The Kitchen Cabinet

This past week with “Three Score Years” taking place, I thought it a good time to engage with my “Kitchen Cabinet”. What is a “Kitchen Cabinet”?

A “Kitchen Cabinet” is those individuals you trust the most, those who can yell at you and hug you, explain that you are a jerk, or just be there when you need someone. Ronald Reagan had a “Kitchen Cabinet”, President Obama has a lousy “Kitchen Cabinet”, POTULV has a “Kitchen Cabinet” and even Mayor Let’s Close from Tammany Hall has a “Kitchen Cabinet”. I don’t think the Pin Ball Wizard has a “Kitchen Cabinet”, due to the fact he always wears black.

A “Kitchen Cabinet” does not have to be a family member, just those few close confidants who you respect their opinion and cherish their trust.

My “Kitchen Cabinet” members do not know they are my “Kitchen Cabinet”, I like it that way…keeps them on their toes. This past week we had a “Cabinet” meeting. The talking points were: lose weight, dye your hair, eat healthy, bankers, entitlement in higher education, wardrobe and my schedule (the usual scenarios). But a new topic emerged from this distinguished group – retirement. What is your plan? “We don’t see you retiring.” Are you kidding, of course I will retire! But not retire from life.

Retirement: just the word is creepy. Like my Father, I will never retire. It is not the money, but that is important, it is keeping busy. Retirement is helping others, passing on what I learned and not learned in my life.

What did I take away from this past week “Kitchen Cabinet” discussions? I need a new “Kitchen Cabinet” and that I can’t express how much I look forward to the next one or two score years. The challenges of health, financial planning, my golf game, the Red Wings, and of course the “Kitchen Cabinet” make the future look so much fun!

CLEANING THE GARAGE – There is a book on my summer reading list, that I know will stay in the far corner of my desk and never be touched: The Art of Minimalist Organization, by Ben Light. Why untouched? The title scares me, Minimalist Organization.

A new revolution is currently taking place, one that looks set to change how we view ourselves and the objects around us.  This new, groundbreaking revolution is the practice of minimalism.  Cleaning and organizing your garage can be an overwhelming task due to excess clutter.  This is especially true if you are not practicing minimalism.  This book looks to help you clean your garage and teach you about minimalist organization in the process.

I have always dreamed to have a garage that looks like this:

Can this book save me and my garage? Or turn me into a minimalistic nut?

Stay tuned to future Rink Rats…..

COLLEGE CHRONICLES – At 4:15 a.m. on a crisp summer morning, a vice president for finance made small talk outside the downtown Sheraton while awaiting an airport shuttle on the final day of the 2014 annual meeting of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO).

“I thought Bill Gates was really good,” he said. A day earlier, the billionaire philanthropist had drawn loud and long applause from some 3,000 higher-education administrators with remarks that might have gotten him pelted with fruit if he’d voiced them before a crowd of college professors: MOOCs embedded with hyperlinks will soon supplant the lecture, and a renewed push for faculty unions would be unfortunate for higher education at this critical juncture.

But Mr. Gates wasn't the only one at the conference to utter thoughts that would have riled much of the professoriate. Shared governance, shared services, and too-small classes were among the week’s heavily discussed topics, but the culture gap with the faculty was a strong undercurrent.

The college vice president agreed that some of the proposals discussed for fixing the broken financing model for higher education might alienate some faculty members. But “they don’t see what we see,” he said.

That may change if college business officers heed the command of the association, known as NACUBO, to go forth and educate their campus “stakeholders” on the current realities of higher-ed financing. The faculty could just be the most important component of that group, as one commenter observed during a session.

“President come and go. Students come and go. Trustees come and go,’ the commenter said. “Professors are eternal.” If their colleges survive.

Thank you Chronicle of Higher Educaton, August 1, 2014.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: Tony Bennett (88), Tom Brady (37), Ken Burns (61), Marcel Dionne (63), Tim Gunn (61), President Obama (53), Alessandro Suffredini …famous nephew about to begin high school.

