Top Five

Top Five Major Baseball Teams through 60 games –

(1). St. Louis Cardinals     (2). Texas Rangers     (3). Atlanta Braves     (4). Detroit Tigers         (5). Boston Red Sox

Top Five College and University Job Titles –

(1). Vice President     (2). Associate Vice President     (3). Assistant Vice President                   (4). Interim Vice President     (5). Executive Director

Top Five reasons to love Finance –

(1). Balance your checkbook     (2). Understand deficit spending     (3). WACC     (4). FCF       (5). Learn Mandarin

Top Five casinos in Las Vegas –

(1). Bellagio     (2). The Palms     (3). Hard Rock     (4). Mandalay Bay     (5) Red Rock

Top Five reasons to hate Finance –

(1). Ben Bernanke     (2). Tesca     (3). Bernie Madoff     (4). Quantitative Easing     (5). Beta

Top Five worst Major League Baseball Teams through 60 games –

(1). Miami Marlins     (2). Houston Astros     (3). Anaheim Angels     (4). Los Angeles Dodgers     (5). Chicago Cubs

Top Five price of 1 gigabyte of storage over time –

(1). 1981 - $300,000     (2). 1987 - $50,000     (3). 1990 - $10,000     (4). 1997 - $100                  (5). $0.12

Top Five best Chinese restaurants –

(1). Chin Chin; New York, NY     (2). Mr. Chow; Beverly Hills, CA     (3). Yank Sing; San Francisco, CA     (4). Chang’s Garden; Arcadia, CA     (5). China Gate; Upland, CA

Top Five best Dentists –

(1). Steven Szarzynski; Pomona, CA     (2). Susan Hanigan-Gilmour; Los Angeles, CA               (3). Donna Lieu; Mid Wilshire, CA     (4). Richard Bernstein; Farmington Hills, Michigan         (5). Howard Duncan; West Covina, CA

Top Five Dictators –

(1). Bashar al-Assad; Syria     (2). Kim Jong-un; North Korea     (3). Omar al-Bashir; Sudan     (4). Ellen Leggett; USC     (5) Paul Abbondante; ULV

Top Five possible names for the new City of La Verne development on Foothill Blvd. east of White –

(1). How Can We Have The University of La Verne Pay For This Village     (2). Foothill Towers     (3). Tammany North     (4). Over Valued Acres     (5). Knots Landing

Top Five best Universities –

(1). Stanford University     (2). University of Michigan     (3). St. Lawrence University              (4). Harvard University     (5). THE University of La Verne

Top Five Dry Cleaners –

(1). Rocky’s; Claremont, CA     (2). Franklin Cleaners; Franklin, Michigan     (3). French Hand Laundry; Pasadena, CA     (4). Cornell’s Dry Cleaning; Canton, NY     (5). Olmsted Cleaners; Pinehurst, NC

Top Five worst Universities –

(1). THE Ohio State University     (2). University of Phoenix     (3). THE Ohio State University     (4). University of Phoenix     (5). THE Ohio State University

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: Marv Albert (72), Jim Belushi (59), Former President George H.W. Bush (89), Vic Damone (85), Erie Heiden (55), Helen Hunt (50), Joe Montana (57), Prince Philip (92), Gene Wilder (80).

SPORTS BLINK - CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS vs. BOSTON BRUINS for Stanley Cup - NHL.com: The 2013 Stanley Cup Final ... begins Wednesday ... in Chicago. Based on their superior regular-season point total, the Western Conference Champion Chicago Blackhawks will host Games 1 and 2 of the best-of-seven Final, as well as Games 5 and 7, if necessary. Games 3 and 4, as well as Game 6, if necessary, will be hosted by the Eastern Conference Champion Boston Bruins. ... NBC will broadcast Games 1 and 4 of the Final and, if necessary, Games 5-7. NBC Sports Network will telecast Games 2 and 3."

THE SWAMI’S TOP PICKS: NHL Playoffs, Stanley Cup Finals – Chicago Black Hawks in seven; NBA Finals – San Antonio Spurs in seven. Season to date (9-6)

TONY AWARDS BLINK - "Kinky Boots" won for best musical and Cicely Tyson won her first Tony for "The Trip to Bountiful"

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO CHINA - For decades, China's outlook on how East met West was simple: a proud, ancient civilization was brought to its knees by foreign gunboats, British opium and Japanese wartime oppression.... That sense of historic injustice festered even as China's growing economic power might have been expected to sweep away such insecurities. But the ascension of President Xi-he of the patriotic swagger, political pedigree and photogenic PLA-folksinger wife-heralds a new era of China's interaction with the international community. Instead of simply positioning China as a vanquished, aggrieved inferior, Xi and his China Dream envision a mighty nation reclaiming its rightful place in the world, not just economically but politically and culturally too."

