I
just received my colleague’s automated out-of-office email reply – “I regret
missing your message. I am out of the office for two weeks on vacation, without
access to email.” Then a minute later I
received a reply all email from the same colleague expressing a concern over
some mindless summer event. Still on the job, ready to put out any so-called
problems while supposedly on vacation.
Time
off is a guilty pleasure. We are all breathless with our busyness, proud to
announce to all how busy we are with everything we must/should/could do. This
duty driven life makes it difficult to really and truly go on vacation.
“Summer
afternoon-summer afternoon,” Henry James wrote late in his life, repeating the
phrase with evident relish, “to me those have always been the two most
beautiful words in the English language.” What is a summer afternoon for you?
Pausing, gazing, staring idly-the odd discipline of leisure. A nap occurs
somewhere in this summer afternoon, the kind like I had today, where I did not
really fall asleep but glide around in my mind enjoying the freedom to do so.
Good practice for a successful vacation.
I
personally do not have to worry about this, because I am a professional
lollygagger, my life is a sabbatical, and I have worked hard for many years to
get to this point. I report to know one and know one reports to me, I set my
hours, and honestly can admit I have no agenda. Well possibly one, a permanent
mission to end reply all emails.
Summertime
for most of us is the season for learning to do nothing, too bad most of us have
trouble accomplishing this task. Not me and I am very thankful for that
accomplishment.
POTUS WEEK - Monday:
Trump meets with King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein and Queen Rania Al Abdullah of
Jordan. He then flies to South Carolina to rally for the state's Gov. Henry
McMaster. (Between the lines: The president is repaying the loyalty of
McMaster, an early campaign supporter.)
Tuesday:
Trump meets with the Associated Builders and Contractors.
Wednesday:
Trump receives his intelligence briefing; has lunch with Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo; hosts the president of Portugal at the White House; and travels to
North Dakota — a key Senate target for Republicans — for a political rally.
Thursday:
Trump is expected to travel to Wisconsin for official business. (I've not
learned what, yet.)
Friday:
Trump receives his intelligence briefing and "celebrates the six month
anniversary of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act."
WEEKEND
READS
- "The Trouble With Johnny Depp," by Stephen Rodrick in Rolling
Stone: "One of the most famous actors in the world is now smoking dope
with a writer and his lawyer while his cook makes dinner and his bodyguards
watch television. There is no one around him who isn't getting paid." https://rol.st/2IhWsTZ
COLLEGE
CHRONICLES
– According to NACUBO (National Association of College University Business
Officers) the average freshman tuition discount rate at private colleges and
universities surveyed is nearing 50 percent. The average published tuition and
fee price increased 42.1% since
2008-09, but the average net price for freshman rose just 18.8%
- thanks to institutional financial aid that rose much faster.
Higher
Education enrollment is expected to rise 13 percent, to 22.6 million students,
by 2026.
WHY THE AARP
IS WORRIED ABOUT STUDENT DEBT - As student loan debt has ballooned over
the past two decades, the issue has moved from the sidelines of wonky policy
debates into a full-fledged presidential campaign issue, with candidates
playing to the economic anxieties of parents and recent college grads. In the
latest sign of just how far-reaching student loan debt has become, the issue is
now on the radar of another, perhaps more surprising group: the AARP.
—
Over the past several years, the nation's leading senior lobby has become
increasingly involved in student loan issues, pressuring the federal government
to stop garnishing the Social Security benefits of older borrowers who
defaulted on their loans. And in some state capitals the group is taking on the
student loan industry, pushing for more regulations to police abusive
loan-collection practices.
—
As Americans of every generation struggle to pull together enough savings for
retirement, the new worry about student loans illustrates just how deeply debt
can hang over people's financial lives, especially in areas like higher
education and health care, where costs are growing faster than the economy
overall. Those costs can lead to some brutal surprises in old age.
The
cost of higher education has sent student loan debt jumping to $1.5 trillion.
Here's how it breaks down by the numbers:
$28,400—How much
debt the average new grad owes. That number was $22,100 in 2001 (adjusted for
inflation).
