Top Five

 Weekend Edition

TOP FIVE MOTHER’S DAY GIFTS –

1). Flowers

2). Quality Time

3). Digital Frame

4). Silk Eye Mask

5). Bath Soak

 

TOP FIVE REASONS POTUS IS IN TROUBLE –

1). Inflation

2). Immigration

3). Democrats in the usual disarray

4). The Thing

5). COVID

 

TOP FIVE MARKET WEEK –

1). The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it is raising interest rates by a half-percentage point to get a handle on the worst inflation America has seen in 40 years. It's the first time in 22 years that the central bank has hiked rates this much.

2). Economy: The time to go after your dream job is now. There were a record 11.5 million job openings in March, meaning there are now two job openings for every unemployed person. Plus, a record 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in March—also a record.

3). The worst bond rout in decades hit a new milestone with the yield on the 10-year Treasury reaching 3% for the first time since late 2018. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which rises when bond prices fall, crossed the 3% level ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve meeting, recently trading at 3.002%.

4). Worker output fell 7.5% in the first quarter 2022, the biggest decline since 1947.

5). Stocks had their worst day of the year Thursday — led by a sell-off in areas of the economy that boomed during the pandemic. Big Tech — namely Apple — had a huge impact on the losses, as did Facebook parent company Meta, Amazon, Netflix, Google and Microsoft.  E-commerce giants Etsy, eBay and Shopify spooked investors too when they cautioned growth would be slowing.

Roughly four in every 10 companies on the Nasdaq Composite Index have seen their market values cut in half from their 52-week highs.

Supporting factors of last year’s stability, including the expectation that stay-at-home trends would continue, are gone now. So is easy money, with rates headed up. Investment strategies have moved from "get rich quick" to "get rich slowly.

 

TOP FIVE MARKET LOSERS YEAR-TO-DATE –

1). Amazon -30.18%

2). NASDAQ -21.27%

3). Bitcoin -16.90%

4). S&P 500 -12.99%

5). Dow -9.19%

 

TOP FIVE AVERAGE BALANCES IN 401k ACCOUNTS –

1). Age 65+ = $216,720

2). Age 55-64 = $197,322

3). Age 45¬-54 = $135,777

4). Age 35-44 = $72,578

5) Age 35-34 = $26,839

 

TOP FIVE CLIMATE WARNINGS –

1). Lake Mead is currently around 1,054 feet above sea level, its lowest level since it was first filled in the 1930s. The lake, America’s largest reservoir, is currently at 35% of its capacity. 25 million people and millions of acres of farmland use Lake Mead’s water. Authorities say that the Western megadrought—the driest two decades in 1,200 years.

2). A record-breaking heat wave gripping India and Pakistan is set to subside in the coming days, but it’s been a scorcher: More than 1 billion people experienced temps of 104°F or higher from Thursday through Sunday.

3). Deforestation is the clearance of woodland and forest, this is either done for the wood or to create space for farms or ranches. Trees and forests turn carbon dioxide into oxygen, so when they are cleared like the stored carbon is then released into the environment. Deforestation can also occur naturally which has a greater effect because of the fumes released from the fire.

4). Humans create more waste now than ever before, because of the amount of packaging used and the short life cycle of products. A lot of items, waste and packaging isn't recyclable, which means it ends up in landfills. When the waste in landfills begins to decompose/break down it releases harmful gases into the atmosphere which contribute to global warming.

5). Fish is one of humans’ main sources of protein and a lot of the world now rely on this industry. Due to the amount of people buying and consuming fish, there is now a reduced amount of marine life. Overfishing has also caused a lack of diversity within the ocean. 

 

TOP FIVE REASONS YOU DO NOT WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENT –

1). Me, Myself and I

2). No concept of capital and its value

3). City of Upland, California

4). The future is now

5). Other people’s money

 

TOP FIVE BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEKEND – Birthday wishes and thoughts this weekend to George Clooney (61), Bill Cowher (65), Willie Mays (91), Peggy Redman …. the past, present, and future of the University of La Verne, Bob Seger (77).