THE SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS:

Major League Baseball Game of the Week – Saturday August 2 (7:15 PM ET): Milwaukee Brewers (59-47) at St. Louis Cardinals (56-48), a battle for National League Central Division first place, Cardinals 6 The Brew Crew 3.

2014 Season to date (40-36)

DRIVING THE WEEK - Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and other administration officials conduct a press briefing on the Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports at Treasury ... Pending homes sales at 10:00 a.m. today expected to rise 0.5 percent ... Case-Shiller home prices at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday expected to rise 0.3 percent ... Conference Board consumer confidence at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday expected to tick up slightly to 85.5 from 85.2 ... First read on Q2 GDP at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday expected to show a gain of 3.0 percent ... FOMC statement on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. expected to include minimal changes and another $10B taper ... July jobs report at 8:30 a.m. Friday expected to show a gain of 231K and no change to the 6.1 percent jobless rate ... Congress set to recess for five weeks on Friday and will come back with limited time for a CR, Ex-Im reauthorization and other top items unless deals get made this week ... Argentina could default on its debt by Wednesday barring a deal with hedge fund investors.

Summer in the City: It is that time of year where Rink Rats has a summer break: the next three weeks we will have our annual cartoon edition, and two guest bloggers. Enjoy, we will see you on August 25 with our regular Rats.

Until Next Monday, Adios.

San Luis Obispo, CA

July 28, 2014

#V-15, 224

Real Men Do Drink Pink

Over the past many years, family members and friends alike have continually laughed and mocked me for ordering the Strawberry Margarita, the Pina Colada, or other frothy drinks. I take issue with this. Having a “Jack up” or a Vodka Martini does not indicate ones’ manhood. 

Yes, having an extra-large Dominos Pizza box in a man’s refrigerator does indicate an aggressive side, but a cool, “pink” Strawberry Margarita is also an indicator of ones’ confidence and fear nothing attitude.

So please put aside your biases and go ahead and order a Bahama Mama, we are strong and united!!!

How to make Bahama Mama Cocktail -

 Ingredients:

 1/2 fluid ounce rum

 1/2 fluid ounce coconut rum

 1/2 fluid ounce grenadine

 1 fluid ounce orange juice

 1 fluid ounce pineapple juice

 1 cup crushed ice

 Directions to make Bahama Mama:

 1.Combine the regular rum, rum with coconut flavoring, grenadine, orange juice, pineapple juice and crushed ice in an electric blender.

 2.Blend until the drink’s consistency is slushy.

COLLEGE CHRONICLES - Arizona covers less than 1 percent of the budget for the Maricopa Community College District. The 10-college system, which enrolls 265,000 students, now receives an annual state contribution of $8 million.

One upside to Arizona’s near-complete disinvestment in its community colleges, Maricopa’s leaders say, is that the years of budget cuts have forced the two-year system to get more entrepreneurial. They are particularly excited about the money-making potential of the new Maricopa Corporate College, which landed Marriott International as a client in its first year of existence.

Maricopa is a member of Global Corporate College. Officials at the district said the connection is a big part of the draw for their 20 corporate clients. Global Corporate College is a consortium of more than 50 community colleges, which allows institutions to cross state and even international borders with their training centers.

The price varies depending on the range of training companies need. And members of the consortium share revenue for programs that multiple colleges help run.

 “We have sold to Marriott,” said Eugene Giovannini, president of the Maricopa Corporate College. “The network will deliver that training across the country.” Giovannini and Glasper are confident that the new college will bring in money.

 After studying the possibility of creating a corporate campus, Maricopa estimated that the district was tapping less than 20 percent of its possible job-training business. Over the next few years they hope to triple the $1.5 million in corporate training revenue they earned in a recent year. The college also offers consulting services to companies.

 College officials aren’t shy about talking up the fiscal potential of the Corporate College. It’s part of the privatization of Maricopa, which is beyond their control. The community colleges have a solid product to offer, they said, so they are getting into the sales game.

