Tax Season

We are back, enough of this spring break stuff – time to get back to what we like to do best…Rink Rats. We start off our spring season with what else? Tax Time.

On this date almost all of us have filed (except yours truly), but I have found when one tax year is complete and filed, now is the best time to prepare for the next. You have all your information and you have already completed one quarter of the current year.

Here are a few tips to help you with retirement tax planning 2017 and beyond.

A Slightly Different Tax Deadline for 2017

Did you know that you get 3 extra days for taxes this year? Duh!  This year April 15 is a Saturday and the following Monday is a holiday in Washington D.C.  So, tax day falls on Tuesday, April 18, 2017. That’s the deadline for filing taxes on income earned in 2016.

Are You Older than 70 1/2 and Still Working? Do a Reverse Rollover…

According to Pew Research, Americans over 70 are working at higher rates than ever before.  If this is you, then you might benefit from a reverse rollover.

A reverse rollover — transferring funds from an IRA into your company 401k or 403b program — is an interesting tax strategy if you:

Are over 70 1/2 and have money in an IRA account that will be subject to Required Minimum Distributions

Do not NEED or want to withdraw funds from your IRA accounts

Have access to a 401k or 403b program where you are currently working

Learn more about other ways to reduce the impact of RMDs.

Have Income?  Make it Nontaxable

If you are not yet retired, you certainly have income from work.  Already retired?  You may have taxable income from withdrawals, passive investments and more.

No matter your retirement status, retirement tax planning often means keeping your taxable income under certain thresholds.  To do this, you can take “deductions.”  Deductions are a way to turn taxable income into nontaxable income.

Here are a few ways to make your retirement income nontaxable:

Add to Retirement Savings: So long as your income is below a certain threshold, any money you put into a 401k, 403b or IRA (a traditional IRA, not a Roth IRA) will not be taxed.  For 2017, you can contribute up to

$18,000 into a 401(k) or up to $5,500 into an IRA

If you’re aged 50 or older, the maximums go up to $24,000 and $6,500, respectively.

Put Money in a Health Savings Account (HSA): Funding healthcare is expensive.  However, you can make your spending a little more efficient by utilizing an HSA.  Money you put in an HSA is deductible up to $3,400 for individuals and $6,750 for families in 2017.  Besides the savings being non taxable, distributions from the HSA are also tax free when they are used to pay medical expenses.

The One Advantage of Debt: If you itemize your deductions, then the interest you pay on some debts —  mortgages, student loans and more — is deductible.

The One Advantage of State Taxes: Like debt, state and local taxes can be deducted if you itemize.

Give a Little, Get a Little: Charitable contributions of up to 50% of your adjusted gross income are also deductible if you itemize and give to a qualified charity. Your donation can be in the form of money or property.

Watch Out for Lump Sum Benefits

If you are planning on getting a lump sum payment from a pension or other source, you could be facing a big tax headache.  The company paying your benefit is required — by law — to withhold 20% of the money for taxes.  (You can likely recover the taxes, but it is complicated and the lump sum distribution can trigger all kind of annoyances and the very real possibility of penalties.)

You may be able to avoid the problem if you ask your employer to deposit your pension directly into a rollover IRA.  The check can not be made out to you, it must be transferred directly into the IRA account.

Stay Flexible

After a couple of decades of working, you will most likely have several different account types, which may include a brokerage account, a traditional tax-deferred account like an Independent Retirement Account (IRA) or a 401(k) and a Roth IRA in which you can withdraw tax-free, explains Pamela Kornblatt, president of Tax Strategist, LTD, based in New York City.

“Conventional wisdom holds that you should start by drawing on the taxable assets and then move next to the tax deferred vehicles, saving the Roth, which is tax-free, for last,” Kornblatt says. “However it may not necessarily be advantageous to strictly follow this order, and it is in fact ideal to keep assets in each type of account to be able to tap into them throughout your lifetime.”

It’s a good idea to make sure you maintain assets in each of the three types of accounts, Kornblatt explains. “This allows for added flexibility to both help lower your overall tax burden and also spread taxes out over time so you don’t have to pay them all out at once,” she says.

Roth Conversions

There are two types of IRAs and 401ks — traditional accounts and Roth accounts.

In a traditional retirement account, you save the money tax free and then pay taxes when you withdraw the money.

In a Roth account, you pay taxes when you save the money and withdrawals are tax free.

You can rollover from one kind of account to the other and doing so can help you save on taxes.  When to do a conversion will depend on your current and future tax bracket, your time horizon, your estate plan, whether or not you can afford to pay taxes on a conversion and more.

Just Retired? Retiring Soon? You Need to Take More Control Over Taxes

A lot of retirees pay their taxes quarterly. When you leave the workforce, you may have to estimate your income and pay quarterly taxes ahead of the April deadline when most American have to file. This is because you are no longer paying federal taxes as you would while you are still in the workforce, which is typically taken right out of your paycheck.

