VENTNOR Dorothy Greene has been leading aerobics classes every day each summer at the Regency Towers Condominiums for decades.

And the residents there love her.

Ive lived in this building for 15 years, and every day from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Im in this pool with her, said Rita Reiter.

I told Dot that if she stops doing these exercises, Im going to sell my apartment, said Barbara Goldberg.

Greene, who lives in Pennsylvania and vacations in Ventnor every summer, turns 90 on Aug. 20.

She has been teaching daily, hourlong aerobics classes in the city for 30 years, Greene said.

This is vacation for me. I dont get paid here. I get paid there, she said. I lead an aerobics class at the Abington Club in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, during the year. I work there.

Thats where she got her start. She received a free two-week membership to the Abington Club.

I found out there was a pool. The leader of the pool suggested that I get certified, and I did. The rest is history, Greene said.

The buildings residents say they look up to her and throw her a celebration at the end of every year.

This is the best way to start the day, in the water with Dorothy, said Sigal Strauss. She is such an inspiration, and I want to be just like her when I reach 90.

Greenes favorite part of the class?

Just being with people and feeling good after Im done. Then I can sit the rest of the day, she said.

The rest is here:

Ventnor aerobics instructor to turn 90 - Press of Atlantic City

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Nate Cheeseman playing Macbeth acts in a scene from the Shakespeare classic "Macbeth'' Aug. 8 at Pioneer Park during the 45th annual Shakespeare in the Parks performance.

Shakespeare in the Parks "Macbeth" will be performed in Anaconda and Butte.

Nate Cheeseman playing Macbeth acts in a scene from the Shakespeare classic "Macbeth'' Aug. 8 at Pioneer Park during the 45th annual Shakespeare in the Parks performance.

Shakespeare in the Parks "Macbeth" will be performed in Anaconda and Butte.

Shakespeare in the Parks will present four free performances this month in southwest Montana.

Noting its 45th season, it features productions of Shakespeare's Macbeth, directed by Kevin Asselin, and George Bernard's Shaw's You Never Can Tell, directed by William Brown.

The company features 10 professional actors selected from national auditions who tour without technical assistance to bring live theater to mostly rural communities. This summer, 66 percent of the communities reached by the troupe have populations of 5,000 or fewer.

Friday, Aug. 11 Deer Lodge, You Never Can Tell, 6 p.m., Old Prison grounds

Monday, Aug. 14 -- Anaconda, Macbeth, 6 p.m., Washoe Park

Monday, Aug. 28 Whitehall, You Never Can Tell, 6 p.m., 206 Yellowstone Road

Tuesday, Aug. 29 Butte, Macbeth, 6 p.m., Original Mine

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Four Shakespeare performances this month in southwest Montana ... - Montana Standard

When: 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through Sept. 10.

Where: Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center. 110 E. Broadway, Glendale. (Allow time to find parking; note, some public lots post 3-hour limits.)

Tickets: $30-$34.

Length: 2 hrs. and 45 mins., including intermission.

Suitability: Teens and adults.

Information: 818-506-1983, http://www.antaeus.org.

Its remarkable that theatermakers have kept Shakespeares works alive for some 400 years. Its as remarkable that his works can still feel fresh and relevant, done the right way.

And it can be a thrill to see a sizable portion of the citys best actors taking on his roles.

Still, the story, language and subtext must come to life with clarity and purpose. Otherwise, why bother putting on this play?

Rob Clare directs Antaeus Theatre Companys As You Like It, at the Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center through Sept. 10.

What was his concept, his point of view here? Costuming might indicate that the era of his setting is timeless. Other than that, its hard to glean any purpose. And so the flaws in Shakespeares comedy of forgiveness show up glaringly.

It begins as Duke Senior (Bernard K. Addison) has been usurped of his throne by his brother, Duke Frederick (John DeMita), and has retreated to the Forest of Arden. Frederick, however, allows Seniors daughter, Rosalind (Julia Davis), to remain at court with his own daughter, Celia (Abigail Marks).