MICROSOFT TO SLASH 18K JOBS - Microsoft Corp.'s ... new chief executive is wielding the ax as he seeks to remake the company. Satya Nadella, the CEO since February, said Thursday that he would cut about 14% of Microsoft's workforce and take charges to earnings totaling up to $1.6 billion over the next year in his biggest move so far to reshape the software giant. ... The majority of the cuts - about 12,500 of the 18,000 expected - would come from areas of overlap with Nokia's mobile-phone business, which Microsoft acquired in April. Microsoft absorbed about 25,000 workers in the Nokia deal.

The layoffs will be the largest in Microsoft's history, surpassing the more than 5,000 positions eliminated in 2009. Microsoft also disclosed it would stop making mobile phones powered by Google Inc.'s Android operating system ... The Nokia X line will give way to lower-priced phones running Microsoft's own Windows Phone software, though the company said it would continue to sell and support existing Nokia X devices.

ECONOMY BETTER THAN YOU THINK - Roger Altman writes in TIME magazine: "Nearly seven years after the onset of the Great Recession, the national mood remains troubled. ... Despite the pessimistic mood, America is experiencing a profound comeback. But in terms of the growth outlook, the news is good. Goldman Sachs and many private-sector forecasters project a 3.3% growth rate for the remainder of 2014. The first half of 2014 saw the best job-creation rate in 15 years.

"Total household wealth and private employment surpassed 2008 levels last year ... As halting as the U.S. recovery has been, the economy is now leaner and more capable of healthy, sustained growth through 2016 and beyond. Our outlook shines compared with that of the rest of the industrialized world, as Europe and Japan are stagnant."

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: Sandra Bullock (50), Bob Dole (91), Peggy Fleming (66), Bobbie Gentry (70), Mick Jagger (71), Jackson Krich …happy first birthday to “Action Jackson”, Kevin Spacey (55), The Swami …a good head of hair (no dye) and a sense of humor.

THREE SCORE YEARS, THE COUNTDOWN – As The Day approaches we remember only one thing special, Mom. Sure wish she was here to celebrate.

PROTECTING EMAIL FROM UNWANTED EYES - Pursuing digital security should be as much of a no-brainer as locking your door before you leave the house.

Identity theft, corporate security breaches and an increased interest in personal privacy are forcing some changes. Many of us are choosing stronger passwords and changing them more often, locking down social media accounts and being more conscious of how we communicate. If you haven’t taken these steps, you should.

But one of our favorite forms of electronic communication — email — remains one of the hardest to secure. Security experts say email is a lot more like a postcard than a letter inside an envelope, and almost anyone can read it while the note is in transit. The government can probably read your email, as can hackers and your employer.

What’s the solution? Make your email more like a letter inside an envelope. The best way to do this is with a process known as encryption, which scrambles a message into unreadable code that needs a key to be unlocked, providing a layer of protection if someone intercepts your email.

The downside to encryption tools is that they are usually difficult to install and use. In addition, they require the person on the other end to be using the same tools. Thanks to a renewed focus on privacy and security, however, new tools are arriving regularly that should make it easier to encrypt email.

One promising new encryption tool is Virtru, a feature that can be added to Chrome and Firefox browsers or installed on the Mail program on the Mac and for Outlook on Windows. One of Virtru’s big selling points is that it works with web-mail services like Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail. There are also apps for iOS and Android.

Another big benefit of Virtru is that recipients don’t have to be using the service or any other encryption program to see your email. They receive an email that contains a link to your encrypted message. Once they click a button to verify their email address, they can read the unencrypted message in a separate web page and reply.

THE SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS:

Major League Baseball Game of the Week – Saturday July 26: Detroit Tigers (54-41) at Los Angeles Angels (58-38), a matchup of two of the American League’s best: Angels 5 Tigers 3.

2014 Season to date (40-36)

MARKET WEEK - A busy week for corporate earnings gets off to a relatively slow start today, with oilfield services provider Halliburton (HAL) leading this morning’s list. Genuine Parts (GPC), Six Flags (SIX), and SunTrust Banks (STI) will also issue their numbers this morning, while Netflix (NFLX), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), and Texas Instruments (TXN) are among the companies set to release quarterly earnings after today’s closing bell.

