Wednesday, June 18, 2008

GUess What?





For Immediate Release

Investing Insight from Adrian Mastracci, Portfolio Manager

“Oil is the story"

Vancouver, BC (June 18, 2008):

Hello,

Oil affects the production of practically all goods and services.

Oil affects the transportation and delivery of those goods and services.

Oil prices have doubled in the last twelve months.

Oil takes a bigger byte out of every consumer pocket.

Oil is a top headline grabber in all media outlets, every day.

Oil can affect the global economy more than the real estate recession, subprime fiasco and interest rates.

Oil moving higher than $150 per barrel can inflict a nasty market pop to the downside.

Oil moving closer to $100 per barrel can deliver a welcomed market pop to the upside.

Oil is a major headwind to be reckoned with.

Oil is clearly driving the bus all over the world.

Oil is firmly in charge.

Oil is king of our times.

Oil is the story.

I welcome your questions.

Best,

Adrian Mastracci
Portfolio Manager, R.F.P.

KCM Wealth Management Inc.
"
Fee-Only" Portfolio Managers & Financial Advisors
Suite 1500, Box 1078, 885 West Georgia Street

Tiger Out


Woods to miss rest of 2008 season, needs more surgery on left knee

- AP

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Tiger Woods is done for the year, but not without one last major that he said might have been his best ever.

Woods explained why Wednesday when he revealed he will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left knee that he injured 10 months ago.

He also suffered a double stress fracture of his left tibia two weeks before the U.S. Open, ignoring doctors' advice to take six weeks off to let it heal. And he still won the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, going 91 holes over five days on a knee that was getting worse.

"Now, it is clear that the right thing to do is to listen to my doctors, follow through with this surgery and focus my attention on rehabilitating my knee," Woods said on his Web site.

He had arthroscopic surgery April 15 to clean out cartilage in his left knee, bypassing ACL surgery with hopes it could get him through the 2008 season. But the stress fracture and a ligament that could no longer sustain a powerful swing made it impossible to keep going.

Woods did not say when he would have surgery. His swing coach, Hank Haney, said the recovery is typically six to eight months.

"He's been playing way less than 100 percent for a long, long, time," Haney said. "It has limited him a lot in practice. He's going to come back better than he's ever been."

Woods was last seen in public late Monday afternoon walking with a pronounced limp across Torrey Pines toward the parking lot, the U.S. Open trophy in his arms.

Upcoming surgery makes his 14th major title even more staggering -- despite the stress fractures, he managed to win a U.S. Open that required five days of flinching, grimacing and a long list of spectacular shots that have defined his career.

"Although I will miss the rest of the 2008 season, I'm thrilled with the fact that last week was such a special tournament," Woods said.

He won despite doctors telling him to rest.

Haney was with him in Florida when doctors told Woods the preferred treatment for the stress fractures was three weeks on crutches and three weeks of inactivity.

"Tiger looked at the doctor and said, 'I'm playing in the U.S. Open, and I'm going to win.' And then he started putting on his shoes," Haney said. "He looked at me and said, 'Come on, Hank. We'll just putt today.'"

Woods' ledger for 2008 is a career for some players.

He played only seven times worldwide and won five times, including a major that allowed him to join Jack Nicklaus as the only players to capture the career Grand Slam three times over.

But he will miss a major for the first time in his career -- the British Open next month at Royal Birkdale and the PGA Championship in August at Oakland Hills, where Woods is the two-time defending champion.

"Tiger is an enormous attraction, there's no denying that," Royal & Ancient Chief Executive Peter Dawson said. "But the Open Championship has had many exciting finishes which Tiger has not been part of, and I'm sure there will be more. It's very sad. We're very sorry that he's succumbed to the injury and he won't be competing in the Open.

"We hope he has the speediest recovery."

Woods also will miss the Ryder Cup in September, meaning the ninth player on the U.S. standings will qualify for the team.

The majors won't miss Woods nearly as much as the PGA Tour, especially with its second year of the FedExCup that Woods won in a landslide a year ago.

"Tiger is our tour," Kenny Perry said from the Travelers Championship. "When you lose your star player, it definitely hurts."

The PGA Tour said in a statement that its concern -- as it would be for any player -- is for Woods' health and well being, both on and off the golf course.

"We wish him the best toward a speedy recovery," the statement said.

It will be the third surgery in five years on his left knee, although Woods said doctors have assured him the outlook is positive. When asked Monday if he further damaged his knee by playing in the U.S. Open, Woods said, "Maybe."

