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LyrArc brings in selected articles from many of the world's top publications.

Articles are selected by experts and you can see the gist of the important articles.

Time to Plug In Electric Cars

4 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 06.17.2010 Original article ›
Gerald F. Seib, Gerald, F., Seib
LyrArc Article Gist
Senator Lamar Alexander is a kind of misssionary for electric cars and for a major push with government assistance in this area. A bill sponsored by Alexander and Senator Byron Dorgan plans to designate 5 to15 urban areas as model locations for electric car use. These areas would get money for infrastructure such as recharging stations, and people in the areas would get an additional tax credit to take the tax credit from $7,500 to $10,000. The bill has important provisions for promoting research at companies and universities to improve electric car batteries. $1.5 billion would be allocated for research in electric car batteries, and a $10 million prize for the person or company able to build a battery with a 500 mile range. The total cost- $10 billion.
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Excited About the Nasdaq Record? Don’t Overpay for Stocks Again

1 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 04.23.2015 Original article ›
Jason Zweig, Jason, Zweig
LyrArc Article Gist
According to AJO, institutional money manager in Philadelphia, the average return since March 10, 2000, for the S&P 500 is about 5%, and the NASDAQ Composite less than 1% annually, including dividends. Zweig cites this to show that investors not make the mistake of overpaying for tech stocks or startup stocks, or buy into the hype for a second time since 2000. The NASDAQ Composite hit 5048 in April 2015. The last time it was at this level was on March 10, 2000. Cisco traded at 167 times earnings at the time. For the average long term S&P 500 index shows it traded at an average of 16 times earnings. This is a sober reminder for the average investor that gains depend on on what you pay for a stock.
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Biggest Banks Fitted for New Collar

7 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 06.27.2011 Original article ›
David Reilly, David, Reilly
LyrArc Article Gist
Over the weekend June 25-26, 2011, the Basel Committee made the decision to raise bank capital reserve requirements from 7% to 9.5%. Wall Street Journal and analyst estimates show that Bank of America, Citigroup, and J.P. Morgan Chase will have to together raise $150 billon in additional capital. The rule gives the banks time till 2019 to reach the new goal. Banks that get even bigger could face an additional one percentage point increase to 10.5%. As of the end of the 1st quarter of 2011, J.P. Morgan had an estimated 7.3% ratio and would need $35 billion to meet the 9.5% capital reserve requirement. Bank of America would need $68 billion and Citigroup $48 billion to reach the 9.5% target.
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Meredith Whitney’s Muni Bond Prediction Draws Scrutiny

1 Links 4 Groups   
New York Times - 02.07.2011 Original article ›
Nelson D. Schwartz, Nelson, D., Schwartz
LyrArc Article Gist
Meredith Whitney and her comments on the municipal bond market and potential defaults worth hundreds of billion of dollars. She said in a "60 Minutes" interview that she expected a series of municipal bond defaults. "You could see 50 sizable defaults, 50 to 100 sizable defaults, more. This will amount to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of defaults," said Whitney. Other analysts have questioned her dire forecast. Most of the problems in municipal bonds are fairly well know say analysts, however these comments have only accelerated the trend, and more than $14 billion came out between Dec 22 and Feb 2. In other words her comments drove a rush to the exits, which is seen as irresponsible by some analysts.
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Italy's debt fuels worries

3 Links 5 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 05.14.2010 Original article ›
Stacy Meichtry, Stacy, Meichtry
LyrArc Article Gist
While Italy's budget deficit of 5.3% of GDP in 2009 is relatively healthy, its public debt as a percentage of GDP is rising and forecast to be 118%. The growth in tax revenues is negligible because Italy has seen only 0.54% annual average growth in GDP in the past decade, so its much harder to manage the debt. As the interest on debt exceeds the rate of growth, debt keeps rising all the time, say experts. This makes it harder for Italy to borrow in capital markets, a 9.5 billion bond offer in April 2010 drew onlly 9.78 billion euros in bids. The debt financing is helped by the Italian households having a high savings rate of 15%, and holding 25% of Italy's bonds.
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Germany vs. Europe

