LyrArc Article Gist
People are more thougtful about making purchases and making gifts that are personal themselves. And they see more value in closeness of family members than in things to buy. They are also bypassing fancy electronics and expensive things as they make more of their own gifts.

LyrArc Article Gist
The SEC, FINRA and state agencies are investigating Stanford Financial based in Antigua, which is offering CD's at yields of twice the normal rate to wealthy investors, but provides little information on how it generates these returns. The few investments it discloses are quite unusual for a company issuing CD's. It claims to have boosted the assets it oversees to $50 billion.

LyrArc Article Gist
It still takes time to get stimulus projects started.

LyrArc Article Gist
How the Cowley plant stands as a fine example of how foreign investment has helped regenerate the area around Oxford university. BMW has invested more than $560 million in the plant since 2000 and in April 2007 the plant produced its millionth Mini a car based on a contemporary design of the old Morris Mini car. BMW has with its investments contributed about 55,000 jobs and $5 billion to the British economy in 2004 according to Oxford Economic Forecasting. UK received foreign investment that was 37% of of its gross domestic product in 2005, higher than France 28%, germany 18%, and the USA 13%, according to figures from the United Nation Conference for trade and Development. It has helped the British economy as the unemployment rate is lower than most of the EU countries. In the financial services industry a lot of foreign investors from USA, Germany and Switzerland have bought British firms and the financial services industry has thrived with all the international presence and Britian has increased its position as a centre of global financial services....

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Mr. Kovacevich's background, his style, and his success in mergin Norwest with Wells Fargo, and the challenge he faces merging Wachovia with Wells Fargo which may delay his retirement.

LyrArc Article Gist
The Fed reduced rates to 1% from 1.5% on October 29, 2008. If the Fed were to reduce rates down to zero that would put the USA in the situation that Japan found itself when Japan's central bank reduced rates to zero in the 1990's, and where it remained for years as its economy struggled. For the USA these low rates were last reached in 2003 and 2004 after the bursting of the internet bubbbe. The only surprise element in this is that this comes so early in the deep and prolonged recession that is expected. What if the rate is down to zero, then the Fed could use unconventional tools like buying longterm Treasury securities that would help to push down the terms for consumer credit that tracks those Treasury securities.

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Qianhai in Shenzen Economic Zone is being developed to become China's key financial center by 2020. One of the reforms planned under the Jinping administration is to ease currency controls and allow freer flow of Chinese money into foreign stock, bond and property markets, as welll as giving overseas investors access to China's stock, bond and property markets. Qianhai is being developed to act as the financial center for the plans.

LyrArc Article Gist
The Economist's index on the value of the USA currency shows the euro is overvalued by 22% relative to the $US, and most currency analysts think that the euro is overvalued by 20-30% relative to the dollar. As the economy in the EU and in Britain in particular is doing poorly and may contract in the second quarter and at some point the European central bank may lower interest rates especially if crude oil prices continue to drop and inflation is under control. The Fed increasing rates and the ECB decreasing rates would help the dollar rebound.