Once you start tapping into your retirement accounts, Social Security benefits or pension, you will have to start submitting your estimated payments. You won’t have to pay estimated taxes on a quarterly basis if you opt to have taxes withheld from these income sources.

Working for Yourself?  Try This

Many retirees start their own businesses.  If this is you, did you know that you can deduct the premiums you pay for Medicare Part B and Part D plus the costs of supplemental Medicare or Medicare Advantage?

Be Mindful of Fees

Every investment firm wants to extract some of your money, and they have various means of getting to it, some with the small print, others with front or back loads, and the majority with an annual take on either returns or total assets or both.

As you move money around to try to avoid taxes, pay attention to these potential fees.  For many, this is more important than seeking lower taxes.

Consider Your Overall Retirement Plan as Well as Your Estate Plan

While minimizing your taxes this year and next is useful, you also want to think long term.

Estate Planning: If you plan on leaving any kind of estate, you will want to make sure you are taking advantage of the many different strategies that can preserve your wealth, reduce the tax burden on your heirs and strengthen your overall finances.

CPAs, financial advisors and lawyers can all help you strengthen your estate plan in a way that reduces your and your family’s tax burden. Above all else find an advisor you can trust.

Retirement Planning: Minimizing how much you spend on taxes is only one aspect of your retirement financial plan.  Taxes are annoying, but it is important for you to evaluate all aspects of your saving, spending and earning.

Consider using a retirement calculator that helps you plan for all aspects of your retirement.  Figure out what you want to spend for retirement happiness, how those expenses will change overtime and then find the best retirement strategies for making your dreams come true.

THE ROAD AHEAD FOR TRUMP - It doesn't get much easier after the health care failure. A potential shutdown looms on April 29th - Trump's 100th day in office. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Sunday said he was confident the GOP could craft a deal to bring enough Democrats along in the Senate. But fights loom in both chambers over President Trump's proposed border wall, Planned Parenthood funding and military spending, to name just a few.

ELECTRIC SHOCK - Tesla Inc., the upstart Silicon Valley electric-car maker run by Elon Musk, has overtaken Ford Motor Co., the automotive pioneer that is exactly 100 years older, as the second-largest U.S. auto maker by stock-market value.

Market caps: GM $51.2 billion ... Tesla: $48.7 billion ... Ford: $45.5 billion.

THE NEXT GENERATION OF KENNEDYS - Three family members seem poised to step up on the national stage — with Trump as their foil.

Chris Kennedy — the eighth of Robert and Ethel Kennedy's 11 children, a Democrat running for governor in his adopted Illinois next year — is in "the vanguard of a Kennedy family comeback in American politics.

His cousin Ted Kennedy Jr., son of the late Massachusetts senator, is mulling his own 2018 gubernatorial run in Connecticut, where he's a member of the state Senate.

Then there's Joe Kennedy III, the third-term Massachusetts congressman, grabbing the national spotlight to help defeat Trump's health care plan — prompting big questions about his next move.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Warren Beatty (80) Beverly Hills, CA., Gene Hasse …famous ruler of the clan, Norma Torres (52) Pomona, CA.

COLLEGE CHRONICLES - Outlook for Higher Education: Nonprofit higher education as a sector looks somewhat promising, at least through the lens of credit analysis. That’s because many colleges are beginning to meet challenges to their bottom lines with a more strategic approach, said Jessica Matsumori, a senior director and sector lead with S&P Global Ratings, a bond-rating agency.

In the past, many institutions tried to compete with their peers by doing the same thing as they did but doing it better, she said. More colleges these days have responded to competitive pressures by evaluating what unique programs or qualities they can offer, then making specific strategic moves to specialize, and enhance, their appeal to prospective students.

The increased nimbleness of some colleges has been aided by the decline in the number of tenured faculty members, which allows some institutions more adaptability to modify their offerings and to save money on salary and benefits. But colleges must perform “a balancing act,” regarding tenure from a financial standpoint, Ms. Matsumori said. Without it, they may not be able to recruit the faculty members they want.

STUDENT DEBT - Since 2010, when the government took over student lending, direct government lending to students has gone from approximately $200 billion to more than $900 billion – creating ... a population that is rightfully angry about how much money they owe.

SUNY IS FREE - State lawmakers in New York this week established a plan to provide free public-college education to middle-class residents. The Excelsior Scholarship, as the free-tuition plan is known, is to begin in the fall of 2017 for students whose families make $100,000 or less a year. By 2019 the income eligibility will increase to $125,000. There's a small catch: Students must stay in New York after graduation for as many years as they received the scholarship. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Monday that the requirement was added to ensure that students who receive the tuition dollars remain "an asset to the state."

CONSUMER BALANCE THE BUDGET - 1 in 3 Americans can't come up with $2,000. That's according to a new study released this week from The New York Fed. While 32.5% of survey respondents feel they might need $2,000 to cover an unexpected expense in the next month, almost exactly the same number, 32.8%, admit they could not come up with that sum in the next month if faced with an emergency. The financial vulnerability of Americans is a reminder that, despite historically low unemployment rates, many in the U.S. are still living paycheck to paycheck.