1 Links 12 Groups   
New York Times - 05.26.2010 Original article ›
Editorial
LyrArc Article Gist
Germany is turning nationalistic in its approach to the debt crisis in Greece. This comes as Germans consider economic successes as Germany's, and failures in Europe, as the problems not of a united Europe but of these individual countries. The largest circulation German newspaper, Bild, suggested Greece sell the Acropolis to payoff creditors in the bond markets, and putting a estimate of $140 billion for this monument. A senior member of Merkel's party suggesting Greece sell off some of the Aegean islands. And a Bild poll showing a majority of Germans favor expelling Greece from the euro. There is not sufficient acknowledgement by German public opinion of the value to Germany of the export markets in Europe and the part they played in Germany's economic success.
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Italy's Shot of Southern Discomfort

1 Links 2 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 06.03.2010 Original article ›
Richard Barley, Richard, Barley
LyrArc Article Gist
Italy has 1.5 trillion euros of debt outstanding and this is the third largest behind USA and Japan. About 241 billion euros worth of Italian government bonds are expected to be issued in 2010, with 171 billon euros of this in redemptions. Interest rates need to be low to not widen its deficit. Italian debt is expected to go up to 118% of GDp in 2011 from 103% in 2007 according to Moody's Investors Service.By contrast Spain's debt s expected to go up by 38% in the same period. Italy's households are less burdened with debt than Spain's. still Italian bonds are affected, as yields widened between Italian and German government bonds to 1.58% compared to before the euro-zone rescue plan of 750 billion euros.
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Nokia Pins Smartphone Hopes on China

16 Groups   
New York Times - 03.28.2012 Original article ›
Kevin J. O’Brien, Kevin, J., O’Brien
LyrArc Article Gist
Plans to introduce its Luma line to China by June 2012 in cooperation with China Telecom. It is betting on Chinese demand for smartphones to recover. Sales of CDMA phones- China Telecom uses CDMA technology- are expected to double to 60 million in 2012 from 30 million in 2011. China provided 17% of Noka sales in 2011, mostly basic or older phones. The challenge is now to get the Lumia line up and running fast. Nokia's timing is right as smartphones are just beginning a surge in China- IHS forecasts an increase from 65 million in 2011 to 120 million in 2012. Nokia's advertising and marketing and close work with China Telecom has also to kick in for it to maximize on this opportunity.
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Ford’s Challenges Mount in Europe

2 Links 1 Groups   
New York Times - 04.26.2012 Original article ›
Jack Ewing, Jack, Ewing
LyrArc Article Gist
Ford's European operations- which make the Fiesta and Focus models at plants in Belgium, Spain, and Germany- are suffering from the slowdown in automobile sales in Europe. Ford's European sales for vehicles sold declined by 7.3% in the first quarter of 2012. Analysts estimate a loss of $199 million in the first quarter, after a $190 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2011. This is expected to reduce global profits by 50% to $1.34 billion. Fiat Renault has responded to the economic anxiety of buyers at a time of high unemployment by appealing to cost conscious buyers with its lower cost Logan models. Ford's models appeal to middle clas buyers, which are harder to sell in countries like Spain where unemployment exceeds 20%.
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Russian Car Sales Skid Lower Amid Economic Gloom

1 Links 6 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 02.10.2015 Original article ›
Andrey Ostroukh And Olga Razumovskaya, Andrey, Ostroukh, And, Olga, Razumovskaya
LyrArc Article Gist
The sharp decline in the value of the ruble combined with high interest rates is having a serious impact on Russia's automobile industry. Major foreign manufacturers are cutting production and laying off workers. Foriegn automakers have raised prices by as much as 56%, according to PwC. Avtovaz, majority owned by Renault and Nissan, cut its workforce by 12,000 in 2014 own to current level of 50,000, and an additional 1100 layoffs are planned for 2015. Volvo Trucks and General Motors plan to suspend production later in 2015. The decline is also reflected in sales of consumer appliances and computers. Popular imported notebook computer prices surged by as much as 54% in Jan. 2015 compared to Oct 2014, according to Yandex.
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BMW Launches Its First Mass-Production Electric Car

