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Saturday 30 June 2018

James Alexander Michie | Vancouver Sun: Douglas Todd: Author of Crazy Rich Asians knows what's fuelling Vancouver


“Eddie was a member of the Chinese Athletic Association, the Hong Kong Golf Club, the China Club, the Hong Kong Club, the Cricket Club, the Dynasty Club, the American Club, the Jockey Club, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and too many private dining clubs to recount. Like most upper-crust Hong Kongers, Eddie also possessed what was perhaps the ultimate membership card — Canadian permanent resident cards for his entire family.”
— Kevin Kwan, Crazy Rich Asians

The author of the best-selling debut novel, Crazy Rich Asians, which is coming out as a movie in August, knows Metro Vancouver well.

Kevin Kwan, whose trio of books satirize Asia’s most privileged people, not only knows Metro because the city is a major magnet for ethnic Chinese capital and people. He also understands the city because his parents were among the first trans-national migrants to buy one of its luxury properties.

Read the full story here:
http://jamesalexandermichie.com/james-alexander-michie-vancouver-sun-douglas-todd-author-crazy-rich-asians-knows-whats-fuelling-vancouver/


James Alexander Michie | CNN: Donald Trump is pretty sure he's nailing this whole 'President' thing

(CNN) - On Wednesday night, speaking to a packed house in North Dakota, President Donald Trump seemed to suggest that this whole being President thing wasn't so tough.

"The Heritage Foundation came out with a report, and this was as of two months ago, we've already implemented 64% of our top agenda items," Trump told the cheering crowd. "And that's at a much faster pace than even Ronald Reagan. That's pretty good, right?"

That bravado was apparent, too, in Trump's barrage of early morning tweets on Thursday. Breaking with his past refusal to impugn special counsel Robert Mueller personally, Trump tweeted, "When is Bob Mueller going to list his Conflicts of Interest? Why has it taken so long? Will they be listed at the top of his $22,000,000 Report...And what about the 13 Angry Democrats, will they list their conflicts with Crooked H? How many people will be sent to jail and persecuted on old and/or totally unrelated charges (there was no collusion and there was no obstruction of the no collusion)...And what is going on in the FBI & DOJ with Crooked Hillary, the DNC and all of the lies? A disgraceful situation!"

The reason for all that confidence? Donald Trump is, to borrow a favorite Trump word, winning -- at least as he sees it.

Read the full story here:
http://jamesalexandermichie.com/james-alexander-michie-cnn-donald-trump-pretty-sure-hes-nailing-whole-president-thing/


Friday 29 June 2018

James Alexander Michie | CBC News: As yield curves threaten to invert, market watchers sit up and pay attention

When the yield curve inverts, it's usually a sign the U.S. is headed for recession

A red figurine sits atop a trader's desk at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange last year. As short-term interest rates rise and long-term ones stay low, many economists are starting to worry about inverted yield curves and their knack for predicting recessions. (Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg)

It may not have escalated to the level of water cooler talk, but an obscure and obtuse-sounding economic indicator is a hot topic of conversation among the investment community of late.

The yield curve on government debt — the gap between how much long-term bonds pay out versus short-term ones — is at its lowest level in more than a decade, and opinion is somewhat divided on how bad a sign it is for the economy.

Under normal circumstances, the yield on long-term bonds should be much higher than the yield on short-term ones to properly reward investors for the risk of waiting longer to get paid, particularly since inflation can eat away at value over time.

Read the full story here:
http://jamesalexandermichie.com/james-alexander-michie-cbc-news-yield-curves-threaten-invert-market-watchers-sit-pay-attention/


Thursday 28 June 2018

James Alexander Michie | THE STAR: Trudeau to Facebook: Fix your fake news problem or face stricter regulations

OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has warned social networking giant Facebook it needs to fix its “fake news” problems or face stronger regulation from Ottawa.

Trudeau told Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg in November he was concerned the company wasn’t doing enough to stop the spread of misleading information on their platform, a source with direct knowledge of the conversation told the Star.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau chats with Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook chief operating officer during a bilateral meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 20, 2016. The pair met again in November 2017 and Trudeau warned the Facebook COO that the company could face stronger regulation in Canada. (ANDREW VAUGHAN / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Facebook has been under intense international scrutiny for allowing so-called “fake news” — false and often outlandish information presented as legitimate journalism — to propagate on its network.

Sometimes the “articles” are simply hoaxes, designed to profit from Facebook users’ clicks.