20%—Borrowers
who are late on payments.
66%—Student
loan debt held by women. Typically, more women attend some form of higher
education than men.
For
perspective… $1.2 trillion—U.S. auto loan debt. More than $1 trillion—U.S.
credit card debt.
BIRTHDAYS
THIS WEEK
– Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Mel Brooks (92) Beverly Hills, CA.; Sen. Diane Feinstein
(D-Calif) (85) San Francisco, CA.; Justice
Clarence Thomas (70) Arlington, VA.
MARKET WEEK – The annual
reshuffling of FTSE Russell’s U.S. indexes culminates with last Friday’s
closing bell. It is typically one of the busiest trading days of the year since
$9.2 trillion is pegged to the company's indexes.
A
record 1.2 million shares worth more than $39 billion traded in less than a
second on Friday during Nasdaq 's closing auction. The reason: the end of this
year's rebalancing of FTSE Russell's widely followed stock indexes. There are
$9.2 trillion pegged to Russell U.S. benchmarks, dwarfing the $29.5 billion
linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which made headlines last week by
ejecting General Electric Co. after more than a century.
When
Russell adds and removes stocks each year to and from its indexes, stocks that
are part of the revisions typically experience a trading volume spike 45 times
higher than average, according to research from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
This year, nearly 300 companies were added or dropped from the Russell 2000
alone.
• When the S&P 500 has been up more
than 3% for the year by the first day of summer, as it is this year, the full
year has had a gain every time since 1950, according to LPL Financial.
• On this day in 1775, Congress
authorized the first issuance of U.S. paper money. Officially known as
“Continentals,” the money soon came to be called “shinplasters” as high
inflation rendered it nearly worthless.
• Stocks to Watch
Red
Hat—Down 13.6%: The software company gave weaker-than-expected projections for
earnings and sales in the current quarter.
Chevron—Up
0.8%: Moves in oil prices could swing shares of energy firms like Chevron as
the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets in Vienna. The
world's largest producers are considering a deal to boost output.
Goldman
Sachs Group—Unchanged: The Federal Reserve’s annual stress test showed the Wall
Street firm’s capital would fall to 3.1% of total assets in a doomsday
scenario, just above the 3% minimum and the narrowest margin of any of the 35
banks subjected to the test.
PayPal
Holdings—Up 0.9%: The mobile payments company said it had agreed to acquire
Simility, a fraud prevention startup, for about $120 million in cash. The
Simility acquisition is PayPal’s fourth announced acquisition since the start
of the second quarter.
TRUMPWORLD –
America’s
biggest enemies:
1. The free
press
2. Canada
America’s
greatest allies:
1. Russia
2. North Korea
ANTI-SOCIAL
MEDIA
- The numbers are in...and? Instagram has officially passed 1 billion monthly
active users.
So
be hard on Mark Zukerberg all you want, but just remember he now owns:
Facebook:
2.19 billion monthly active users
WhatsApp:
1.5 billion
Messenger:
1.3 billion
And
of course, Instagram
So,
it's no wonder Facebook shares jumped to a record-high $203 last week. As
outspoken NYU professor Scott Galloway puts it: "Zuckerberg oversees the
content and influence and mood of a community greater than Christianity, the
southern hemisphere, plus India."
And
Insta didn't stop at 1 billion. It also announced the rollout of IGTV—a YouTube
competitor.
MA VS. MA - Jack Ma
of Alibaba and Pony Ma of Tencent built tech empires that dominate China’s
digital economy. Is the world big enough for both of them?”
The
two heavyweights of the Chinese Internet industry, Alibaba and Tencent ...
[each] have market capitalizations that hover around half a trillion U.S.
dollars.
Both
command sectors of the rapidly growing Chinese digital landscape: Tencent owns
the leading gaming and messaging platform, while Alibaba rules e-commerce. Both
are aggressive investors inside and outside China.
Both
touch an astounding percentage of the world’s most populous country: Alibaba’s
various online marketplaces count 552 million active customers; Tencent’s
WeChat messaging service recently surpassed 1 billion accounts.