Meanwhile, two other brothers, the elder Oliver (Daniel Dorr) and younger Orlando (Daisuke Tsuji), sons of Fredericks late friend, live in constant conflict.

Orlando and Rosalind fall in love while at court. Angering Frederick, Orlando must flee to Arden; Rosalind is, coincidentally, simultaneously banished. She and Celia leave for Arden, taking the court jester Touchstone (Adam J. Smith). Rosalind and Celia disguise themselves, Rosalind as a young man, Celia as a shepherdess.

They encounter Jaques (Tony Amendola), the thoughtful observer and cynical commentator on even the happiest of lives in the Forest.

They also encounter shepherd Silvius (Adam Meyer), who pines for the uninterested shepherdess Phebe (Erin Pineda), who falls in love with the disguised Rosalind. William (Ben Atkinson) is smitten with goatherdess Audrey (Elyse Mirto), but so is Touchstone.

Orlando fails to recognize Rosalind but feels a strange connection to the young man she masquerades as. Meantime, Oliver and the disguised Celia fall in love.

Had this play been written today, critics would shred it. In the middle of this idyllic setting, Shakespeare provides a wrestling match. Just as weve started to figure out the characters and their relationships, in wanders Audrey in Act III, Scene 3, and here comes Phebe at Act III, Scene 5. They look like afterthoughts, hastily scribbled in to make a nice quartet of lovers for the big finale.

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At the plays end, the four couples marry, whether well-suited to each other or not.

If any of this bothers you, and you seek a plausible explanation for how the playwright of Hamlet could also have penned this one, heed George Bernard Shaw, who wrote of this play that Shakespeare was probably pandering to popular tastes here.

Where Shakespeares other plays delve into psychology and rely for plot points on human behavior and reactions, Shaw wrote that this one went straight for masses-pleasing superficiality, throwing it in the face of the public with the phrase As You Like It.

Still, it has its charms and glories. Memorable characters abound, as do metaphors and similies and perhaps thats the better explanation for the title. Shakespeare promotes pastoral living, kindness to all and gender equality.

So in some productions, it can be a rich, happy tale of love and forgiveness and peace of heart. With no apparent driving force, as here, its just a lot of words.

(This production is double cast; the Acorns cast was reviewed.)

Dany Margolies is a Los Angeles-based writer.

Rating: 1 star

When: 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through Sept. 10.

Where: Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center. 110 E. Broadway, Glendale. (Allow time to find parking; note, some public lots post 3-hour limits.)

Tickets: $30-$34.

Length: 2 hrs. and 45 mins., including intermission.

Suitability: Teens and adults.

Information: 818-506-1983, http://www.antaeus.org.

Originally posted here:
Antaeus Theatre's 'As You Like It' isn't the way we like it - LA Daily News

SoundCloud today announced that it has closed the investor round necessary to keep it going for the foreseeable future. As part of the agreement, Alex Ljung will step aside and former Vimeo leader Kerry Trainor will become SoundClouds new CEO, with Mike Weissman as COO. Ljung will stay on to fully focus on the role of the chairman and the long-term. Billboard reports the exact amount of the investment is $169.5 million, which, says Ljung, makes this infusion the largest financing round in the history of SoundCloud.

"All of this together the capital, the capital partners with Kerry and Mike joining our team it puts our company in a really great position to stay strong and remain independent," Ljung tells Billboard. "We see a strong, independent future for the company."

Trainor tells Billboard he will endeavor to pay greater attention to the creators, which includes developing a robust creative toolkit for SoundClouds Unlimited service in hopes of attracting even more musicians to pay for its upper-tier subscription. "Millions of creators choose these tools to share their work with the world, says Trainor, [and] that will remain at the focus and center of the company."

Yesterday, Axios revealed details of a SoundCloud shareholder memo that said the future of the company hinged on a pending reorganization proposal. Though the exact details of that proposal have not been revealed, it appears it was accepted. As part of the new investment, per the memo, SoundClouds new and existing investors will receive Series F stock, a special class of common stock that has seniority and preference, while existing Series E investors will have their liquidity preference cut by over 40 percent.

