Thankful

Thanksgiving week here in Southern California, temperature is forecasted to reach 91 degrees on Thanksgiving.

I excuse my theme of this blog to my Canadian readers who celebrated Thanksgiving in October.

What am I thankful for this Thanksgiving of 2017?

I am thankful for my family, friends and good health.

I am thankful for having the opportunity to play golf on November 22 in shorts and not snow mobile gear.

I am thankful for my students in ACCT 201, BUS 330, BUS 390, BUS 500D, and BUS 635 who provide me with challenges and rewards every day.

I am thankful for my colleagues associated with these classes, though sometimes seem very strange, who are totally committed to education and their students.

I am thankful for Big Red.

I am thankful for the California Legislature writing legislation to outlaw “reply all email” in the State of California….if this were only true.

I am thankful for my father and step mother whose spirit and love of life are a constant wonder to me day in and day out.

I am thankful for not working for Darth Vader.

I am thankful to Spectrum Cable for having NHL Centre Ice.

I am thankful for teaching assistants.

I am thankful for rhubarb pie.

I am thankful for still being a Detroit Lions fan, football fans know what I mean by this.

I am thankful for Mozart and Frank Sinatra.

I am thankful for not being a banker.

Finally, I am thankful for having limited writing ability, but still able to share Rink Rats with my small community of readers.

OUT AND ABOUT – Rink Rats reader Joe Zanetta, recently returned from a visit to Vietnam, where he reports a wonderful trip and he is sure to return in the near future.

OUT AND ABOUT PART DEUX – Nephew Patrick Pugliese recently had a sit down with former Secretary of State (1982-1989) George Schultz (96).

COLLEGE CHRONICLES – Top Five World’s Best Universities:

1). University of Oxford
2). University of Cambridge
3). (tie) California Institute of Technology, Stanford University
5). Massachusetts Institute of Technology

HARVARD YARD - The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the use of race in Harvard University's admissions practices and has accused the university of failing to cooperate with the probe.

The Justice Department is investigating complaints that formed the basis of a federal civil lawsuit filed in 2014 in Boston, according to the documents. That suit alleges Harvard intentionally discriminates against Asian-Americans by limiting the number of Asian students who are admitted.

The lawsuit, brought by a nonprofit called Students for Fair Admissions, said the practices violate federal civil-rights law and asks a federal judge to prohibit Harvard from using race as a factor in future undergraduate admissions decisions. The suit is pending.

STUDENT LOANS SAGA - Fall behind on your student loan payments, lose your job.

Few people realize that the loans they take out to pay for their education could eventually derail their careers. But in 19 states, government agencies can seize state-issued professional licenses from residents who default on their educational debts. Another state, South Dakota, suspends driver’s licenses, making it nearly impossible for people to get to work.

As debt levels rise, creditors are taking increasingly tough actions to chase people who fall behind on student loans. Going after professional licenses stands out as especially punitive.

Firefighters, nurses, teachers, lawyers, massage therapists, barbers, psychologists and real estate brokers have all had their credentials suspended or revoked.

NO DEAL - Negotiations to form a government in Germany broke down, dealing a blow to Chancellor Angela Merkel and throwing the leadership and direction of Europe’s largest economy into doubt. Late Sunday, the small, pro-business Free Democratic Party broke off talks with Ms. Merkel’s conservative camp and the center-left Greens after four weeks, saying they had failed to produce the vision and trust needed to build a government among the three partners. The collapse leaves Germany with a caretaker government and Ms. Merkel without a majority in Parliament almost two months after her party’s worst general-election showing since 1949. The political gridlock—a novelty in a country long used to ruling coalitions, compromise and consensus—has thrown Ms. Merkel’s fourth term into question. The euro fell sharply in early trading Monday but later recovered.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Traci Attman ….famous San Francisco 49er fan; Joe Biden (75) Dover, Delaware; Tucker Lewis …..a wonderful heart and soul; Howie Meeker (94), Montreal, Quebec; Bill Walton (65) San Diego, CA.