END OF AN ERA - Now that the Detroit Red Wings have been officially eliminated from this year’s playoffs, their glorious postseason streak has reached its conclusion. Twenty-five straight seasons of success is certainly something to celebrate. So are their four Stanley Cups and six finals appearances total since 1990 – both of which lead the NHL during that span.

Simply put, it’s the end of an era. Some argue that said era has been over since the 2009-10 season. But making the playoffs every year since has given the Red Wings a chance at yet another Stanley Cup and that certainly counts for something.

HUNTINGTON LIBRARY CHANGE - The Board of Trustees of The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens announced in an email this past week that Dr. Laura Skandera Trombley, president of The Huntington, has stepped down from her post effective immediately.

As the newest recipient of the Louis J. Budd Award for outstanding contributions in the field of Twain scholarship, Dr. Trombley will give priority to her scholarship as she immediately starts her next book-length study of Mark Twain, according to The Huntington’s Board.

“We wish Laura well in all her future endeavors and scholarship and appreciate all her fine efforts on behalf of The Huntington,” said Anne Rothenberg, chair of the Board of Trustees.

Dr. Steve Hindle, the W.M. Keck Foundation Director of Research, has been named the acting president as a search for a new president gets underway. Dr. Hindle specializes in social and economic history of early modern England, previously working at the University of Warwick where he was involved in many leadership positions. He began his role as Director of Research at The Huntington in July 2011.

Dr. Trombley will serve as an advisor to the Board of Trustees of The Huntington and has been engaged as a consultant to the Schiff Foundation and the Libra Foundation.

Dr. Trombley stepped into her role as president in July 2015, as both an admirer and frequent visitor of the grounds. As the eighth president of The Huntington, she was the first woman to lead the institution. Previously, she was president of Pitzer College in Claremont, where she is widely credited with dramatically improving the college’s standing in higher education.

Can you say “spin city.”

ESPN - Tough times at the Worldwide Leader in Sports: ESPN Has Seen the Future of TV and They're Not Really Into It"): ESPN has lost more than 12 million subscribers since 2011 ... and the viewership erosion seems to be accelerating. Last fall, ESPN lost 621,000 subscribers in a single month, the most in the company's history. ... As subscribers leave the network, and often cable altogether, ESPN is stuck with rising costs for the rights to broadcast games. Programming costs will top $8 billion in 2017.

COLLEGE HOCKEY PICK OF THE WEEK – Congratulations to the University of Denver Pioneers for winning the National Championship 3-2 over Minnesota-Duluth. Also congratulations to Red Berenson after thirty three years of coaching the University of Michigan, Mr. Berenson is retiring.     Final Season to date (9-9) …until next season.

THE SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS –

Major League Baseball 2017 Season Picks:

American League:

East – Boston Red Sox,  Central – Cleveland Indians,  West – Houston Astros

Wild Cards – Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners

Detroit over Boston in the Championship Series

National League:

East – New York Metropolitans,   Central – Chicago Cubs,   West – San Francisco Giants

Wild Cards – Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals

New York Mets over the Chicago Cubs in the Championship Series

World Series Champs – Detroit Tigers

Season to Date (30 - 16)

MARKET WEEK – Exchange traded funds attracted record inflows in the first three months of 2017 as investors continue to move out from traditional actively managed funds in protest against inconsistent performance and high fees.

Investors worldwide ploughed $197.3bn into ETFs between January and March, a quarterly record, according to ETFGI, a London-based consultancy. This follows 2016, when ETFs, which are famed for being low cost, gathered the highest ever annual amount of $390.4bn in new cash.

DRIVING THE WEEKEND - IMF and World Bank hold their spring meetings this week in DC ... President Trump heads to Wisconsin on Tuesday and hosts the New England Patriots (or at least most of them) at the White House on Wednesday ... Trump meets Italian PM Paolo Gentiloni at the White House on Thursday ... Special election Tuesday for a GOP House seat in Georgia with Dems hoping for a big pickoff. Republicans want to force a run-off.

Next Blog: Radio Days.

Until April 24, Adios

Claremont, California

April 17, 2017

#VII-39-341

CARTOON OF THE WEEK –Trump Golf

Top Five

Top five reasons Rink Rats is back:

1). We got bored.

2). Spring break is over

3). We love to write

4). There is only so much of “The Young and Restless” you can watch

5). I ran out of rum.

Top Five things we learned on spring break:

1). National Center for Disease Control has labeled “reply all” email as an epidemic.

2). My golf game stinks!

3). Women’s softball is entertaining to watch “live”.

4). Students do not study over spring break.

5). Road runners do not fly.