But as seen during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the tactic can also mislead or manipulate citizens to further political ends – whether by partisan actors domestically, or hostile nations internationally. Facebook has also faced criticism about a lack of transparency around who is buying ads on its platform.

Read the full story here:
http://jamesalexandermichie.com/james-alexander-michie-star-trudeau-facebook-fix-fake-news-problem-face-stricter-regulations/


James Alexander Michie | CBC News: Canadians head into fight that may be 'unwinnable' in Mali

'No clear good guys,' even among those welcoming foreign troops

Canadian soldiers move towards a Chinook transport helicopter in a training exercise. Before their deployment to Mali, they practised the rapid removal of injured troops. (David Common/CBC)
Canada's military has already learned the lesson that your supposed friends may actually be working against you. That those professing a willingness for peace have never put down their guns and that they are connected to narco-trafficking and need the chaos to continue so they can profit from it.

It happened in Afghanistan and it's happening now in Canada's newest mission: Mali.

"One of the biggest problems isn't that we have really tough rivals but that we have really bad allies," says Aisha Ahmad, a terrorism researcher at the University of Toronto who regularly travels to Mali. "Those groups are implicated in cocaine trafficking and illicit business and have become financially incentivized to maintain the status quo."

Read the full story here:
http://jamesalexandermichie.com/james-alexander-michie-cbc-news-canadians-mali/


Wednesday 27 June 2018

James Alexander Michie | Bloomberg: Crypto Collapse Spreads With Hundreds of Coins Plunging in Value


How Much Is Bitcoin Really Worth?

The meltdown in Bitcoin is weighing on more than the biggest cryptocurrency.

Over 80 percent of 1,586 digital coins Finder.com tracks in a weekly survey decreased in price in the past seven days. The tokens fell 19 percent on average, Finder.com found in the week ended June 25.

Read the full story here:
http://jamesalexandermichie.com/james-alexander-michie-bloomberg-cryptocurrencies/


James Alexander Michie | CBC News: China has unused weapons in escalating trade war: Don Pittis

China plays a careful strategic game in the face of conflicting U.S. statements on trade

China has opened the door to new lending to help small and large companies survive the adjustment to U.S. tariffs. (Reuters)
With only days to go before China and the United States trigger punishing tariff penalties on one another's exports, it seems impossible to imagine either country backing down.

As both sides talk tough, once again global markets, including in Shanghai, New York and Toronto, declined sharply.

On Sunday, China had announced its latest weapon in its economic battle with the U.S., namely 700 billion yuan ($142 billion Cdn) in new stimulus for domestic industries.

Read the full story here:
http://jamesalexandermichie.com/james-alexander-michie-cbc-news-china-don-pittis/


Monday 25 June 2018

James Alexander Michie | Vancouver Sun: Rob Shaw: NDP dig in for long and painful fight on speculation tax




VICTORIA — B.C.’s New Democrat government ended the spring session of the legislature thinking the worst was over when it came to the painful launch and scrambled retooling of its speculation tax.

But a new flare-up of anger has opened up battles on several fronts that will test the political mettle of Premier John Horgan’s government, and could even threaten its very survival.

West Kelowna continues its persistent fight to be exempted from the speculation tax, Green leader Andrew Weaver is contemplating ways to defeat the tax’s enabling legislation this fall and the future of the NDP’s minority government could hang in the balance of a byelection in Nanaimo — where MLAs have been getting an earful from unhappy constituents in a city that also wants out of the tax.

Continue reading...

Sunday 17 June 2018

Rex Murphy: Comey, Clinton are proof that it's egotism that corrupts completely - National Post

Justice watchdog's report on email investigation reveals Comey presided over a real 'basket of deplorables' — a biased, democracy-defying FBI

Then-FBI director James Comey testifies before the U.S. House Oversight Committee about the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails, in Washington on July 7, 2016.J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Such was Anthony Weiner’s admiration of his private parts, he burned to share their glory with the world — particularly, that part of it composed of young and female strangers. Thus it was he became the Ansel Adams of genital selfies. Iphone in one hand, his unspeakables on the pedestal of the other, Instagram his gallery, out went the junk mail.

His other fame, leaving aside such trivia as serving in the U.S. Congress, and a hilarious run for mayor of New York, was his (now exploded) marriage to Hillary Clinton’s top aide and principal pilot fish, Huma Abedin. If Disney did noir it could be a movie: The Princess and the Pervert.


Friday 15 June 2018

Bloomberg: Millionaires Now Own Half of World's Personal Wealth


The Rich Are Getting Richer

The rich are getting a lot richer and doing so a lot faster.