Doctors have told him, however, that the stress fractures will heal with time.

Woods is ultra private with his health and personal life, never more so than at the U.S. Open. He never mentioned the torn ACL or the stress fracture, and wouldn't say how he was treating it, only that it was more sore as the week went on.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was when the injury first happened.

Woods said he tore the ACL while jogging at home after the British Open last July. He chose not to have surgery and went on a run that included seven consecutive victories, including the Dubai Desert Classic in Europe and his Target World Challenge, an unofficial event.

He did not play overseas late last year for the first time since 2003, hopeful that rest could allow him to play more this year. But the pain intensified through the Masters, where he finished second, and Woods said the cartilage damage developed from the ACL injury.

What he didn't anticipate were the stress fractures, discovered as he tried to get ready to play in the Memorial.

"The stress fractures that were discovered just prior to the tournament unfortunately prevented me from participating and had a huge impact on the timing for my return," Woods said. "I was determined though, to do everything and anything in my power to play in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, which is a course that is close to where I grew up and holds many special memories for me."

Woods won for the eighth time at the public golf course in San Diego -- a U.S. Open, a record six times at the Buick Invitational, and a Junior World Championship as a teenager.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Axe the Tax


Of course, most people are against the Liberal government's new carbon tax.

Duh?

You think?

What part of stupid don't you get, Gord?

Vaughn Palmer informs us that instead of re-thinking this self-destructive move, the Preem has allocated "tens of millions of dollars" for PR.

That would be tens of millions of your tax dollars to sell you on the hugely mistaken idea that what you need is another tax slapped on top of your buck fifty a litre gas bill.

When Stephen Harper calls Dion's proposed carbon tax "insane," it a a rare and refreshingly welcome instance of a politician speaking clearly.

If Carole James cannot make hay and votes out of this miscalculation, she needs to find a replacement pronto.

Malice?


The Victoria Police are appealing the ruling in which Willow Kinloch was awarded $60,000.

Good.

This case is too muddied and too lacking in convincing evidence fo the decision rendered.

Headlines to Cherish


"Move Public Servants to rural Canada, Senate panel urges."

How about this?

Move Senate to Rural Canada, public servants urge.

Or this?

Move Senate and public servants to Arctic Circle. Give Larry a nice igloo.

Letters, We Get Letters


There were two marvelously entertaining letters to the editor in this morning's Sun.

The first is from a Burnaby resident who wants more recognition for Mayor Sullivan for all the great work he has done.

Her insight (insite?) is that Sullivan couldn't really find the time and energy to work on his campaign because "he was working on city business from morning to night."

Hahahahaha...

Obviously, this writer has rented from a different video shop than the rest of us.

In the smarmy little bad-taste comedy the rest of us have been watching these past two and a half years, exactly the opposite happened. The mayor rarely worked on city business and was, from day one, focused entirely on re-election.

Never forget the old adage, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans."

The second letter is a beautifully written piece skewering both Bard on the Beach's current offering of "King Lear," and Sun theatre critic Peter Birnie's review.

Birnie is a pleasant and warm and charming fellow.

What he knows about theatre could be put in a pin cushion and leave room for several epics.

Bard Artistic Director, Christopher Gaze, is an even more pleasant warm and charming fellow. Furthermore, he deserves immense credit for building the most successful theatre in Canada. Full houses, almost no governments hand outs.

But in this lifetime, Gaze is not going to give us a Lear worth watching. In the great Shakespearean comedic roles, he is delightful. But he is simply too nice a fellow to ever truly deliver the anger or angst that must spew naturally forth from Richard or Shylock or Lear.

Craig McGuire's letter, called "Bard's King Lear a Pudding," can be read here.

The Lovliest Dance of All


The sequence shown below of Fred Astaire and Cyd Charrisse comes from the 1953"The Band Wagon," in my opinion the greatest Hollywood musical of all time. Yes, even better than "Singin' in the Rain," in which she also starred.

The music is, of course, "Dancing in the Dark."

Tony (Astaire) and Gaby (Charisse) have been at odds from the beginning of the story. Now, they seek a compromise, take a hansom cab to Central Park, and ...well, dance, of course.

I have a VHS and DVD copy of this film. The movie itself never ceases to amuse and entertain me. The songs and dances are wonderful, including the closing signature tune, "That's Entertainment."

But this number entrances me every time out.

She was also wonderful with Gene Kelley in "Brigadoon."

Charisse died of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 86. Her bio can be seen on the IMDB website here.

Cyd Charisse