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SoundCloud stays afloat with emergency investment, as CEO steps aside - The Verge

Could you run your own investment fund in college?

Ben Sender, a senior at Princeton University and founder of student-run investment fund Effective Altruism Investments (EAI), does just that.

EAI currently manages $100,000 and pursues "objectively good returns for objectively good causes," Sender says. The exclusive, inter-campus organization accepts just seven percent of the students from Princeton, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and Williams College who apply to join. That's about the same as Princeton's undergraduate acceptance rate.

Most of the students joining EAI are studying economics, computer science, financial engineering and math, although majors do vary. What brings them together is their interest in EAI's mission. Most of them are not invested in the fund; they're choosing to focus on managing other people's money.

"EAI is the result of intersecting passions for morality and investing, manifesting itself in a threefold mission to beat the market on a risk-adjusted basis, donate 20 percent of profits to the most worthy causes, and educate members and the community on investing and philanthropy," Sender tells CNBC Make It.

Sender, a 21-year-old from South Orange, New Jersey, grew up loving the investing world. As a high school student, he wrote for Seeking Alpha and created investing apps, including automatic stock valuation and analysis apps that garnered a total of 35,000 downloads.

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Ivy League students turn a profit running a $100000 investment fund to support good causes - CNBC

As investment yields decline, business development companies are faced with a tough decision: Cut their dividends or reduce payments to their managers.

This quarter, FS Investment Corp. (NYSE:FSIC) did both, slashing its quarterly dividend from $0.22 per share to $0.19 per share, while agreeing to reduce its base management fee to 1.5% of assets, down from 1.75% of assets for at least one year.

Most publicly traded BDCs have only one manager, or advisor, who is responsible for managing the fund and making investment decisions. In exchange, the manager receives management fees plus incentive fees for good performance.

A complex web of relationships makes FS Investment's dividend policy less clear than other BDCs. Image source: Getty Images.

In contrast, FS Investment Corp., which got its start as a non-traded BDC, effectively has two managers. An affiliate of FS Investments (formerly known as Franklin Square) acts as its investment advisor, but the actual investment decisions are farmed out via a sub-advisory relationship with GSO/Blackstone, an affiliate of Blackstone Group. The fees earned from managing the portfolio are split in half. FS gets half, and GSO/Blackstone gets the other half.

My understanding is that the relationship between these two entities is contentious, to say the least. What started as a humble non-traded BDC has now grown into a powerhouse in private credit. In addition to FS Investment Corp., FS has four other private BDCs with a sub-advisory agreement with GSO/Blackstone that together had equity capital of approximately $9 billion as of March 31.

As yields come down, investors naturally look to outsize fees as a source of cost savings to spare BDC's dividends. But who, exactly, should pay for it? FS or GSO?

That's an important question. FS Investments' value may have been more clear during the fundraising process, when it relied on an army of financial advisors to sell shares of the then-non-traded BDC. But when it comes to the actual performance of the BDCs as they stand today, GSO/Blackstone plays the most important role in investment selection. See the diagram below from a December presentation.

Image source: FS Investment Corp. presentation

GSO/Blackstone's responsibilities include identifying and originating investments and monitoring credit aspects of the portfolio, among others. FS's roles appear to include duties that fall more into the spectrum of administrative tasks, providing only a secondary layer to GSO/Blackstone's investment selection process.

GSO is a highly regarded credit fund manager with approximately $95 billion of capital under management across a number of public and private funds, which collectively dwarf the BDCs it manages under a sub-advisory relationship. The FS Investment BDCs may be getting lost in the fray.

After all, GSO/Blackstone isn't exactly striking it rich with the FS Investment BDCs. The company stands to collect just half of the management fees (1.75% per year) and incentive fees (20% of returns in excess of 7.5% annually).

Assuming the new fee waiver is split equally between GSO/Blackstone and FS, GSO/Blackstone is effectively collecting just 0.75% on assets plus a 10% incentive fee on returns in excess of 7.5% per year. On that basis, GSO/Blackstone is the lowest-paid external manager of any publicly traded BDC.