Personal wealth around the globe reached $201.9 trillion last year, a 12 percent gain from 2016 and the strongest annual pace in the past five years, Boston Consulting Group said in a report released Thursday. Booming equity markets swelled fortunes, and investors outside the U.S. got an exchange-rate bonus as most major currencies strengthened against the greenback.

The growing ranks of millionaires and billionaires now hold almost half of global personal wealth, up from slightly less than 45 percent in 2012, according to the report. In North America, which had $86.1 trillion of total wealth, 42 percent of investable capital is held by people with more than $5 million in assets. Investable assets include equities, investment funds, cash and bonds.

“The fact that the wealth held by millionaires as a percentage of total wealth is increasing does not mean that the poor are getting poorer,” Anna Zakrzewski, the report’s lead author, said in an emailed statement. “What it means is that everyone is getting richer. Specifically, we believe that the rich are getting richer faster.”

Thursday 14 June 2018

Gary Bettman arrives at Stanley Cup final to question no one could have expected: Are the Vegas Golden Knights too good? - National Post

Vegas has been the story of the season, but they wouldn’t be here without an expansion draft that made them competitive right out of the gate

LAS VEGAS — If the Vegas Golden Knights were to win the Stanley Cup, would the NHL commissioner still get booed?

That was the first question asked to Gary Bettman a couple of hours before Game 1 of the championship final on Monday. And it was a question he didn’t expect to receive in Year 1 of the expansion franchise. After all, it’s been 20 years since the Washington Capitals last reached the final and more than half a century since the Toronto Maple Leafs were here.

That’s worth a few cheers, isn’t it?

Well, it depends on your viewpoint. While the Golden Knights have been the story of the season, they wouldn’t be here without an expansion draft that the NHL tweaked to make the team competitive right out of the gates.

They drafted name players, such as Marc-Andre Fleury and James Neal. They put teams into compromising positions, essentially forcing them to make trades that netted Vegas talented youngsters or expensive depth players.

“We needed to make the team more competitive,” said Bettman. “This was the first expansion in the salary cap era as we afford all of our clubs an opportunity to be competitive.”


NHL commissioner Gary Bettman speaks to the media prior to Game 1 of Stanley Cup final in Las Vegas on May 28. Harry How / Getty Images

Wednesday 13 June 2018

CBC News: Top Republicans slam Trump's anti-Canada tirade, metals tariffs

'I frankly commend Canada for its measured and sober response,' U.S. senator says


Source: John Paul Tasker | CBC News
Two of the president's fiercest Republican foes have come to Canada's defence as a trade war brews between the U.S. and its neighbour to the north over steel and aluminum tariffs — with at least one senator slamming U.S. President Donald Trump's actions as "insulting" to such a close ally.

Top Republican lawmakers Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee — both outspoken critics of Trump in recent months — said the Trump administration's justification of these punitive tariffs on national security grounds is bogus and an abuse of U.S. law.

"Can you imagine, being Canada, our closest ally on the planet, and being told that they represent a national security threat, that the export of steel and aluminum is threatening our national security?" Flake told reporters Wednesday after he and other members of the powerful Senate foreign relations committee met with Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland in Washington.

Everything's Not O.K.

PHOTO BYCHRISTOPHER SZAGOLA/ICON SPORTSWIRE
I’ve thought about death a lot over the past few years.

About dying. And what it might be like if I wasn’t around.

I’ve struggled a ton since I retired from hockey in 2011, and I’ve faced a bunch of different personal demons. But recently I’ve been unable to shake thoughts of….

Canada to co-host 2026 World Cup

U.S., Mexico also part of successful bid


Delegates of Canada, Mexico and the United States celebrate after winning a joint bid to host the 2026 World Cup. Voting took place at the FIFA Congress on Wednesday in Moscow. (Pavel Golovkin /Associated Press)
The World Cup is coming to Canada.

FIFA member associations gathering in Moscow on Wednesday voted 134-65 in favour of the joint North American bid by Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to host the 2026 World Cup, beating out Morocco. There was one No vote.

"Football today is the only victor," said U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro.

Why Trump's threats could give Canada a trade advantage it never sought: Don Pittis

President's trade bravado puts Federal Reserve in awkward spot as U.S. dollar rises

If the Bank of Canada fears Trump's trade threat is real, it might be forced to reduce future interest rate hikes, effectively giving Canada an unwanted trade advantage. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
The head of the U.S. Federal Reserve may be the world's most powerful central banker, but U.S. President Donald Trump has put him in an awkward position.