Top Five National Hockey League teams for the 2017 Stanley Cup:

1). Chicago Black Hawks

2). Pittsburgh Penguins

3). Ottawa Senators

4). Anaheim Ducks

5). San Jose Sharks

Top Five Faygo sodas:

1). Rock & Rye

2). Orange

3). Grape

4). Creme Soda

5). Red Pop

Top five schools/teams with the best music during games:

1). University of La Verne Softball

2). UCLA Women Basketball

3). Detroit Red Wings

4). Chicago Cubs

5). Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Women Basketball

Top Five songs played on the iPhone over spring break:

1). “Chain of Fools”, Aretha Franklin

2). “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer”, George Thorogood

3). “Famous in a Small Town”, Miranda Lambert

4). “One for My Baby (And One for the Road)”, Frank Sinatra

5). “Clair De Lune”, Claude Debussy

Top Five Jack Asses of the Month:

1). Sean Spicer

2). Mark Meadows

3). Pin Ball Wizard

4). Charles Barkley

5). Nancy Pelosi

Top five reasons to go to an academic conference:

1). Orlando, Florida

2). Ketel One Vodka

3). Me, myself and I

4). Professional Networking

5). Social Networking

Top Five things that have surprised me recently:

1). How bad the Detroit Tigers will be this coming season

2). Most people do not get it

3). “This is Us” is a good television show

4). “Homeland” is a bad television show

5). The Federal Government is in trouble

Top Five tax preparing apps/software:

1). Dewey Cheatum and Howe

2). TurboTax

3). Tax Act

4). eSmart

5). H&R Block

Top Five Home Run Calls:

1). “Farm to table”

2). “Baba booey”

3). “She is gone”

4). “Hurt me Ernie”

5). “It is high, it is long, see ya”

Top Five birthdays this week:

1). Tara Pugliese (16)

2). Bob Woodward (74)

3). Mitt Romney (70)

4). Andrew Young (85)

5). Diana Ross (73)

Top Five stocks to watch:

1). Dow Chemical (DOW)

2). DuPont (DD)

3). Viacom (VIAB)

4). Disney (DIS)

5). Starbucks (SBUX)

Top Five books on the night stand:

1). “The Reporter Who Knew Too Much”, Mark Shaw

2). “High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the making of an American Classic”, Glenn Frankel

3). “Casey Stengel: Baseball’s Greatest Character”, Marty Appel

4). “The Making of the President 2016”, Roger Stone

5). “The Old Man and the Sea”, Ernest Hemingway

Top Five picks this week of The Swami:

1). North Carolina 85 Gonzaga 74, NCAA Championship game

2). Gonzaga 77 South Carolina 75, NCAA semi-final

3). North Carolina 92 Oregon 82, NCAA semi-final

4). Saturday April 1: (NHL) Edmonton Oilers 5 Anaheim Ducks 4

5). Friday March 31: (SCIAC Baseball) University of La Verne Leopards 6 Occidental College Tigers 4

Next Blog: 2017 Major League Baseball predictions and spring has sprung.

Until April 4, Adios

Claremont, California

March 28, 2017

#VII-38-340

CARTOON OF THE WEEK – Jason Patterson, The New Yorker

Sign of the Times

As we head into the spring break RR takes a look at both the positive and negative events effecting our world.

U.S. AGE GROUPS - the U.S. has more 26-year-olds than any other age cohort:

The baby boomers came of age in the 1960s and 1970s — years that saw much faster economic growth than we have today. Millennials have been slow to acquire the trappings of adulthood like spouses, houses and children, but it's only a matter of time before they lean in to the sort of large purchases that can power a consumer-led economy.

DEATH RATES - The rate of drug-overdose fatalities is now higher than the rate for death by suicides, car accidents or guns.

Why this matters: Opioids killed more than 33,000 people in 2015 — more than ever before. Synthetic opioids can be 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin, which puts emergency rooms at risk of running out of antidotes to treat overdoses

Trump country hit hard: States that Trump won like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio were hardest hit by fatal drug overdoses in 2015.

MARCH 7 LOCAL ELECTIONS – The voters have spoken or have they? Local elections were held this past week here are the voter turnouts:

Los Angeles County: 2,030,173 registered voters, 12.3% voter turnout.

City of Claremont: 22,471 registered voters, 37.6% voter turnout.

City of La Verne: 20,728 registered voters, 38.3% turnout.

Voter Registrar of Los Angeles County Registrar, Municipal Elections Results: Check here for latest returns.

NEWSPAPERS - Warren Buffett thinks only two newspapers are certain to survive the industry's hugely difficult climate: The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

The chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway told CNBC's "Squawk Box" last week the Times and the Journal have an "assured future" because of their proven internet model. "They have developed an online presence that people will pay for."

"If you look, there are 1,300 daily newspapers left in the United States. (Berkshire Hathaway has) 31 of them. There were 1,700 or 1,800 not too long ago," Buffett said. "Now, you've got the internet. Aside from the ones I mentioned, 1,400 or 1,300 of them haven't figured out a way to make the digital model complement the print model."

Buffett also said The Washington Post — which is owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos — may have a chance to survive.

The Post and the Times — along with most other mainstream media outlets — are common targets of President Donald Trump, who repeatedly can't resist lashing out at their coverage.

HALFTIME - Today is Day 50 of the Trump presidency — halfway to the fabled hundred days.