While I've taken the position against many high-cost external managers in the BDC industry, there comes a point where the fee structure no longer incentivizes the manager. If GSO stumbles on an exceptional credit investment, is it likely to allocate a large share to the FS Investment BDCs, where it earns only half the incentive fee, or to one of its many other funds, where it doesn't share the rewards with a partner?

Fees aside, the operational aspects of FS Investment Corp. are interesting. The company's eleven member board of directors has substantial FS representation. As for GSO/Blackstone's role on the board, it appears to be nonexistent from my cursory view.

That may seem like a mere detail, but BDC boards are entrusted with more responsibility than your average publicly traded company. The board of directors has the very important responsibility of signing off on the value of the investment portfolio each quarter. It's interesting that credits picked by GSO/Blackstone are valued by a board that doesn't seem to include any GSO/Blackstone representatives.

Of course, this likely comes back to another important role of BDC boards: Selecting an investment advisor. Most BDCs stuff their boards with management allies, so as to minimize the risk that the board decides it's time for new management. FS Investment Corp.'s board could, at least in theory, decide that it's in the shareholders' best interest to cut FS out of the picture. That seems unlikely to happen, since FS Investment Corp's independent board members make substantially more in director fees than dividends, and generally own very little of the company's stock.

Admittedly, even the most thoughtful fee and incentive structures have their faults. And the truth is that from a shareholder perspective, the FS Investments' fee structure isn't the worst. At a minimum, it at least somewhat shelters investors from capital losses, given that the incentive fee is based on a metric that includes gains and losses, something that other BDCs don't have.

That said, other BDC managers are choosing to waive fees to spare their dividends, building up valuable goodwill with investors, and ensuring that the BDC trades at a premium to net asset value, thus allowing the management team to grow assets and thus future profits from a growing stream of fee income. That simple process is made more complicated when two entities collect a share of the fees.

The decision to put the burden of lower income on the backs of shareholders, its sub-advisor, and itself, puts it at odds with many similarly sized BDCs that have spared their shareholders from dividend cuts. It may also put it at odds with its sub-advisor.The relationship between GSO/Blackstone and FS, which I'm told isn't as friendly behind closed doors, may be its undoing. Individual investors who own the BDC are thus left to pay the price from a relationship they have nothing to do with.

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FS Investment Corp: Who Should Pay for Lower Returns? - Motley Fool

An American investment banker denies he is the jogger who pushed a woman into traffic on a bridge in southwest London. Eric Bellquist, a 41-year-old partner at private equity firm Hutton Collins, was arrested late Thursday in connection to the assault, but insists he was in the United States on the date in question, the morning of May 5.

The stunning incident was captured on surveillance footage. A man in shorts and T-shirt is jogging as a woman walks in the opposite direction on the pedestrian path of Putney Bridge. Before she passes him, the jogger appears to shove her off the walkway directly into oncoming traffic. A double-decker bus swerves out of the way just in time to avoid hitting the 33-year-old victim. The man dubbed the Putney Pusher by the British tabloids keeps running.

The woman suffered only minor injuries, thanks to the hero bus driver who veered just in time, and bystanders who rushed to help her. The victim told police that the jogger again ran by the same spot, about 15 minutes later. She tried to confront him, and he ignored her.

Bellquist was reportedly released on bail as police continue the investigation, and he has not been charged with any crime. Bellquists attorneys released a statement Friday maintaining their client had been wrongly implicated in the bridge assault. Bellquist categorically denies being the individual concerned and has irrefutable proof that he was in the US at the time of the incident, the statement read. Consequently, we expect a swift resolution to this wholly untrue allegation.

