Fore!

Today's Tids Issue 3,619

Tids for Phil:

Oakmont eats golfers. This is good news, not for children of golfers, but for all those who lie anything-can-happen golf tournaments. The consensus is that ths famed course north of Pittsburgh with the Pa Turnpike running through it is the toughest in the world. Because of the challenge many experts seem to be picking the big three, Rory, Jason and Jordan to win the US Open. They opine that this isn’t the type of course that allows some unknown to sneak in at the end. But then, today’s unknowns are better than the average unknown. It is anybody’s game? Ready on the tee!

I can’t think of many things more horrific that watching an alligator snatch your 2 year old boy off the shore.

How come I’m having trouble thinking of funny things to say? Too many clouds of hate? So,. I thought I would take an astronomy class, until I realized I’d just be taking up space.

The Question:

Supposedly one good way to make billions is to own lots of shares of public companies before they go public. What are the Ten Most Valuables Private Companies? Bonus: How do the odds makers rank the US Open field?

The Headlines:

--Oil Prices Lower; Fed Rate Increase Off The Table; Futures Down.

--Disney Closes Beaxhes In Orkando; Opens $5.5 Billion Park In China.

--Google says It Will Not Stand Behind Either The Hill Or Trumpster.

--Uncontrolled Immigration Powering Brexit; Brexit Continues To Spook Markets.

--Russia Spy Ships Following US Navy During NATO Exercise; China Spy Ship Following US Aircraft Carrier In Pacific. Yikes.

--World Medical groups Says Coffee No Longer Considered Carcinogen.

--Hill And Bernie Meet For Two Hours; Bernie Still Silent.

Even the hot clothing store H&M is facing some of the same problems as other clothing store giants like Gap. It’s a new world of discount and Internet. Slowly emerging however is a Spanish company Inditex and their star store Zara, which it seems is a master at managing fast changing fashion through a superior “Rapid, vertically integrated supply chain”. It’s the old adage, when doors close, somebody new will find a better way out.

One of the saddest aspects of the Orlando massacre was how fast the Pols made it a gun issue; then a gay issue. It is an issue of a world force that uses ideology to infect the minds of potential mass murderers. The internet is this Islamic group’s navy and air force, and the malleable minds of quiet adherents their marching armies. They have declared war on us. It’s real, and lately they have proven how easy it is to skirt our flanks and infiltrate our lands. That’s the issue.

I’m betting that Phil Michelson will surprise and finally win his US Open. Oops, did I say betting.

Some day Trump will learn that keeping is mouth closed is the best statement he can make. Well, maybe he will never learn that, but he should.

In their infinite wisdom, the lawmakers of RI are making it harder for Uber type companies to do business in the state, just at the time when they are trying to get young hip business and tech execs to move here. Move to RI, and go backwards.

Did you see where the Russian hackers broke into the DNC computers and apparently stole the Dems and Hillary’s opposition research on Trump. The Dem strategy according to published leaks is to depict the Repub as a self centered misogynist who could care less about the public, who has trampled upon women he  has known, and who will tell endless lies to keep the public hungry for his deplorable antics. Now all Trump has to do is do the opposite.

Did you see that headline above about the reversal of opinion on coffee as a cancer causing beverage. That’s why I never pay attention to any food warnings or food lauding. I eat what I eat (in moderation) and hope my genes are good ones, which is really what long living is all about.

The Answer:

Uber tops the list with a $62 Billion Valuation (How do they know if it is private?). Next with $45 Billion is a hardware manufacturer Xiaomi. The rest in order are Airbnb, Palantir Technologies, Didi Kuaidi (The big Chinese competitor of Uber), Snapchat, China Internet Plus, Flipkart, SpaceX ad Pinterest. An analysis of these companies will tell you where the world is going. Bonus: Jason Day at 13-2 is leading the pack with odds makers followed closely by Rory McElroy at 7-1. At 8-1 is Jordan Spieth. A sharp drop off has Dustin Johnson 4^{th at 12-1}. In the next group at 25-1 is Justin Rose, Ricky Fowler and Phil Michelson. At 30-1 we have Adam Scott. Henrik Stensen, Brandon Grace, Hideki Matsuyama and Matt Kucher. Master’s Champ Danny Willet is in the 40-1 group which also includes Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepke and Louis Oosterhuizen. Phil has bet on them all.

One of the great joys of Father’s Day, after the kids and the hugs and the heartbeats, is finishing up with the final round of the US Open.