And contrary to the president's promise to increase U.S. exports, if Fed chair Jerome Powell raises interest rates today — and markets are making a 100 per cent bet that he will — odds are he will make it harder to sell his country's goods abroad.

Meanwhile in Canada, Trump's latest tough trade talk is already giving us an international trade advantage as the U.S. dollar rises on world markets and the loonie falls.

Tuesday 12 June 2018

Trump's North Korean gamble ends with 'special bond' with Kim


Singapore (CNN) - Nearly five hours of unprecedented and surreal talks between US President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un culminated on Tuesday with fulsome declarations of a new friendship but just vague pledges of nuclear disarmament.

For Trump, that amounted to a triumphant outcome in his extraordinary gamble with the rogue kingdom's despotic leader. But there were scant details on what new commitments had been secured from Kim, even as Trump announced he would end the regular military exercises the US conducts with South Korea.

Whether nuclear disarmament is indeed the final outcome of Tuesday's summit won't be known for years, if not decades. But the dramatic act of extending his hand to one of America's longtime adversaries will forever illustrate Trump's gut-driven, norm-shattering tenure.

Monday 11 June 2018

James Alexander Michie: Trump's tactics before NATO | CNN

Author: James Alexander Michie

Again the president of the United States Donald Trump causes a stir in a meeting with the NATO allies that took place in Brussels, Belgium, by insulting the closest friends of the United States.

It was expected that Trump again did theirs, so much so that in reality the European leaders hoped that this summit was bad and did not have a very pleasant development, but Trump made it much worse than they could imagine.

Previously the summits used to be a window for reconciliation, to reaffirm unity among the nations and to work in private to resolve any differences between the parties to consolidate the alliance and preserve in such a way the peace and prosperity that will also benefit the nations allies. However, Trump is not enthusiastic about the same, on the contrary, detonated a grenade and caused a stir by declaring that the allies of the United States were taking advantage of the United States, emphasizing their concerns through social networks.

Sunday 10 June 2018

India sets pace in global race to beat plastic pollution


05 June 2018, New Delhi –India went big in their commitment to Beat Plastic Pollution today, with an announcement to eliminate all single-use plastic in the country by 2022. This unprecedented ambitious move against disposable plastic will drastically stem the flow of plastics from 1.3 billion people and business in the fasted growing economy in the world.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed World Environment Day as the start of a global movement to defeat single-use plastics, highlighting India’s rapid economic development can be done in a way that is sustainable and green.

“It is the duty of each one of us, to ensure that the quest for material prosperity does not compromise our environment,” Modi said. “The choices that we make today, will define our collective future. The choices may not be easy. But through awareness, technology, and a genuine global partnership, I am sure we can make the right choices. Let us all join together to beat plastic pollution and make this planet a better place to live.”

Thursday 7 June 2018

Donald Trump’s demolition theory of foreign policy won’t work

Even if the president strikes a deal with North Korea, his approach will harm America and the world


PICTURE this: next week in Singapore President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un crown their summit with a pledge to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons. A few days later America and China step back from a trade war, promising to settle their differences. And in the summer, as sanctions bite, the streets of Tehran rise up to cast off the Iranian regime.

These gains would be striking from any American president. From a man who exults in breaking foreign-policy taboos, they would be truly remarkable. But are they likely? And when Mr Trump seeks to bring them about with a wrecking ball aimed at allies and global institutions, what is the balance of costs and benefits to America and the world?

Trotz one win from a hockey life come full circle in Washington

LAS VEGAS — A young Barry Trotz remembers taping his stick before the conversation that changed his hockey life.

It was 1982 and he was at his first (and only) NHL training camp with the Washington Capitals. He was gearing up when he saw newly minted Capitals GM David Poile and director of player personnel Jack Button in the stands.

“I went up to them and I said, ‘Hi, I’m Barry Trotz’,” Trotz recalled Wednesday. “I said ‘I wanted to let you know I’m going to make it real difficult for you to cut me.’”

Button, who spotted Trotz with the WHL’s Regina Pats, laid the compliments on thick.

“I know who the hell you are, I invited you here,” Button told him, laughing. “Barry, we love your competitiveness. We love your heart.”

U Sports launches national strategy to attract corporate funding

The body that runs Canada’s university sports system has signed up a U.S. marketing powerhouse to work on a national strategy to secure millions of dollars from Canada’s corporate giants.