50 days into his presidency, Donald Trump, when left alone because Jared and Ivanka are observing the Sabbath, still bangs out tweets (with episodic misspellings) making wild accusations based on flimsy or nonexistent evidence. And not a single word you just read is disputable. Let that sink in.

Here's why even you Trump fans and White House officials should worry: The weekend tweet storms have hit the courts, intelligence agencies and the media. One day soon, the president will need the public to trust the very institutions he's trying to discredit.

Meet the 5 Trump Administrations: It should be clear by now that there are five different Trump administrations swirling before our eyes — Trump Entertainment, Trump Cleanup, Trump Crazy, Trump G.O.P. and the Essential Trump.

When I add up all these Trumps I do not get a good team feeling; I get the feeling of a pickup basketball team. It doesn't start with a shared vision of what world we're living in and what are the biggest forces shaping this world. It starts with the conclusions on which Trump bases his facts.

We're living in a world being shaped by vast accelerations in technology, globalization, climate change and population growth, and government's job is to enable more citizens to thrive in such a world and cushion its worst impacts.

It's an age where the best leaders build trust at the top, and between themselves and their people, because trust is what enables teams to move fast and experiment more. It's an age when to make America great requires doing big hard things, and big hard things can only be done together.

DOW - The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared above 21,000 for the first time last Wednesday March 1 in a surge of optimism about the economy. Some analysts credited the conciliatory tone of President Trump's first speech to a joint session of Congress, while others said investors were mostly cheered by the confidence of leading Federal Reserve policy makers, who said that improving data on jobs and inflation show that another interest rate hike might be needed soon to keep the economy from overheating. All three of the main U.S. stock indexes hit the latest in a series of record highs, with the Dow completing its fastest 1,000-point gain ever. U.S. stock futures were mixed early Thursday.

3 stocks — Apple, Goldman Sachs and Boeing — account for 1/3 of the Dow gain between 20,000 (Jan. 25) and 21,000 (Mar. 1).

TESLA STILL DRIVING ON THE EDGE -  Tesla is running on fumes. The electric-car and clean-energy company reported fourth-quarter sales of $2.3 billion and an adjusted loss of 69 cents a share recently. But as usual with Tesla, the future matters more than the past. Future prospects rely heavily on Tesla's ability to deliver its mass market Model 3 sedan. Tesla said it expects to deliver about 50,000 of its older Model X and Model S vehicles in the first half of the year and also said it expects "volume production" of the Model 3 in the fall, in addition to its new solar roofing product. The risk is that Tesla is running out of fuel to power its growth. Debt is up, its cash balance is relatively low, and while a new equity boost will increase cash that cash is likely to go quickly. To ramp up production of the Model 3 Tesla needs to boost capital spending. It's unclear whether Tesla has the financial ability to do that. Current faith in Tesla's founder and CEO Elon Musk, however, remains high as evidenced by the company's strong stock price.

GOOD READS - "The End of the Olympics As We Know It," by Rodger Sherman in The Ringer: "The IOC is a parasite: It latches onto hosts, leeches out all the money it can, and leaves a trail of rotting velodromes in its wake. The people at the IOC probably think of the Rio games as a fabulous success." http://bit.ly/2lEmBkq

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Harry Belafonte (90) Boca Raton, FL.; Michael Eisner (75) La Quinta, CA.; Mikhail Gorbachev (86) Paris, France; Rob Reiner (70) Studio City, CA.

THE RETURN OF THE TAMPON TAX: California lawmakers are taking another go at a measure to exempt feminine products from the state sales tax, after Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed legislation last year. Brown's reasoning was that the bill would cost California about $300 million, so supporters brought an offset this year, the Mercury News reported - a $1.20 per gallon hike in the excise tax on hard liquor. "Common sense is that liquor is a choice and a luxury and human biology is not," Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia said. "There is no happy hour for menstruation."

I'LL BE BACK? - Schwarzenegger for Senate?: Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger - the "Terminator" action hero who made "I'll be back" one of filmdom's most iconic phrases - may be mulling a political comeback, according to several GOP political insiders in California. The prospect of Schwarzenegger's return to elected politics in a 2018 U.S. Senate run - possibly as an Independent - is generating increasing buzz in state Republican circles, fueled by the former governor's seeming ability to get under the skin of President Donald Trump on social media.

COLLEGE CHRONICLES - MARCH MADNESS FOR ACADEMICS: Not a big fan of college basketball? STAT, the health and life science news site, launched a different kind of bracket this spring focused on the best innovations coming out of U.S. research institutions, including Harvard, Yale, the University of Michigan, Ohio State, Stanford and UCLA. All of the contestants are accredited colleges and universities in the U.S. The bracket-style contest will have two winners: One chosen by the public and another chosen by the science journalists and editors at STAT.