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American Investment Banker Denies He's the Jogger Who Shoved Woman Into London Traffic - New York Magazine

KITCO NEWS - Gold prices pushed to a two-month high Wednesday, on solid safe-haven demand. Video provided by TheStreet Newslook

A propaganda poster is displayed during a rally in support of North Korea's stance against the U.S., on Kim Il-Sung square in Pyongyang on Aug. 9, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States' nuclear arsenal was "more powerful than ever" in a fresh warning to North Korea over its repeated missile tests. (AFP PHOTO / KIM WON-JIN/AFP/Getty Images)(Photo: KIM WON-JIN, AFP/Getty Images)

Chatter about nuclear weapons capabilities, tough talk between the U.S. and North Korea and three straight days of losses in the stock market might have you wondering if you should stash your cash in an underground bunker for safe keeping in case the bluster morphs into a real fight.

While that type of emotional thinking might not seem irrational given recent threats from Pyongyang and President Trump saying the U.S. would respond with fire and fury, rejiggering your portfolio in a major way due to the recent saber-rattling isnt a strategy recommended by most investment pros. While unsettling, the latest geopolitical scare has done little to dent the improving economic outlook.

More: Here's what to do if North Korea has you worried about your investments

More: Here's what to do if North Korea has you worried about your investments

What Wall Street does advise, however, is using this uncertain time to review your portfolio and make sure you arent taking on too much risk and can ride out a market drop if one occurs, says Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at Wall Street research firm CFRA.

Indeed, given the market's run to record highs this year in tame trading, the uncertainty caused by the North Korea crisis could trigger selling by investors sensing now is a good time to take profits.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down Thursday nearly 205 points, or 0.9%, and back below 22,000. It wasits biggest daily point drop since May 17 and third straight day of losses since the relationshipbetween the U.S. and North Korea turned more contentious Tuesday. The Dow, which hit an all-time high Monday, is down 1.25% from its peak but still up 10.5% in 2017.

Here are a few reasons why the latest geopolitical flare-up shouldnt spook you into fleeing stocks and funneling your moneyto the perceived safety of havens, such as cash, gold and U.S. government bonds.

The most feared outcome is war. Nuclear war is what really keeps people up at night. But the preferred -- and most likely outcome -- is that the recent escalation in tensions between the U.S. and North Korea will be resolved diplomatically, not militarily. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson downplayed the risk of war Wednesday, saying he doesnt believe there is any imminent threat of a nuclear attack from North Korea and that Americans should sleep well at night.

Wall Street pros say the main risk is if the war of words leads to combat.

There has to be a real worry that there will be a march to war in order to sink the stock markets buoyant tone, says Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG in New York.

Overreacting to something that might not even happen isnt recommended.

A breakout in hostile actions between two nations is an outlier type of event that has nothing to do with normal market drivers such as the stock valuations, corporate earnings or the health of the economy, so the market impact really cant be modeled, says Bill Hornbarger, chief investment officer at Moneta Group in St. Louis. Im not sure I would reshuffle my portfolio based on a low-probability event.

Main Street investors need to remember that the Dow Jones industrial average hit an all-time high of 22,118.42 on Monday, and is just 1.25% below that level. The takeaway? The blue-chip stock gauge is resilient and has overcome many military confrontations and geopolitical threats in its 121-year history.

History shows that stocks tend to quickly rebound from losses resulting from war or other shocks, such as terrorism. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, caused the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index to drop 3.8% the day of the attack, but it recouped its losses and was 0.3% higher a month later, data from Strategas Research Partners show. Similarly, after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the market recouped its five-session 11.6% drop in four weeks. Stocks didnt even decline after the start of the Iraq War in early 2003.

Adds Stovall: The S&P 500 rose 5.8% in August 1945, the month in which two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan. Essentially, war has a poor record of disrupting Wall Street.

Since World War II, the U.S. has been involved in many military conflicts, but most have had a very limited impact on financial markets in the short run, and almost no impact in the long run, says Alan Skrainka, chief investment officer at Des Peres, Mo.-based Cornerstone Wealth Management.

The escalation of tensions with North Korea can be counted among the exogenous shocks that do unfortunately hit the markets from time to time, says Erik Davidson, chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank in San Francisco. But past performance suggests investors would be ill-advised to make big changes to their portfolios as a result. Many times, says Davidson, these feared events dont happen, which was the case with the Cuban Missile crisis in October 1962 and fears surrounding the Y2K computer glitch that never materialized at the start of 2000.