7 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 07.30.2013 Original article ›
Joseph B. White, Joseph, B., White
LyrArc Article Gist
BMW's first mass production electric car the i3 will go on sale inthe U.S. in the second quarter of 2014, priced at $41,350. It is a city car with a range of 100 miles from one charge. BMW will launch a i8 in 2014. The i8 is a super sports car with high fuel economy. A electric motor drives the front wheels and a 3 cylinder gasoline engine drives rear wheels. BMW's CEO Reithofer has increased spending on R&D so that it can meet the 30% of automobiles that have to be hybrids or electric vehicles by 2025 for BMW to meet higher European auto emissions standards. R&D spending was up 17% in 2012 to 9.2 billion euros, and capital spending up 42%.
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German Retail Group Arcandor Files for Bankruptcy

1 Groups   
New York Times - 06.10.2009 Original article ›
Carter Dougherty, Carter, Dougherty
LyrArc Article Gist
German retailer Arcandor filed for bankruptcy after the government rejectd arequest for a loan guarantee for $650 million euros. Arcandor's Karstadt departmetn stores are in most downtown shopping areas in Germany. Faced with aloan repayment of 710 million euros, Arcandor was in talks to merge with its competitor Metro which has theKaufhof department stores. Karstadt has 89 stores in Germany and 43,000 employees. The rejection by Chancellor Merkel has some political risk and Merkel is counting on the public opinion against bailouts to withstand the fallout from the increase in the unemployed. The government setup a115 billion euros rescue fund in March, but this is meant to help only those companies that ran into difficulties from the financial crisis not from management misdeeds or mistakes.
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Don’t Build Up

  
New York Times - 10.28.2009 Original article ›
Thomas L. Friedman Readers Comment, Thomas, L., Friedman , Readers, Comment
LyrArc Article Gist
Readers comments in the NYT to Tom Friedman's piece "Don't Build Up," October 28, 2009. Overwhelmingly readers expressed opposition to digging in deeper into the conflict, with one passionate comment by Cdr. John Newlin of Vista, California, drawing 410 reader recommend. He pointed to problems at home with military active duty suicides and domestic violence rates soaring, the economic misery from the recession, and the damage done by bankers and to the economy and lobbyists to a properly functioning democracy. Readers related to Friedman's idea that only the locals are best equiped to solve their problems, and that the day after the day after the Afghan warlords and the Taliban will still be fighting and the region never under anybody's control.
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Sun-Times Files for Bankruptcy

5 Groups   
New York Times - 04.01.2009 Original article ›
Richard P�Rez Pe�A, Richard, P�Rez Pe�A
LyrArc Article Gist
The Chicago Sun Times files for bankruptcy. It owes the IRS $510 million in back taxes for 1996-2003 when Hollinger International, which controls the Sun Times, was owned by Conrad Black, who was convicted of fraud. It had an operating loss of $344 million in 2008. Its newspaper the Sun Times has a circulation of 313,000. The Sun Times had expected advertising revenue to drop 30% this year. The Tribune Company, which owns the CHicago tribune and the Los Angeles Times filed for bankruptcy in 2007 Dec. Other papers that filed for bankruptcy include the Philadelphia Newspapers and the Star Tribune Holdings of Minneapolis. Sun Times stock which was at $6 in early 2007 was at 2 cents in April 2008!
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Citadel Chief Denies Rumors of Trouble

1 Links 3 Groups   
New York Times - 10.25.2008 Original article ›
Louise Story, Louise, Story
LyrArc Article Gist
Citadel, a large hedge fund headed by Kenneth Griffin is having problems, with its flagship fund down 35% this year. And the rumor mill saying some of its funds are down 60% and Fed Reserve officials are visiting the fund. Citadel is leveraged 3 to 1 and this is down from higher levels . Ironically Griffin has been known for buying other companies assets for pennies on the dollar, including E Trade and hedge funds Sowood Capital. And where did Griffin get started? He started trading in his dorm room at Harvard in the eighties. The hedge fund $1.7 trillion industry is facing a shakeout. It has already lost $180 billion in the August-October 2008 period and some hedge funds face collapse.
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Where to Find the Best Bargains in Beaten-Down Europe

1 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 09.24.2011 Original article ›
Jack Hough, Jack, Hough
LyrArc Article Gist
Jack Hough points to the gap between the MSCI Europe index at a price/earnings ratio of 11 times earnings and 4.1% dividend yield, compared to a price/earnings ratio of 14 and dividend yield of 2.1% for the U.S. MSCI Index.
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Japan Raises Sales Tax to Tackle Debt