 

TOP FIVE CHRONICLES OF HIGHER EDUCATION –

1). Charitable giving to U.S. colleges and universities increased by nearly 7 percent in the last year.

2). Rents have increased 17 percent since March 2020 and the increase has been even higher in popular college towns. Chapel Hill, N.C., saw a 24-percent jump, Claremont, CA., had a 28-percent increase, and Tempe, Ariz., saw a 31-percent hike. In some cases, the rental increases have been exacerbated by a lack of on-campus housing.

3). Hundreds of Sonoma State University faculty members are expected to begin voting Friday on a resolution declaring “no confidence” in the leadership of President Judy Sakaki, who for weeks has been ensnared in a retaliation and sexual harassment scandal involving her husband, Patrick McCallum. But key faculty members who support the referendum point out that Sakaki’s handling of harassment claims against her husband are only part of what motivated the vote. They point to Sakaki’s inability or failure to respond to one campus crisis after another.

4). A former dean of the University of Southern California’s education school ordered administrators to omit data from its submission to U.S. News & World Report in order to raise its graduate-school ranking as long ago as 2013, according to an investigation by an outside law firm, released on Friday by the university. The school had been ranked No. 11 when the university withdrew from the rankings in March.

5). The Clarkson University Board of Trustees has appointed Marc P. Christensen, PhD, PE to serve as the 17th President of Clarkson University, effective July 1, 2022.  Dr. Christensen is currently the dean of the Lyle School of Engineering at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, and a well-regarded leader in photonics research and technology development.

Dr. Christensen will succeed Dr. Anthony G. Collins, who is stepping down as Clarkson’s President at the conclusion of the 2021-22 academic year, following 19 years of  leadership with the institution.

Let’s hope his first decision is to cut the hockey budget.

 

TOP FIVE JAMES BOND 007 FILMS –

1).       Goldfinger (1964)

2).       Spectre (2015)

3).       Golden Eye (1995)

4).       Skyfall (2012)

5).       Dr. No (1962)

 

TOP FIVE MOST EXPENSIVE PUBLIC GOLF COURSES –

1).       Shadow Creek Golf Course ($500)

2).       Pebble Beach Golf Links ($495)

3).       Pinehurst No. 2 ($389)

4).       Cascata Course ($375)

5).       TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course ($375)

 

TOP FIVE GAMES I WILL NEVER PLAY –

1). Run a marathon

2). Cricket

3). Basketball

4). Frisbee Golf

5). Pickleball

 

TOP FIVE REASONS TO WATCH THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS –

1). The NHL’s new TV home: This will be the first postseason since the 2004–05 lockout that will not be broadcast by NBC. Games will air on ESPN, ESPN2, TNT and TBS in the United States.

2). Packed houses: For the first time since 2019, all arenas will be operating at full capacity for the playoffs.

3). Canada’s drought: Until some team from north of the border lifts the Stanley Cup, every postseason will be dominated by talk of how the 1993 Canadiens were the last Canadian team to win the championship.

4). Another Southern Stanley Cup? Canadians might have to suffer the indignity of watching another Florida team lift the Cup next month.

5). The playoff beards: If you don’t care about the games, just watch to see who can and can’t grow a beard for superstition’s sake.

 

THE SWAMI’s TOP FIVE KENTUCKY DERBY PICKS –

1). Zandon: 3-1, Chad Brown

2). Epicenter: 7-2, Steven Asmussen

3). Messier: 8-1, Tim Yakteen

4). Charge It: 20-1, Todd Pletcher

5). Taiba: 12-1, Tim Yakteen

Season to Date (5 - 2)

 

Next Blog: Commencement Season and Jack Ass of the Month

Until May 9, 2022, Adios.

Claremont, California

May 6, 2022

#XIII-1-447

 

1,468 words, five-minute read

 

CARTOON OF THE WEEKEND – The New Yorker, Ellis Rosen

 

 

RINK RATS WEEKEND POLL – Holiday with the best food …...?

___ Cinco De Mayo

___ St. Patrick’s Day

___ Memorial Day/4th of July/Labor Day

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND – “Your past mistakes are meant to guide you, not define you.” – Maria Shriver

 

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

Our Thirteenth Year.

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