TECHIE TIME OUT - APPLE BETS ON BIGGER iPHONE SCREEN: Apple Inc. is preparing for its largest initial production run of iPhones, betting that larger-screen models will lure consumers now attracted to similar phones from Samsung ... and others. The Cupertino, Calif., company is asking suppliers to manufacture between 70 million and 80 million units combined of two large-screen iPhones with 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays by Dec. 30 ...

Its forecast for what is commonly called the iPhone 6 is significantly larger than the initial order last year of between 50 million and 60 million versions of the iPhone 5S and 5C - which had a display measuring 4-inches diagonally ... Both of the coming models are expected to feature metal cases similar to the iPhone 5S and likely come in multiple colors.

Next week: The lost of art of cleaning the garage.

Until Next Monday, Adios.

Tucson, AZ

July 21, 2014

#V-14, 223

Time for a Vacation

Happy Bastille Day!!  Nous célébrons aujourd'hui la liberté de la France.

You know it is time to head out of town when a co-worker who you know is full of fertilizer begins to sound intelligent.

A vacation is necessary when you realize that you look forward every day to “Orange County Housewives” and “The Young and the Restless” soap opera on your DVR.

Time for a getaway when your major daily event is to check out what the weather women are wearing on the local morning news.

A vacation is in order when you look into a mirror and your eyes look like two lumps of coal in a snow bank.

SUMMER SCHOOL 101 – I find teaching in the summer the best time of year: you get the better classrooms, class size is smaller, morning classes usually involve coffee and donuts, and the opportunity to teach students from many different backgrounds and experiences is the norm.

Summer is the time when finance is studied with high school seniors, Brazilian and Columbian visiting scholars, students who are paying their tuition bills on their own nickel and not financial aid, and students who are trying to advance their graduation date by a term.

With summer study I try to spice up the class: invite guest speakers, encourage presentation instead of just taking notes. A You Tube video may be the order of the day, perhaps a case review of a company in failure not just Apple Computer or Warren Buffett successes.

As for all of us, summer is a time to kick back and try to freshen up the routine.

COLLEGE CHRONICLES - As the average cost of higher education in America continues to rise, at least 50 American colleges and universities are now charging students more than $60,000 per year. Rink Rats found these numbers by examining the average cost of tuition, fees, room, and board that an incoming student would face over the 2014-15 academic year.

While these direct costs are a significant portion of the total cost of college, they alone do not reveal the true financial burden of higher education — students are also responsible for paying for textbooks, travel costs, and, of course, any social expenses. These "indirect costs" can often add up to an extra $2,000.

The most expensive school in the country for the upcoming school year is Harvey Mudd College, charging $64,527 — $48,694 in tuition and fees, and $15,833 for room and board.

Last year, only nine colleges charged more than $60,000. New York University — then the most expensive school — cost $61,977.

MANAGEMENT 101: RESTORE TRUST AT WORK WITH THESE 3 WORDS – “We are allies”. Three simple words: Yet when spoken by a manager to an employee, these may be three of the most powerful words possible.

Most of us spend the majority of our waking hours at work, on our way to and from work, or thinking about work. When we meet someone new, the first question Americans ask and are asked is typically, “So, what do you do?” When we describe someone else, we usually lead with their profession: “She’s a doctor.” Given how important work seems in our lives, it is tragic that most employment relationships are built on a lie.

Managers pretend that employees have a job for life. Employees pretend that they intend to work for their company for the rest of their careers. But deep down, both parties don’t believe their own words. You can’t build a trusting relationship on a foundation of dishonesty and self-deception.

Yet the “honest” approach of considering every job temporary, and every employee a “free agent” leads to a bleak, cynical world without trust or loyalty. The answer is for managers and employees to treat each other as allies: Independent and autonomous players who voluntarily come together to work towards mutually agreed upon goals.