MARKET WEEK - Don’t look now, but U.S. growth forecasts are moving higher. That’s helping to support U.S. stocks.

Projections for U.S. economic growth from two Federal Reserve banks have risen in recent weeks. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Friday forecast that gross domestic product will rise 3.8% in the fourth quarter, up from a forecast of 3.2% a week earlier.

A separate measure from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta forecast 3.4% growth last week. Research firm DataTrek noted that the rival forecasts are outpacing projections from human economists, who on average expect 2.7% growth for the quarter.

Even if the less optimistic Atlanta Fed model is correct, it would be the best quarter for the U.S. economy in more than three years.

The central banks’ forecasts are derived from statistical models that track incoming economic data, and are used by traders to gauge the health of the economy.

This should be a positive for U.S. stocks. Behind the rising economic growth projections has been better-than-expected data on the U.S. housing market and industrial production. Stronger economic growth has helped fuel the record run for U.S. indexes as companies benefit from stronger demand.

DRIVING THE WEEK - Trump holds a cabinet meeting Monday, which is expected to include a tax cut update from Treasury Secretary Mnuchin. He pardons the Thanksgiving turkey on Tuesday and spends Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago ... Senate Finance has a NAFTA field hearing on Monday at 10:30 a.m. in San Antonio ... Index of leading indicators on Monday at 10:00 a.m. expected to show a gain of 0.6 percent.

NYC MARATHON - For the first time in 40 years (1977), an American woman won the New York City Marathon: 36-year-old Olympic medalist Shalane Flanagan broke the tape at 2 hours, 26 minutes and 53 seconds, beating three-time defending champion Mary Keitany of Kenya by a minute and one second.

Flanagan made her debut at the NYC Marathon in 2010, finishing second with a time of 2 hours, 28 minutes and 40 seconds — at the time, the best finish by an American woman in 20 years. Before this year, she hadn't competed in the race since 2010.

But, the big news coming out of this years’ NYC Marathon was the successful completion of the race by Claire Marshall, La Verne MBA ‘16. Congrats to Claire for finishing the marathon in under five hours! We are proud of you.

SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS

NFL Football Pick of the Week – Thursday 11/23, 9:30 AM PDT, Fox: Minnesota Vikings (8-2) vs. Detroit Lions (6-4), last chance for the Lions to stay in the playoff hunt, we think they will. Detroit wins 27 – 20.  (Season to date 6-5).

College Football Pick of the Week – Saturday 11/25, 9:00 AM PDT, Fox: #8 Ohio State University Buckeyes (9-2) at University of Michigan Wolverines (8-3), Harbaughs frustration continues, Ohio wins 32 – 24.   (Season to date 7-5)

D-III Football Pick of the Week – Saturday 11/25, 1:00 PM EDT: NCAA D-III Round Two Playoffs, #8 Linfield Wildcats (9-1) vs. #1 Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders (11-0), Linfield has a second chance against the Crusaders, no such luck, Hardin Baylor moves on 40 – 30.  (Season to date 7-4)

SCIAC Congratulations – To the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Women Volleyball Athenas (31-5) for winning the D-III National Championship this past weekend against Wittenburg (27-3).

College Hockey Pick of the Week – Saturday 11/25, 7:00 PM CT (NBCSN): #6 Minnesota Golden Gophers (9-4-1) vs. #4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-3-1), Irish win this one 4 – 3. Season to date (4-4)

NHL Pick of the Week – Saturday 11/25, 7:30 PM PDT (Prime): Anaheim Ducks (9-7-3) vs. Los Angeles Kings (12-7-2), another brawl in La La Land, Kings win this one 3 – 2. Season to date (4-2).

Season to Date (86 - 62)

Next Blog: The questions students ask, Dear Rink Rats and Jack Ass of the Month

Until next time, Adios

Claremont, California

November 21, 2017
#VIII-18-360


CARTOON OF THE WEEK – Spaulding, The New Yorker

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