FORBES' 100 BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR: Top 10: "Google, Wegmans Food Markets, Boston Consulting Group, Baird, Edward Jones, Genentech, Ultimate Software, Salesforce, Acuity and Quicken Loans." The full list http://for.tn/2msW4dJ

BOOB TUBE - I just discovered the Canadian sitcom "Schitt's Creek" on Netflix - it's hilarious.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY - Today's the 40th anniversary of astronomers finding the rings around Uranus. Enough said.

AGUA - Bottled water overtakes soda in US: Research and consulting firm Beverage Marketing Corp. says Americans drank an average of 39.3 gallons of bottled water in 2016, and 38.5 gallons of carbonated soft drinks. In 2015, bottled water was at 36.5 gallons while soda was at 39 gallons.

CONGRATS – To colleague Thomas Allison, for his appointment as Vice President of NAACP Pomona Valley, California. I know of no other person so dedicated to his fellow citizens.

COLLEGE HOCKEY PICK OF THE WEEK – Friday 3/10, 7:00 PM ET, FSE: Big East quarter-final Game #1; #13 University of Vermont Catamounts (20-11-5) vs. #17 Boston College Eagles (18-14-4), we like BC in an upset 5 – 4.    Season to date (8-9)

THE SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS –

(NCAA D-III Men’s Basketball Sectionals, Mar. 11) #1 Whitman College Blues (29-0) vs. Hardin-Simmons University Cowboys (24-6). Whitman College led by Sophomore Joey Hewitt (Peter Hewitt, St. Lawrence ’76) will continue on in the tournament, 68 – 58.

(NHL, March 12) Calgary Flames (37-26-4) at Winnipeg Jets (30-32-6), big game for the Jets in their playoff battle with LA and St. Louis, Jets win 4 – 3.

(NBA, March 12) Golden State Warriors (52-12) at San Antonio Spurs (50-14), Spurs will dominate, 105 – 100.

Season to Date (26 - 15)

MARKET WEEK – Three reason investors are feeling good this Friday March 10:

The promise of corporate tax cuts: No government policy as much of a direct effect on corporate profits as income taxes. With Republicans promising a 15-point decrease in the headline corporate tax rate, investors are betting Washington will soon increase corporate earnings without managers having to lift a finger.

Rising wages: Years of Federal Reserve stimulus has finally gotten the job market hot enough that firms are giving out significant, broad-based wage increases.

The end of an earnings recession: Overall corporate earnings fell for 15 straight months before the trend reversed in the third quarter of 2016. The turnaround coincided with a renewed hope for business-friendly federal policy.

DRIVING THE WEEKEND – College playoffs dominate the coming weekend; conference basketball and hockey tournaments, D-III basketball sectionals, and east coast teams head south and west – Ithaca College comes west to take on SCIAC schools in softball and baseball. Good luck to University of La Verne on their scholarship fund raising gala. Finally, good luck to “Rays the Bar” student business with the opening of their ten week business. 

#ReduceReuseRecharge

Next Blog: Jack Ass of the Month and Rink Rats Top Five.

Until March 20, Adios

Claremont, California

March 10, 2017

#VII-37-339

CARTOON OF THE WEEK –Manhoff, The New Yorker

A Trip to the Desert

Palm Springs midcentury modern architecture, which effortlessly blends desert and design, is all the rage. When Hollywood stars were contractually restricted to a residential radius that allowed for spontaneous meetings, Palm Springs, just over 100 miles east, offered both escape and access, drawing A-list residents like Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra.

Today Palm Springs and the surrounding communities offer a cool and classic vacation break. Though many travelers spend weeks reveling in Palm Springs modernism, surrounding communities from soak-centric Desert Hot Springs to Indio, site of the growing Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, expand the appeal of the valley, which, like the best midcentury modernist buildings here, effortlessly blends desert and design.

There are few better ways to get acquainted with the wealth of modernist architecture in Palm Springs than to ride around in the six-passenger minivan of Robert Imber, owner of Palm Springs Modern Tours. Leading three-hour tours ($85 per person), Mr. Imber covers about 35 miles of drive-by gaping at structures from the 1946 Kaufmann House by Richard Neutra to modernist banks and the 1952 Palm Springs City Hall. Tours start at the Palm Springs Visitors Center, in a dramatically cantilevered former gas station designed by Albert Frey, and offer acquaintance with the valley’s hero architects of the period like E. Stewart Williams and William F. Cody, as well as contemporary architects such as Lance O’Donnell and Sean Lockyer. Don’t leave without perusing the $2 vintage postcards of resorts and pools in the visitors’ center.

With a serious concentration of retailers selling curvy period couches, starburst-shaped lighting fixtures and other retro appointments, Palm Springs is a shopping mecca for fans of midcentury interiors. Hit the shop-filled Uptown Design District to indulge in fantasy home-feathering, beginning at Just Modern, dealing big-ticket furniture as well as more souvenir-friendly artwork, design books and dishware. Stop by the sprawling Trina Turk boutique featuring Ms. Turk’s sunny signature women’s wear collection as well as kicky shopping totes, notecards and swimwear. Across the street, Bon Vivant, Retrospect and A La Mod offer wonderfully curated collections of vintage housewares.