The market has a habit of shrugging off geopolitical headwinds and climbing higher.

Davidson offers the following advice to investors that are reevaluating their holdings: Have stock exposures crept too high given the recent run-up in global stocks? Is there enough of a bond weighting to provide ballast to the portfolio in case of increased market turbulence? Is there enough cash available so that an investor can ride out any potential short-term market disruptions?

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Investment anxiety? What to do if North Korea has you worried - USA TODAY

BRECKENRIDGE The Colorado Classic is more than a bike-racing festival. Its more than a four-day, tourist-luring commercial. The inaugural pro-cycling race, which wraps in Denvers River North neighborhood on Saturday and Sunday with a merry blend of bikes, beers and bands, also is serving as bait for big business.

Ive always said that Denver will be and now it has become one of the most dynamic and fastest growing cities in the country, and this level of bike race potential and support shows what we can do for a high-level company, said Colorado tech entrepreneur Jim Deters, who is hosting a cast of corporate bosses on a signature Colorado weekend of cycling, dining and dancing. This is a whole new level for a live commercial. They are not just seeing it on TV. They are putting rubber to the pavement and feeling the burn of elevation in their lungs and screaming with the bands. We are going to get them addicted to Colorado.

More than a dozen heavy hitters from IBM, Amazon, Silicon Valley Bank, Workday and venture capital firms will join Gov. John Hickenlooper and a consortium of Colorado cheerleaders includingDaVita chief Ken Thiry, real estate developer Mark Falconeand other business leaders, as well as musicians and cyclists for a bike ride, dinner and backstage boogying on Saturday. The day should highlight Colorados hallmark outdoor and cultural lifestyle that draws top talent as well as the Front Range business environment carefully crafted to welcome entrepreneurs. The hope of the so-called CEO Challenge, dreamed up by Colorado bike boss and race investor Ken Gart, is to entice corporate chieftains to invest in Colorado.

Hickenlooper, sporting a Team Rwanda bike jersey, said the inaugural Colorado Classic is all about creating a series of moments of intense beauty. The game-changing bike-race model blending music lovers and cycling spectators in a soundtracked festival of professional bike racing aims to broaden the pro-cycling tent to include all comers, including young, beer-swilling dancers who might not be familiar with bike racing.

The governor compared the Colorado Classics blended approach including Velorama, the entertainment side of the event to the common retail strategy of cumulative attraction, which groups similar stores to encourage cross-shopping that establishes locations as the most attractive places to drop some cash.

The race, the Colorado Classic and Velorama, is so cool in its own right, Hickenlooper said. The more decision makers, the more people with influence from other parts of the country who experience it, the better. This is all just marketing the state. We have a bunch of offices with Silicon Valley companies already. Wouldnt hurt to have a few more.

Deters, who has spent his career launching startups including Galvanize and gSchool will lead some of the bigwig visitors on an entire lap of the 80-mile Stage 3, pushing from Denver up Coal Creek Canyon and back down Golden Gate Canyon on Saturday. Womens cycling legend Kristin Armstrong, who has won medals each of the past three Summer Olympics, will host a 40-mile ride. Later that night, the group will dine with the governor and members of Wilco before the band plays in RiNo.

Tom Pitstick, chief marketing officer for Denvers 106-year-old Gates Corp., is hoping the race helps his company sell more of its innovative carbon-belt drive systems that are designed to push the venerable bike chain into obsolescence.

His team is participating in the CEO Challenge, helping to sell Denver to business tycoons.

Its a great business community. Its a big small city with a great pool of talent coming in and a great education system. And the work environment has everything you need, with business infrastructure like big law firms and a great international airport, Pitstick said. Weve been here 106 years and we have no intention of ever leaving. Im telling everyone: Come join us.

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Colorado Classic organizers hosting big-business bosses in hopes of enticing investment in state - The Denver Post

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IRS offers self-help tax tools - WBRC FOX6 News - WBRC.com