U Sports, the governing body for athletics at 56 Canadian universities, hopes to pull in tens of millions of dollars via the partnership with International Management Group (IMG). The effort is part of a years-long overhaul of university sports in this country under Graham Brown, a former Rugby Canada executive who has been chief executive and president of U Sports since 2015.

Mr. Brown shut down the Ottawa office, moved the headquarters to Richmond Hill, Ont., and shed the organization’s former name, Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). Now, with IMG’s help, U Sports is looking to consolidate sponsorship opportunities across schools and athletic conferences into one package. Their asking price is $7-million a year, for five to seven years, and their first targets are banks and financial institutions.

Currently, the efforts of Canadian university sports are fragmented – with individual schools finding their own sponsorships.

Wednesday 6 June 2018

Shale Country Is Out of Workers and Dangling 100% Pay Hikes

Jerry Morales, the mayor of Midland, Texas, and a local restaurateur, is being whipsawed by the latest Permian Basin shale-oil boom.

It’s fueling the region and starving it at the same time. Sales-tax revenue is hitting a record high, allowing the city to get around to fixing busted roads. But the crazy-low 2.1 percent unemployment rate is a bear. As the proprietor of Mulberry Cafe and Gerardo’s Casita, Morales is working hard to retain cooks. As a Republican first elected in 2014, he oversees a government payroll 200 employees short of what it needs to fully function.

“This economy is on fire,” he said from a back table at the cafe the other day, watching as the lunchtime crowd lined up for the Asian Zing Salad and Big Mo’s Toaster hamburger.

Gold 2048

Gold 2048 brings together industry-leading experts from across the globe to analyse how the gold market is set to evolve in the next 30 years.
Key insights from authors such as George Magnus, senior economist; Rick Lacaille, Global Chief Investment Officer of State Street Global Advisors; and Michelle Ash, Chief Innovation Officer at Barrick Gold include:
  • The expanding middle class in China and India, combined with broader economic growth, will have a significant impact on gold demand.
  • Use of gold across energy, healthcare and technology is changing rapidly. Gold’s position as a material of choice is expected to continue and evolve over the coming decades.
  • Mobile apps for gold investment, which allow individuals to buy, sell, invest and gift gold will develop rapidly in India and China.
  • Environmental, social and governance issues will play an increasing role in re-shaping mining production methods.
  • The gold mining industry will have to grapple with the challenge of producing similar levels of gold over the next 30 years to match the volume it has historically delivered.

Source: World Gold Council

Tuesday 5 June 2018

There are now more job openings than workers to fill them



Want more evidence that America's economy needs more workers? For the first time in at least 20 years, there are now more job openings than there are people looking for work.


The ratio of unemployed workers to job openings dropped below one in April for the first time since the Labor Department started collecting data in 2000, the agency reported Tuesday.

The total number of job openings was 6.7 million at the end of April, with an especially large increase in manufacturing jobs.

Monday 4 June 2018

CBC News: A trade war is a political act of economic destruction: Don Pittis

Like a real war, it spurs nationalist enthusiasm, but the consequences can be grim


Young volunteers from the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles in 1915 leaving Victoria, B.C. Trade wars, like real wars, can inspire uncritical nationalism. (Canada Department of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada)
One of the curious and, to many, incomprehensible, stories of the First World War is how young Canadians joined up in droves and marched off whistling to one of history's most gruesome conflicts.

Whether in a real war or in a trade war, waving the flag is politically popular in a way that is hard to understand to those who live through the ultimate consequences.

In Canada, moves by the Liberal government to counter U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats were met with surprisingly broad approval.

Criticisms of Canada's counter-moves, including a tweet by Opposition leader Andrew Scheer, faced criticisms of their own, and not just from the usual suspects.

Sunday 3 June 2018

Kudlow Says Don't Blame Trump as China Warns of Trade Pullback

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

Blame China and those who are breaking trade rules, not Donald Trump, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said as China warned that all commitments so far in talks with the U.S. over trade will be withdrawn if the president carries out his threat to impose tariffs.

Kudlow said rule-breaking is going on “all over the place” and Trump is simply responding to decades of trade abuse.

“Don’t blame Trump,” Kudlow said on “Fox News Sunday.” “Blame China, blame Europe, blame NAFTA, blame those who don’t want reciprocal trading, tariff rates and protectionism.”

While both the U.S. and China reported some progress in discussions this weekend about how to reduce China’s $375 billion goods-trade surplus with the U.S., Trump’s revival last week of a plan to slap tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports has cast the talks into turmoil.