RANCHO MIRAGE SUMMIT - Cover of The Economist is a fake movie poster for a Western in the mold of "Brokeback Mountain": "THE SUMMIT, starring Barack Obama and Xi Jinping: He stole his heart (and then his intellectual property) ... 'Team America' meets 'Kung Fu Panda' ... Barack Obama and Xi Jinping have a chance to recast this century's most important bilateral relationship" : "In 1972 Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger astonished the world by flying to China to hold discussions with Mao Zedong, during which they agreed to overlook their differences in order to further their mutual interests. Although many formal meetings have happened since, leaders of the two countries have rarely set aside such time as this week's summit provides to hold similarly informal discussions. They need to show the farsightedness of Nixon and Mao. ... Mr Xi, whose father was a comrade-in-arms of Mao, enjoys more personal authority than his dull predecessor, Hu Jintao. In office for less than a year, he has quickly consolidated his power. He has launched a crackdown on corruption and official extravagance. He talks of more economic reform. He has burnished his nationalist credentials at home in a spat with Japan over island specks. To show China's new diplomatic confidence, Mr Xi arrives in California via Mexico, Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago. The message: just as America claims to be a regional power in East Asia, China can plant its flag in the Caribbean. ...

"Powerful interests, including the People's Liberation Army , brandishing new toys, believe America is committed to containing China and thwarting its rise. Mr Xi's sabre-rattling reflects a much deeper rise in nationalist sentiment in Chinese society. Many Americans fear that China's displacement of America as the world's largest economy will swiftly be followed by its rise to the status of military superpower. Yet for both leaders, there is more to be gained from co-operation than conflict. Mr Obama has a far better chance of making headway on Iran, North Korea and climate change if America and China are working together. And Mr Xi knows that if America feels easier about China's intentions, it is likely to give him more latitude in his region. ... It is extraordinary that the leaders of the world's two great powers meet so rarely in this way. It is equally extraordinary that the current generation of American leaders includes no real heavyweights on matters Chinese: the Beijing leadership is still more inclined to consult Mr Kissinger than any of Mr Obama's close confidants. ...

"There are plenty of good reasons for America to be nervous about the rise of a new economic giant and to be angry about cyber-attacks, obstructionism over Syria or the regime's brutality towards its own citizens. There are also plenty of reasons for China to be annoyed with America: Americans have been too willing to demonise successful Chinese companies such as Huawei or CNOOC. But the lesson of history is that everybody loses if the world allows legitimate worries to get out of hand. More than 2,000 years ago Greece was torn apart by Sparta's failure to manage the rise of Athens. A hundred years ago Europe was torn apart by its failure to manage the rise of Germany. If the 21st century is to be more peaceful than the 20th, America and China must learn to co-operate better."

ADIOS PRESIDENT GEE - The president of Ohio State University said Notre Dame was never invited to join the Big Ten because the university's priests are not good partners, joking that "those damn Catholics" can't be trusted, according to a recording of a meeting he attended late last year.

MARKET WEEK - General Motors (GM) will be added to the S&P 500 after the closing of trading Thursday, replacing H.J. Heinz (HNZ). Heinz is being bought by Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/A, BRK/B) and 3G Capital.

DRIVING THE WEEK - REP. JOHN DAVID DINGELL JR. (D-Mich.) breaks the record for longest serving member in the history of the U.S. Congress : "From December 13, 1955, to June 7, 2013, a total of 20,997 days (57 years, 5 months, 26 days). The next longest serving Member in either chamber [was the late] Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, who served 20,996 days (57 years, 5 months, 26 days). ... John Dingell, Sr., and John Dingell, Jr., have the longest consecutive service for a single family. The total consecutive service for both father and son from March 4, 1933 to [tomorrow] is 29,317 days (80 years, 3 months, 5 days) ... John Dingell, Jr., has cast more than 25,000 votes in the House Chamber."

Next week: Jack Ass of the Month and time to cut the strings.

Until Next Monday, Adios!

Claremont, CA

June 11, 2013

#IV-8, 165