Treating employees like allies allows managers and companies to build loyalty without lying. Successful alliances can be renewed and updated, allowing employees to construct a successful career filled with professional growth without ever changing employers. And employees who choose to leave can do so on amicable terms and with fond memories of what the members of the alliance achieved together. This open, accepting approach allows managers and employees to be honest with each other, providing a solid foundation for mutual trust, mutual investment, and mutual benefit. It creates a bigger pie for everyone rather than treating our work relationships as a zero-sum game.

Your journey as a manager will begin the next time you meet one-on-one with an employee and speak the three simple words that show that you’re committed to an open, honest approach: “We are allies”.  Thank you Reid Hoffman, Ben Casnocha and Chris Yeh; Harvard Business Review

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: John Glenn (93), Angela Merkel (60), Patrick Pugliese …famous nephew, Linda Ronstadt (68), Carlos Santana (67), Ricky Skaggs (60).

THREE SCORE YEARS, THE COUNTDOWN – Time to support the medical industry: colonoscopy, dental checkup, heart check, diet check (really), and of course, state of mind check.

CHINA/U.S. RELATIONS HIT NEW LOW - As Chinese and Vietnamese ships ram each other in the contested waters, and Chinese and Japanese fighter jets play games of chicken in Asia's disputed skies, the risk of military escalation is growing. Even more significantly, the standoff is generating bad blood between Washington and Beijing and could torpedo cooperation on important global issues, including the Middle East, climate change and nuclear proliferation. Secretary of State John F. Kerry and .. Lew visit Beijing on Wednesday and Thursday for the sixth annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

And while Washington has been focused more on Iraq and Syria, Ukraine and Russia, some say the U.S.-China relationship is facing its stiffest test since President Richard M. Nixon traveled to Mao Zedong's China in 1972. 'U.S.-China relations are worse than they have been since the normalization of relations, and East Asia today is less stable than at any time since the end of the Cold War,' said Robert Ross, a political science professor at Boston College.

MLB POWER RANKINGS – Through the All-Star break, Rink Rats has selected the top five major league baseball teams:

(1). Oakland Athletics   (2). Detroit Tigers   (3). Washington Nationals

(4). Los Angeles Angels   (5). Los Angeles Dodgers

Bottom Five:

(30). Texas Rangers   (29). Arizona Diamnondbacks   (28). Houston Astros

(27). Chicago Cubs   (26). Minnesota Twins

WORLD CUP WATCH – How World Cup cash is paid to teams, players: The winner between Germany and Argentina in the final will get $35 million in prize money paid to its national federation ... The runner up gets $25 million (up from $24 million in 2010), while the third- and fourth-place teams get $22 million and $20 million ... FIFA lets national federations choose how to reward the 23 players on their squads. The German federation last year promised all 23 players a 300,000-euro ($408,000) bonus for winning a fourth World Cup title. That is the equivalent of a few weeks' basic wage for the German players who are employed by wealthy European clubs like Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

THE SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS:

Major League All-Star Game: American League 7 National League 4.

2014 Season to date (39-36)

WORDS OF THE MONTH –

Boondoggle \BOON-dog-uhl, -daw-guhl\

verb

1. to do work of little or no practical value merely to keep or look busy.

2. to deceive or attempt to deceive: to boondoggle investors into a low-interest scheme.

“The summer time is when the administrators head to their various boondoggles.”

va, verb No way!

Va is the third person of the verb ir, to go, for instance:

“Mañana creo que va a llover.”

I think it’s going to rain tomorrow.

MARKET WEEK - In Merger Monday news: Shire (SHPG) is ready to recommend AbbVie’s (ABBV) higher takeover bid worth $53 billion; Kodiak Oil & Gas (KOG) will be bought by Whiting Petroleum (WLL) for $3.8 billion: and URS (URS) will be acquired by rival engineering firm AECOM (ACM) for about $4 billion.

