Monday Newsline:Kaymer Snares US Open as NBC Era Ends

Germany's Martin Kaymer became the first man from his country to win the prestigious 114th US Open Sunday at Pinehurst Resort,North Carolina,and Comcast NBC Universal sadly marked its final broadcast of the storied golf tournament after 20 straight years of coverage.Kaymer,29,had previously won the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Sraits,Wisconsin;the World Number One ranking for eight weeks in 2011;10 tournaments on the European Tour-plus the Ryder Cup as a member of Team Europe;as well as the 2014 Players Championship a few weeks ago in Florida.
Kaymer's nine under par 72 blew away the rest of the field by a margin of at least eight strokes.His closest competitors were Americans Erik Compton and Ricky Fowler,who shared second at one under par.Compton,34,a survivor of two heart transplants who is happy to just be alive,became the sentimental favourite as he notched his best PGA showing ever.*
Europeans have taken the last two US Open trophies,with Englishman Justin Rose taking America's national championship last year.Speaking of Kaymer's performance,Ricky Fowler said that Martin was in his own golf tournamnet.Seeing how in control his golf game was kind of pushes me,becuase I was not far off.*
Phil Mickelson,44,was calm as he reflected on his road ahead.The Hall of Famer had carded a poor seven over par at Pinehurst as his putting seemed to desert him,but he looked forward to the next four or five years and the exciting courses on the US Open schedule.The US Open is the only one of the four majors he has yet to win,and only five other men have accomplished this grand slam of golf.*
Meanwhile,the broadcast booth was dealing with another kind of drama.NBC analyst Johnny Miller choked up as he and colleague Dan Hicks signed off.After 20 consecutive years of televising United States Golf Association events,Comcast's NBC Universal and partner Disney's ESPN were outbid by News Corp's Fox Sports last August for the next 12 years of USGA events,which besides the US Open include the US Senior Open,US Women's Open and USGA amateur events.Fox got a 12 year multimedia deal running from 2015 through 2026.Its winning bid was reportedly around 74 million dollars a year-twice what NBC/ESPN were paying.
Fox Sports has zero experience at golf coverage,so there's a big unknown for USGA golf fans in the years ahead.The USGA is the official governing body of the sport in the USA.*
US futures and Asian markets reflected concern about the Iraq crisis and the Federal Reserve possibly raising interest rates sooner rather than later.The S&P futures were down 6.78 points,while the Dow and NASDAQ futures dropped 48.0 and 9.66 points,respectively.Oil futures climbed 0.4%,and gold rose 0.6% as Treasury rates fell.Most Asian markets were down or virtually flat on the Iraq and Fed worries.The Nikkei was down 1.04%,while the Hang Seng fell 0.6% and the KOSPI was flat in Monday trading.
Comcast(CMCST A),News Corporation(NWS)

Monday Newsline:Hit Shows Canceled by China;Indian Elections End

Gold miner stocks fell in Asia today along with the price of gold on a perceived lessening of tension in Ukraine.Unofficial voting on independence for Eastern Ukraine went ahead,although clashes with Ukrainian troops were reported.There were some long lines at the polls,but voters were seen voting twice.The provisional government in Kiev and Western countries reject the vote as illegitimate and illegal.
The separatists are claiming the voters showed massive support for independence.*
The MSCI Asia Pacific index was down 0.30%.Basic materials declined 1.0% in Australia,with industrial metals falling 2.17%.Basic materials also fell in the Hang Seng Index.*
Four popular American TV shows on webcaster Sohu have been canceled by the Chinese authorities,including "Big Bang Theory." No specific reason was given.China is in transition,said Sohu founder and CEO Charles Zhang.China is in reform.It's very hard to define what is legal and what is illegal.We fight piracy and we get American TV shows into China.Look at how far we've come along,so I am still satisfied,Mr.Charles explained.China is currently drafting rules for streaming video.*
India's month-long national elections are ending today.The fiscal challenges such as inflation must be met after the euphoria of the elections,said Radhika Rao of DBS.The fiscal budget has to be tabled before July.The budget must be based on realistic expectations.
Inflation will be a risk,fueled by unfavourable weather.Rates will be hard to cut with inflation.There are also stalled infrastructure projects and the current accounts deficit.To maintain momentum,the new government must be formed and tackle the issues pretty soon,Ms.Rao pointed out.*
In sport,Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain won the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona Sunday,increasing his lead in the overall standings.It was his fourth straight victory.His teammate Nico Rosberg of Germany came in second,and Australia's Daniel Ricciardo took third on the podium.
Another German,golfer Martin Kaymer,won The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach,Florida.It was the second biggest win for Kaymer,who has also won the PGA Championship,a major.American Jim Furyk came in second,and Sergio Garcia of Spain took third place on the leader board.