The World Isn’t Prepared for Retirement

It’s not just America. New data show people all over the globe don’t understand basic concepts of investment and inflation.



Most online quizzes are relatively mindless, promising to reveal which vegetable, sandwich or rock band best represents your personality. That was not the case for a short online test given to 16,000 people in 15 countries this year. It revealed just how unprepared a good chunk of the world is for retirement.

The three-question test, given as part of the Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2018, measured how well people understand basic financial concepts. Many of the participants failed the quiz, with big potential consequences for their future security.

SIMMONS: A brother and best friend gone, a Cup to win for Kelly McCrimmon

Kelly McCrimmon leads a Brandon Wheat Kings practice in Edmonton on March 29, 2016 DAVID BLOOM/POSTMEDIA
WASHINGTON — Kelly McCrimmon was sitting at his desk in the front office of the Brandon Wheat Kings when one of his colleagues interrupted him on an early September morning, almost seven years ago.

“What team is your brother with?” he was asked and the question just didn’t seem right in the moment.

“Yaroslavl,” said McCrimmon, and within minutes he knew something was wrong. Everyone knew. The details were sketchy and didn’t come in quickly. There had been a plane crash in Russia.

“I went to get my wife, went home right away, feared the worst,” said McCrimmon, the assistant general manager with the Vegas Golden Knights. “My mom and dad were on a golf holiday in Scotland and we were kind of frantic because we didn’t have contact information for them. We knew they were with (former NHL coach) Terry Simpson and his wife. We finally got through.”

Saturday 2 June 2018

The reasons flying first class can be worth the money have nothing to do with the math

Is first class worth it? First-class airfare can cost tens of thousands of dollars, but some fliers might find the fare worth it for the perks and convenience. Emirates

  • First-class plane tickets are notoriously pricey, costing as much as $32,000 on some flights.
  • So is flying first class actually worth it?
  • If you're going by the math: probably not.
  • But for some people, first class offers perks and convenience that might be worth the steep cost of preserving time, productivity, and energy.


Ed Willes: Vegas Golden Knights' gift to the game is that anything is possible

Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury gives up a goal to Washington Capitals left-winger Alex Ovechkin during Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on May 30 in Las Vegas. John Locher / AP

The world of sports allows itself to believe theirs is a well-ordered universe; a place which, over the long haul, rewards meticulous planning and informed, disciplined decision-making.

There are no short cuts in this world. For the lucky few, success can be attained, but it is the result of adhering to these long-held principles. For the majority, it is a matter of waiting — as long as 48 years in some cases — and hoping that, one day, their team gets it right.

Which brings us around to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Friday 1 June 2018

U.S. Payrolls Rise 223,000; Jobless Rate Matches 48-Year Low


U.S. hiring rose more than forecast in May, wages picked up and the unemployment rate matched the lowest in almost five decades, indicating the strong labor market will keep powering economic growth.

Payrolls increased 223,000 following a revised 159,000 gain, Labor Department figures showed Friday. The median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg called for 190,000 jobs. Average hourly earnings increased 2.7 percent from a year earlier, more than projected, while the jobless rate fell to 3.8 percent from 3.9 percent to match April 2000 as the lowest since 1969.

The report reinforces expectations for Fed policy makers to raise interest rates when they meet June 12-13, and may spur bets on two more hikes this year after that, rather than one. Steady hiring and lower taxes will bolster consumer spending, helping to support the projected rebound in U.S. growth this quarter and continuing to trim the unemployment rate. Wage gains, while positive in the latest report, have yet to show a sustained acceleration.

This 1990 Donald Trump quote in Playboy magazine explains today perfectly

(CNN) - Almost three decades ago now, Donald Trump explained his life and worldview this way: "The show is Trump, and it is sold-out performances everywhere."

Those words, uttered in a 1990 interview with Playboy magazine, are truer today than they were 28 years ago. And they provide a unique insight into how Trump approaches being President on a day-in-and-day-out basis.

Consider Thursday:
  • Trump signals that the North Koreans have a secret letter for him that they will bring to the White House on Friday
  • He denies firing former FBI Director James Comey because of the Russia investigation -- despite his own public statements to the contrary
  • He again pushes the idea of some sort of broad-scale spying effort by the FBI on his presidential campaign -- despite all evidence to the ontrary
  • He says he'll pardon Dinesh D'Souza, the controversial conservative author
  • He floats the idea of also pardoning Martha Stewart and commuting the sentence of former Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich
Each and every one of those actions is explained by a simple principle: "The show is Trump, and it is sold-out performances everywhere."