DRIVING THE WEEK - Congress this week will attempt to avoid the "highway cliff" by advancing bills in the House and Senate to keep the trust fund solvent past the end of the August and possibly until next May ... President Obama and the White House will put pressure on Republicans with reports today from the CEA and NEC and how much infrastructure spending could boost the economy. ... Obama has infrastructure-related events planned for Tuesday in Virginia and Thursday in Delaware ... House Rules is scheduled to meet at 5:00 p.m. Monday to formulate a rule for H.R.5021, the "Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014" to avoid the cliff ... Citigroup today is expected to announce a $7 billion MBS settlement ... Citi also announces second quarter earnings this morning leading off a week of big bank earnings ... JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs report Tuesday and Bank of America on Wednesday.

Retail sales at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday expected to rise 0.6%, 0.5% ex-autos ... Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen testifies at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday before Senate Banking and is likely to expand on her views on the recent uptick in inflation and what it means for Fed policy ... Yellen continues her testimony Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. before House Financial Services ... Producer prices at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday expected to rise 0.2% headline and core ... University of Michigan consumer sentiment at 9:55 a.m. Friday expected to rise to 83.0 from 82.5 ... Index of leading indicators at 10:00 a.m. Friday expected to rise 0.5% ... CNBC's "Delivering Alpha" conference takes place Wednesday in NYC.

Next week: The lost of art of cleaning the garage.

Until Next Monday, Adeus.

Claremont, CA

July 14, 2014

#V-13, 222

Random Thoughts

Random thoughts while waiting for FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) to hand out Oscars for the best actor and best face of agony in the World Cup, and then thirty seconds later score a goal with that same injured leg.

But, you got to like the football (soccer) announcers: Ian Darke and Fernando Palomo, they are classic.

I was walking through the Claremont Colleges the other day. How come they have so much money? A walk through those five/six/seven campuses is a walk into another world. How about sending a few million down Bonita Avenue to the University of La Verne; we have a good President (in fact POTULV lives in your neighborhood) struggling and clawing daily to meet the demands of a growing diverse University in a complicated world of higher education finance and competition. Three, four million will do. So you go without a few fountains and iPad/iPhone charging stations, help us out! We will let you win in football….I know the Coach.

Speaking of Claremont, CA the growing Village discussions about Water and who controls it, is proving more interesting each day: Advocates on both sides of the debate; purchase the Golden State Water Company (FLOW – Friends of Locally Owned Water) or work with Golden State Water (CAWA – Claremont Affordable Water Advocates), all have valid arguments. My only question is does Claremont really have the wherewithal to manage a Water Company? It has taken Claremont twenty plus years (and counting) to figure out the Claremont Hills Wilderness Trail.  And there is no revenue collection involved with this management issue.

While we are on the subject of municipal government decision making, I find the debate in the City of La Verne, CA over the proposed Walmart Grocery store an interesting one. Especially in a City that has a weekly Farmers’ Market with no actual farm produce for sale. Yes, I am not a big fan of Walmart; in fact I never shop there. But the arguments against allowing the firm to operate a business closely resemble the illegal immigrant protests in the City of Murrieta: ignorance.

Talk about sustainability; this past July 4^th weekend my car never left the garage and I attended a lovely Thursday dinner, went to a 5K race, a pancake breakfast, a Fourth of July parade, saw fireworks, visited a Farmers’ Market, took in a movie, had a Mai Tai at a lovely local inn’s patio, AND took a few of naps.

Nearly everything they serve in a ballpark will kill you if you eat it more than three days in a row.

The last time the Los Angeles Angels were .500 as a major league baseball franchise, they were 1-1 in 1961; they’re almost back at 4,270-4,272.

Think the Lakers and Dodgers will pick up on the importance of team play after what the Los Angeles Kings and San Antonio Spurs accomplished? Not.

If any of my readers know Coach Chris Krich the head football coach of the University of La Verne, well I have a “separated at birth” candidate for Coach Krich: Michael Breed host of the Golf Channel’s The Golf Fix – scary. http://michaelbreed.com/

NFL training camps open in three weeks. Can anyone beat the Seattle Seahawks?

Well I believe I have my retirement locations determined, after great thought – May through October: Walloon Lake Michigan; November through April: The Tradition Golf Club La Quinta California – Now I just have to come up with $10 million give or take.