Given its legacy of Rat Pack steakhouses, country club surf-and-turf dinners and seniors’ early-bird specials, Palm Springs’ food scene has been conservative compared with its maverick taste in design. But earlier this year, the Italian chef Giacomo Pettinari, who previously earned a Michelin star at Valentino’s in Los Angeles, moved to the desert, attracted by the newly renovated luxury resort L’Horizon with the offer to lead its restaurant, Sopa. Mr. Pettinari’s menu surveys the Mediterranean from Turkish red pepper dip and roasted Spanish octopus starters to squid ink gnocchi and mushroom risotto. All seating is outdoors on a romantic terrace with lights dangling from the trees, ideal for sipping palomas. Dinner is about $100 for two, without drinks.

For after-dinner drinks and a retro spin on the dance floor, stop by Melvyn’s Restaurant. One has only to take in the wall of celebrity photos in the lounge to know Melvyn’s has a long history in Palm Springs. Known as a hangout of Frank Sinatra, the old-school restaurant has a new-school following, especially during the Coachella music festival, when parties frequently buy out the place. In its lounge, a pianist plays American standards and other pop numbers beside the dance floor.

Golf and tennis are perennial draws in the area, and the latter has been accented by the expansion of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in down-valley Indian Wells. Now owned by the Oracle Corporation founder Larry Ellison, who also owns the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament held this year on March 7 to 20, the tennis facility recently added a second stadium court and 16 more acres. The benefit to visitors is that they can play on many of the 29 courts on the club grounds. Keep your eye on the ball while taking in the mountain-ringed vistas (most clinics and drop-in classes start at $25). We especially like the Mountain Course at the La Quinta Resort for great vistas and a challenging round of golf.

Quench your thirst at the one of the best sports bars in the area, The Beer Hunter in La Quinta: good food, cheap drinks and plenty of televisions.

Those looking for an early-morning calorie burn might prefer the uphill battles of Gastin or Araby Trail, but a hike through Tahquitz Canyon (500 West Mesquite Avenue; 760-416-7044; www.tahquitzcanyon.com) offers a leisurely alternative. An entrance fee of $12.50 gets you access to a 1.8-mile loop and the sights and smells that come with it: desert plants, lizards aplenty and a stunning, 60-foot waterfall. Unless you have an intense interest in beavertail cactus and white sage, skip the two-hour ranger-led tours and explore the trail at your own pace.

The springs beneath Palm Springs and surrounding communities have formed the basis of a spa culture built on warm soaks. Immerse yourself in the palm-shaded hot pools of Two Bunch Palms in Desert Hot Springs, which recently switched entirely to solar power. The calming effect of the naturally occurring lithium is said to boost moods within 30 minutes (from $65). The spa’s restaurant Essence has been refashioned in organic materials, down to a bark-shorn tree trunk as a centerpiece. It serves tuna Niçoise salads ($15) and wagyu burgers ($15) to a damp, robe-clad clientele at lunch.

Walter and Leonore Annenberg, owners of the 200-acre Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage, created a destination for world leaders, where Richard Nixon wrote his State of the Union address in 1974 and President Obama recently held a summit meeting with Southeast Asian leaders. In 2012, the property opened to the public, offering tours of the 1966 home designed by A. Quincy Jones. Ninety-minute tours of the 23-bedroom home cost $40, but the 17,000-square-foot visitors’ center, built in midcentury style, and the gardens are free, worth the trip to walk the shaded labyrinth and spy an impressive array of cactus.

If you live in Southern California or in Sudbury, Ontario Canada, Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley offers a great escape from October to April, May through September, a great escape but the ITS’ HOT!

FARM BUST - Soon there will be fewer than two million farms in America for the first time since pioneers moved westward after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.

The problem: A multiyear slump in prices for corn, wheat and other farm commodities brought on by a glut of grain world-wide is ... raising concerns that the next few years could bring the biggest wave of farm closures since the 1980s. ...

Key stat: American farmers' incomes will drop 9% in 2017, ... extending the steepest slide since the Great Depression into a fourth year."

What it means: This is another sign of a weakening America: The U.S. share of the global grain market is less than half what it was in the 1970s. ... U.S. farmers sowed the fewest acres of winter wheat this season in more than a century.

BANK TELLERS THE NEXT BLACKSMITHS - The new robo-banks that have no people: Bank of America is working on voice recognition technology called Erica (as in Bank of Am-ERICA) that will allow people to do virtual banking by voice with a computer, much as people use Amazon Alexa ... or Apple's Siri. Scary.

FORTUNE'S LIST OF THE WORLD'S MOST ADMIRED COMPANIES - Among megabanks, we have the usual suspects with JMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley in the top three slots. For superregional banks, U.S. Bancorp, PNC Financial Services Group and Northern Trust lead the pack, with U.S. Bancorp holding the top slot for the seventh consecutive year.  The full list.

WARREN BUFFETT's annual letter -- always worth a read: http://bit.ly/2lnOmyo

Buffett devoted nearly 5 pages to condemning hedge funds for charging high fees while delivering meager results.