As
they’ve grown, each inevitably has begun to encroach on the other’s turf.
Tencent ... is investing in retail and financial services, sectors that are
Alibaba’s strength. Alibaba in turn sees an opening in Tencent’s domain,
particularly by offering mobile-messaging tools.
Their
top leaders share a surname, though Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Tencent’s Pony Ma
aren’t related.
TRADE 101 – In 2017, the
Ford Mustang, assembled in the United States, received 52 percent of its parts
from Canada.
MUST SEE - Sir Paul
McCartney and James Corden in this classic Carpool Karaoke through the streets
of Liverpool. https://youtu.be/QjvzCTqkBDQ
SWAMI’S WEEK
TOP PICKS
–
MLB Game of
the Week
– Saturday June 30; Boston Red Sox (52-27) vs. New York Yankees (50-25).
Another series between baseball powers, Yanks win this one 5 – 3.
World Cup
Soccer (Football) – Group Winners: A - Uruguay | B - Spain | C - France | D -
Croatia | E - Brazil | F - Germany | G - Belgium | H - Colombia
Group
Runners-Up: A - Egypt | B - Portugal | C - Peru | D - Argentina | E - Costa
Rica | F - Mexico | G - England | H – Senegal
Belgium to win over
Spain in the Final on July 15 in Moscow.
Season to
Date (18 - 11)
DRIVING THE
WEEK - Trump
on Monday meets with King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan and campaigns in
the evening with South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster who is trying to
survive a GOP primary challenge ... Trump is expected to celebrate the six
month anniversary of the tax cut bill on Friday ... House this week will
continue to take immigration votes while both chambers battle over a defense
authorization bill, the Senate version of which would block Trump's moves to
relax sanctions against Chinese telecom giant ZTE ...
Senate
Banking has a hearing on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. on proposals to increase access
to capital ... House Financial Services subcommittee has a hearing at 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday on de-risking and on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. on HUD ... SEC holds on
open meeting on Tuesday.
House
Small Business Committee has a hearing on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. on ZTE ...
Senate Banking has a hearing at 10:00 a.m. Thursday on corporate governance.
Goal: Spend some
quality time outside, even if it's just lunch.
Monday
(June 25): In a London courtroom, Uber will begin its fight to operate in the
city
Tuesday
(June 26): Walgreens officially replaces GE in the Dow
Wednesday
(June 27): Senate committee holds hearing on Sprint/T-Mobile merger; Earnings
(General Mills)
Thursday
(June 28): GDP; EU summit begins; Earnings (Nike, Accenture, Walgreens)
Friday
(June 29): Inflation data (Personal Income and Outlays); Daydreaming of July
4th plans.
If
you are in the La Verne, California area this Friday June 29 at 6:00 pm stop by
the Summer REACH Program Commencement on the University of La Verne central
campus. Frederick Terrell, Vice Chairman of Investment Banking for Credit
Suisse is the Commencement speaker for fifty-four local high school juniors
completing their business studies. You are wrong when you believe higher education
is not meeting the needs of the community and local students, this is an example
of such a program.
Next Blog: Summer reading
and summer travel.
Until
next time, Adios
Claremont,
California
June
25, 2018
#IX-5-373
CARTOON OF
THE WEEK – The New
Yorker, Johny Cogan
RINK RATS
POLL –
What is Transformational Leadership?
____ Working to change the system.
____
Minimize variation of the organization.
____
Bringing in the right-handed relief pitcher in the ninth inning.
____
Solving challenges by finding experiences that show old patterns do not fit or
work.
____
All of the above.
QUOTE OF THE
MONTH
– " It doesn’t make sense to hire
smart people and then tell them what to do, we hire smart people so they can
tell us what to do." – Steve Jobs
Rink Rats is a blog
of weekly observations, predictions and commentary. We welcome your comments
and questions. Also participate in our monthly poll. Rink Rats is now viewed in
Europe, Canada, South America and the United States.
Posted at Rink Rats The Blog: First Published – May 3, 2010
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