I was speaking with a student of mine this past week; this student is from the Hunan Province in central China. He was telling me how he wished there were In N’ Out Burgers in his home town. I told him I wished we (USA) had the Chinese growth rate in our economy. He looked at me a bit puzzled and said, that will never happen, you in America are too spoiled and life is easy. I told him he may be right but spend a day at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

This coming week should be interesting in my little world of academia; I am teaching a Finance class to twenty one South American visiting scholars, most are from Brazil. Will Finance take precedent over the World Cup Semi-Final on Tuesday Brazil vs. Germany? What is class dismissed in Portuguese?  “Classe demitido”

If any of my readers out there know Mr. David Allen of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin please introduce us. I have been following him for years now and wonder how he does not have an ulcer? The restaurants he frequents and reports on in the Inland Empire are anti-Bobby Flay to say the least.

The REACH program by far the best community engagement program at the University of La Verne concluded their three week run this past week. Fifty plus senior high school students to be lived and studied on Campus, mentored with college professors, staff and college students to learn about the demands of higher education, business planning, and above all else life. Not only were they excellent students and people, they received a certificate for their achievements, recognition from the California State Assembly, and to top that received jobs at local McDonald’s restaurants as a reward for their hard work. Funny, at the student presentations or award ceremony I did not see one member of the University’s Admissions Office, Public Relations, or Marketing Departments. Not one picture or article in a (real) local newspaper or story on a local television station. I must be missing something. How many University programs in the country offer this summer program to local students??? Not a worthy story I guess.

Meanwhile in the Sunday edition of the L.A. Times: High school camp hones students' business, entrepreneurial instincts http://fw.to/itOJNsc 

A truly great American died this past week, Louis Zamperini (1917-2014), the Olympic runner and World War II hero whose personal story of sacrifice and resilience resonated worldwide. Mr. Zamperini was the subject of Laura Hillenbrand’s best-selling book “Unbroken”. If you have not read it, this book is a must for every American to read.

Mr. Louis Zamperini is truly one of the Greatest of the Greatest Generation.

BILL CLINTON ATM MACHINE - Bill Clinton has been paid $104.9 million for 542 speeches around the world between January 2001, when he left the White House, and January 2013, when Hillary stepped down as secretary of state ... Although slightly more than half of his appearances were in the United States, the majority of his speaking income, $56.3 million, came from foreign speeches, many of them in China, Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom ... Goldman Sachs has hired Bill Clinton for eight speeches over the years totaling $1.35 million, many of them client meetings in such locales as Paris, Phoenix, and the South Carolina beach resort of Kiawah Island.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: Susan Ford Bales (57), the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (79), David McCullough (81)Sylvester Stallone (68), Ringo Starr (74), Sela Ward (58).

THREE SCORE YEARS, THE COUNTDOWN – It won’t be long to get these discounts: AMC Theatres movie tickets up to 30% off; Dunkin Donut a free donut; 10% off at Dairy Queen; 10% off at Krispy Kreme; 10% off at the Waffle House; 10% off on groceries the first Wednesday of each month at Albertson’s; stay free on Sunday nights at Motel 6; up to $8 off on haircuts at Super Cuts. Wow, a diet may be in future plans, but what deals!

GOP '16 CONVENTION CHOICES are down to Dallas and Cleveland -- Mistake by the Lake' [Cleveland] seeks political redemption: This Lake Erie city has suffered some bad public relations over the years and has made headlines for all the wrong reasons: poverty, pollution, foreclosure, bizarre crimes and a fleeing population. Yet, thanks to billions of dollars spent burnishing the city's image and its physical face, Cleveland is one of two finalists for the Republican national convention in 2016 and a longshot candidate to host the Democrats, as well. ... Downtown streets that once emptied when the working crowd left for the suburbs now come alive with visitors and residents. ... But Cleveland is second only to its neighbor to the northwest, Detroit, as the nation's poorest big city.