4 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 08.12.2012 Original article ›
Yuka Hayashi, Yuka, Hayashi
LyrArc Article Gist
Seniors represented 23% of the Japanese population and 29.5% of spending in the budget in 2010. The rapid aging of the population has increased concern about the large deficit. Japan's parliament passed legislation that would double the sales tax to 10% by 2015.
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Romney Ekes Past Santorum to Win Iowa

20 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 01.04.2012 Original article ›
Neil King Jr., Neil, King, Jr., Patrick O'connor, Patrick, O'connor
LyrArc Article Gist
Romney and Santorum in a tie, with Romney winning by just 8 votes in Iowa's Republican caucuses. Romney got 23.6%, Santorum 23.5%, Ron Paul 21%, Gingrich 13% and Perry 10%. Romney received almost the same number of votes he won in 2008.
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Cuomo’s Budget Cuts Year-to-Year Spending

1 Groups   
New York Times - 02.01.2011 Original article ›
Nicholas Confessore, Nicholas, Confessore, Thomas Kaplan, Thomas, Kaplan
LyrArc Article Gist
Governor Cuomo's budget for New York in 2011, at $132.9 billion, is 2.7% less than the prior year. Cuts to medicaid and local school aid, each amount to $2.85 billion This helps close roughly half of the budget gap of $10 billion.
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Questions for Vicente Fox

1 Links 1 Groups   
New York Times - 07.19.2010 Original article ›
Deborah Solomon, Deborah, Solomon
LyrArc Article Gist
Interview with former Mexican president Vicente Fox on the Arizona immigration bill. He says xenophobes have taken over. Fox emphasizes that the 11 million undocumented workers are the most loyal in their work habits, contribute to the US economy, and should be documented.
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EU-China Battle Stalls Sales of Airbus Jets

3 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 03.09.2012 Original article ›
Daniel Michaels, Daniel, Michaels, David Pearson, David, Pearson
LyrArc Article Gist
China's government is putting 10 Airbus orders for A380 superjumbo jets by Hong Kong Airlines, and an additional 35 Airbus A330 widebody planes on hold, in response to eforts by the European Union to enforce carbon dioxide emission fees under its ETS system.
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Landing on a Comet, a Mission Aims to Unlock the Mysteries of Earth

1 Groups   
New York Times - 11.12.2014 Original article ›
Kenneth Chang, Kenneth, Chang
LyrArc Article Gist
The European Space Agency lands the Phlae probe on a comet's surface in 2014 from the Rosetta orbiter. The Rosetta was launched in 2004 and is on a mission that is over 10 years. The Rosetta is about 316 million miles from earth.
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President Makes a Tough Pitch to Weary Nation

12 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 09.10.2013 Original article ›
Gerald F. Seib, Gerald, F., Seib
LyrArc Article Gist
President Obama's nationally televised speech on Sept. 10, 2013 about the need to keep the military option for strikes in Syria alive, and an acknowledgement of the war weariness of the U.S. after two wars in the Middle East and South Asia.
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Ghana Votes With Key Status at Stake

1 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 12.08.2008 Original article ›
Sarah Childress, Sarah, Childress
LyrArc Article Gist
Elections in Ghana with 2 technocrats vying for the vote. With new oil discovered in Ghana additional revenues of $10 billion may be generated according to government estimates. Ghana is one of the few African countries with a long history of democratic processes.
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Covid-19 Cases Rise in U.K. Schoolchildren, Whom the Nation Hesitated to Vaccinate

  
WSJ - 10.09.2021 Original article ›
Jason Douglas
LyrArc Article Gist
About a third of recent coronavirus infections in the UK are from schoolchildren ages 10-19. The UK after a headstart in its vaccination drive has fallen behind other European countries and the US in the vaccination of children and teenagers. UK began vaccinating children in August far behind the US and Europe. On top of this UK under Boris Johnson decided to drop almost all public health restrictions during the summer. The change in Health Secretary happened on June 26, 2021 with Matt Hancock's resignation. The new Health Secretary Javid was to review the health restrictions in place till July 19. The sense of caution and preparedness that prevailed earlier as fallen short since July 2021 with the lack of coronavirus prevention measures such as masks, social distancing and vaccine mandates that were taken in Italy, France, Germany and other European countries, as well as in the US.

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Original article 6 minutes, gist 1 minute

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