Immigration is good: Buffett said that you don't need to be an economist to understand that immigration has been at the foundation of what makes America great. Buffett never mentions Trump by name.

Stocks will continue to go up: "The years ahead will occasionally deliver major market declines — even panics — that will affect virtually all stocks." But don't panic: "Yes, the build-up of wealth will be interrupted for short periods from time to time. It will not, however, be stopped."

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Drew Barrymore (42) Bel Air, CA.; Tricia Nixon Cox (71) Alexandria, VA.; Kate Mara (34) Brooklyn, NY.; Roger Penske (80) Bloomfield Hills, MI.; Sidney Poitier (90) Beverly Hills, CA.; Bob Schieffer (80) Austin, TX.; Maria Suffredini …famous niece.

COLLEGE CHRONICLES - “One of the greatest moral and economic inequities of our time.”

So said JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon, on the number of young people who graduate without the skills to compete.

That is why JPMorgan Chase invested $75 million in New Skills for Youth, a global initiative designed to create new pathways to opportunity, to “align with the needs of growing industries,” says Dimon, “and give young people a chance to succeed.”

POTUS STRATEGY - The basic mystifying element of this is Donald Trump has an aggressive agenda that includes repealing a health care law whose popularity is growing; he wants to rewrite the tax code, jumpstart infrastructure spending across the country and build a wall on the border with Mexico. He needs support from 218 members of the House, and between 50 and 60 members of the Senate. Several top-level Republican aides in D.C. wondered why they would voluntarily choose to ban outlets, and therefore talk to fewer Americans when they're trying to sell an agenda! Paul Ryan, John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi -- the three most recent speakers of the House -- have had their fair share of rough times. But they dutifully come out and talk to the press corps every week -- at least once. At times they don't like it -- Boehner called it "feeding the alligators" -- but they do it.

GOOD READS - "The Librarian of Congress and the Greatness of Humility," by Sarah Larson in The New Yorker: "The values of Dr. Carla Hayden, the first woman and the first person of color in the position, can be seen in every aspect of the institution she runs." http://bit.ly/2mvSY5W

COLLEGE HOCKEY PICK OF THE WEEK – Saturday 3/4, 4:00 PM ET, HGTV:  ECAC Women’s Hockey Tournament - #7 Cornell University Big Red (19-7-5) vs. #5 St. Lawrence University Saints (26-4-4). Saints head coach Chris Wells have the Lady Saints playing at their best, they will need it against Cornell, Saints win 5 – 3.  Season to date (8-8)

THE SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS –

(NHL, March 4) Montreal Canadiens (33-21-8) at New York Rangers (40-20-2), Rangers are one of the best now in the NHL, they beat Les Habitants 3 – 2.

(NBA, March 4) Los Angeles Clippers (36-23) at Chicago Bulls (30-29), Bulls are playing better than their record indicates, they win in the Windy City 101 – 90.

Season to Date (25 – 13)

MARKET WEEK - Citigroup (C) is being investigated over its hiring practices, according to a SEC filing by the bank. The probe is focusing on whether preferential treatment was given to foreign government officials.

AT&T (T) has struck a joint venture deal with General Electric (GE) unit Current, aimed at connecting cities to the industrial internet.

Sony (SNE) sales of its virtual reality headset came to just under a million in its first four months on the market. Analysts tell Reuters that pace may be too slow to spur developers to come up with new software for the PlayStation VR.

The bidding for Kate Spade (KATE) is into its second round, with Reuters reporting that Michael Kors (KORS) and Coach (COH) among the companies still in contention to buy the handbag and accessories maker.

Under Armour (UAA) was downgraded to "reduce" from "neutral" at Nomura Securities, with the price target for the athletic apparel maker cut to $16 per share from $27.

DRIVING THE WEEK – Congress is back in town this week with the thorny Obamacare dilemma staring them in the face ... President Trump this morning meets with Nat'l Governors Assoc. members and health industry executives at the White House ... Trump addresses Congress Tuesday night in a defacto State of the Union (which doesn't carry that name the first time a president does it) ... Second estimate of Q4 GDP Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. expected to be revised up to 2.1 percent from 1.9 percent ... Consumer Confidence at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday expected to dip to 111.0 from 111.7 ... ISM Manufacturing Survey at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday expected to be flat at 56.0 ... ISM Non-manufacturing Survey at 10:00 a.m. Thursday expected to dip to 56.4 from 56.6.

Big moment for the Trump presidency Tuesday evening as the bombastic and unconventional commander in chief addresses a joint session of Congress for the first time to lay out his legislative vision for the coming year. For now, Wall Street retains basic confidence that the president can deliver on promises of tax and regulatory reform that have driven stock prices to new records and stretched valuations to their highest point in over a decade.

Next Blog: Jack Ass and Words of the Month.

Until Next Time, Adios

Claremont, California

February 27, 2017

#VII-36-338

CARTOON OF THE WEEK –“Town Hall Meeting”