G.M.'S RECALL WOES CONTINUE - General Motors last Monday became consumed once again by the safety crisis it cannot seem to shake, announcing the recall of 8.4 million more vehicles worldwide - most of them for an ignition defect similar to the flaw that the company failed to disclose in other models for more than a decade. The announcement came just hours after Kenneth R. Feinberg, a compensation expert hired by G.M., unveiled a plan to pay victims of accidents involving some of the 2.6 million G.M. vehicles already recalled ... promising swift payments for people who were critically injured and more than $1 million for families of those who died.

The latest recall announcement seemed to deflate whatever good will G.M. had generated with the news of Mr. Feinberg's plan. Trading in G.M. stock, which had risen slightly on Mr. Feinberg's news, was suspended temporarily on the [NYSE] ... while the announcement about the recalls was made. (The stock closed down about 1 percent.) ... The details of the new recall sounded familiar. Keys could inadvertently shift while the cars were running, shutting off the engine and disabling air bags and other important power safety features. The vehicles were older, this time dating as far back as the 1997 model year. There was a toll linked to the recall - seven crashes, eight injuries and three fatalities.'

WORLD CUP WATCH – Viewership Sets U.S. Records with Americans Out: The first two World Cup quarterfinals averaged more than 5 million U.S. television viewers, with Brazil's defeat of Colombia setting a record for American viewership of that stage of the tournament. ... The U.S.'s 2-1 loss to Belgium in the round of 16 on July 1, late afternoon on a Tuesday, drew 21.6 million viewers, 16.5 million on ESPN and 5.1 million on Univision, the second-highest total for a men's soccer telecast in U.S. history. It trailed only the U.S. team's 2-2 tie with Portugal on Sunday, June 22, which averaged 24.7 million viewers -- 18.2 million on ESPN and 6.5 on Univision.

THE SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS:

WORLD CUP – Brazil to beat Spain in the World Cup Final.

Tuesday Semi-Final: Brazil 1 Germany 0

Wednesday Semi-Final: Argentina 2 Netherlands 1

2014 Season to date (38-34)

MARKET WEEK - With no major economic numbers set for today, investors will be looking ahead to Wednesday’s release of the minutes from the Fed’s June policy meeting. Following last week’s strong jobs report, there’s mounting speculation that the central bank may need to raise short-term rates sooner than expected, if the economy keeps improving.

DRIVING THE WEEK -  POTUS WEEK AHEAD, per the White House: On Monday, the President will host a group of teachers at the White House for lunch to discuss the Administration's efforts to ensure that every student is taught by an effective educator. The President will be joined by the Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. On Tuesday, the President will welcome NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to the White House ... ahead of the NATO summit in Wales this September ... In the evening, the President will travel to Denver ...

On Wednesday, while in Denver, the President will attend a DSCC event. The President will then travel to ... Dallas ... for a DCCC event. In the evening, the President will travel to ... Austin, ... where he will attend a DNC event and remain overnight. On Thursday, while in Austin, ... the President will attend a DNC event and deliver remarks on the economy.

REMEMBERING HOWARD BAKER - Howard H. Baker Jr. (1925 – 2014), a soft-spoken Tennessee lawyer who served three terms in the Senate and became known as 'the great conciliator' in his eight years as the chamber's Republican leader, died on Thursday at his home in Huntsville, Tenn. He was 88. His death was announced on the Senate floor by the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who called him 'one of the Senate's most towering figures.' Mr. Baker found his greatest fame in the summer of 1973, when he was the ranking Republican on the special Senate committee that investigated wrongdoing of the Nixon White House in the Watergate affair.

In televised hearings that riveted the nation, he repeatedly asked the question on the minds of millions of Americans: 'What did the president know, and when did he know it?' ... Mr. Baker's public career included four years as ambassador to Japan, a year as White House chief of staff and two tries for the presidency. But he will be remembered as, quintessentially, a man of the Senate, ideally suited to that patience-trying institution because of his lawyer's mind, equanimity and knack for fashioning compromises.

Next week: Summer School Finance style, four indicators on why you need a summer vacation and words of the month.

Until Next Monday, Adeus.

Claremont, CA

July 7, 2014

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