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Browse Articles or use Lyrarc's US patented "Groups" and "Links" for new insights. A Lyrarc Group of Articles on a topic gives insights into particular angles shown in the Group Title. A Lyrarc Link shows more specific insights for 2 articles.

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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.

Bloomberg Takes On Smoking Overseas

1 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 03.22.2012 Original article ›
Betsy Mckay, Betsy, Mckay
LyrArc Article Gist
Bloomberg Philanthropies has committed $600 million to fight tobacco use worldwide between 2007-2016. Tactics used in New York City reduced the city's smoking rate from 22% in 2002 to 14% in 2011. These tactics will now be used in countries around the world from China to other developing countries. Already an effort has been funded in Turkey including putting a new smoke-free law in place in 2008. According to Tobacco Atlas cigarettes contributed to 6 million deaths in 2011, 80% in the developing world, with high use in China, Indonesia and India.
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Foreign Investment Jumps in Indonesia

1 Links 7 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 04.23.2012 Original article ›
Eric Bellman, Eric, Bellman, I Made Sentana, I, Made, Sentana
LyrArc Article Gist
Foreign direct investment in Indonesia surged 30% to 51.5 trillion rupiah ($5.6 billion) for the first quarter of 2012. Indonesia's Investment Board says the mining sector gained $1.1 billion of FDI, telecom $800 million and plantations $500 millon. Singapore invested $1.2 billion, Japan $600 million, and S. Korea $500 million. Meanwhile S&P retained the BB+ credit rating for Indonesia because of concern about the government's decision not to raise subsidized fuel prices by 33% to cut a fuel subsidy bill of $15 billion, and other "policy slippages."
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Boardroom Cuts Won't Cure AstraZeneca

5 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 04.26.2012 Original article ›
Hester Plumridge, Hester, Plumridge
LyrArc Article Gist
With no clear strategy to pursue vaccines or generics like its competitors, and no promising new drugs in the pipeline, Astra Zeneca faces an uncertain future. Acquisitions are costly with a high premium in 2012. Nestle paid about 20 times earnings before interest, depreciation and taxes for Pfizer's baby food nutrition business. Astra Zeneca's first quarter earnings in 2012 declined by 44%. Government price reductions and competition from generics led to first quarter 2012 sales decline by 11%. New management takes over in June from the current CEO.
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Lessons From Chernobyl for Japan

1 Groups   
New York Times - 03.19.2011 Original article ›
Ellen Barry, Ellen, Barry
LyrArc Article Gist
Chernobyl nuclear disaster area in Ukraine as it is today. Cesium's half-life is 30 years and strontium's half-life is 29 years. Scientific estimates show that it takes about 10-13 half-lives, or about 300 years, for the radioactive effects to disappear and for life to return to the area. The contaminated area around the Chernobyl reactor is about 15,000 square miles or about the size of Switzerland. This place gives some idea of what can be expected for the area around the Fukushima nuclear reactor in Japan. A reporter visits this area.
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Stepping on the Gas Needn't Crash Detroit

4 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 03.23.2011 Original article ›
Liam Denning, Liam, Denning
LyrArc Article Gist
Better balance sheets, higher resale values, the trend away from subprime financing, and a lineup of vehicles that give better mileage (even with trucks acounting for 50% of sales) with the shift to lighter crossover vehicles, will help Detroit automakers face higher gas prices. These factors should help prevent a replay of the very serious problems of 2008, when gas prices exceeded $4.00 a gallon and the U.S. faced a financial crisis. At that time in 2008 vehicle sales declined by 18% and truck sales were down by 25%, according to Credit Suisse.
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Electrolux to Buy GE Appliances Business for $3.3 Billion

7 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 09.09.2014 Original article ›
Jens Hansegard, Jens, Hansegard, James Hagerty, James, Hagerty
LyrArc Article Gist
Electrolux acquires GE's appliance business for $3.3 billion in 2014. This follows competitor Whirlpool's acquisition of a majority stake in Italian company Indesit for $1 billion in 2014. The deal would raise Electrolux market share in the U.S. to 37% from about 20%. The CEO of Electrolux, Keith McLoughlin, says this enables Electrolux to use GE's capacity for washing machine production in the U.S. to avoid import duties of about 33% for imports from Mexico. He says GE's posiiton as the top maker for home builders in the U.S. is a major plus.
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How the Web Drags on Some Retailers

4 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 12.02.2014 Original article ›
Suzanne Kapner, Suzanne, Kapner
LyrArc Article Gist
Kohls online retail sales show margins of 4% compared to 10% for in-store sales. Wal-Mart is losing money on online sales as it invests in technology and infrastructure for Web operations. Best Buy's margins are thin on online sales. Shipping and handling, higher returns, and lower prices lead to lower margins on online retail sales. The lower costs from not having to maintain an actual store network with real estate and labor costs is offset by these costs which can run as high as 25%, according to industry analysts.
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Health-Care Stocks Avoid Market Malaise

1 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 01.07.2015 Original article ›
Daniel Strumpf, Daniel, Strumpf
LyrArc Article Gist
The defensive nature of invesments in healthcare sector with increasing uncertainty in the 4th quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of 2015. The S&P 500 Healthcare Index trades at 17.3 times earnings for the next 12 months, up from 16.7 at the beginning of 2014, according to FactSet. By comparison the S&P 500 trades at 16 times earnings. A major factor pushing earnings is the development of new drugs for cancer, and other diseases. FDA approved 41 new drugs in 2014, up from 27 in 2013, and 39 in 2012.
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Ukraine’s Hryvnia Plunges After Rate Rise

1 Links 3 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 02.07.2015 Original article ›
Nick Shchetko And Alexander Kolyandr, Nick, Shchetko, And, Alexander, Kolyandr
LyrArc Article Gist
Ukraine's central bank says its foreign currency and gold reserves dropped to $6.4 billion in Jan. 2015. The conflict in the east with the flareup in Fe.b 2015 is taking its toll on the Ukrainian economy. The central bank raised interest rates and moved to a freely floating exchange rate in Feb 2015. The currency hryvnia lost half of its value in 2014. Ukraine's currency lost one fifth of its value on Feb. 5, 2015. FactSet figures show the decline was down to 25 hryvnia to the U.S. dollar.
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Greek Financing Talks Break Down Amid Deep Divisions Over Bailout

6 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 02.17.2015 Original article ›
Gabriele Steinhauser, Gabriele, Steinhauser
LyrArc Article Gist
Breakdown of negotiations between Greece and EU finance ministers led by Dijisselbloem of the Netherlands on February 16, 2015. Dijisselbloem says the best way forward is for Greece to take a 6 month extension of the current program, because more time is needed to work out the details. Finance minister Varoufakis of Greece says Greece should not have to make cuts that are clearly recessionary. The bailout ends on Feb. 28. Without an agreement reached Greece loses access to 7.2 billion in funds from the EU, needed to make repayments due in March.
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Pirelli’s Chinese Buyer May Not Deliver More to Investors

2 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 03.27.2015 Original article ›
Helen Thomas, Helen, Thomas
LyrArc Article Gist
ChemChina's acquisition of Pirelli's tire business focusses on the more valuable tire consumer unit, Pirelli's technology for premium tires, and increasing growth in Asian markets. The acquisition involves a complex transaction which includes Rosneft of Russia, which owns a major share in Chemfin that has 28% of Pirelli stock. Institutional holders control 47% of the stock, with other holdings by Mediobanca, the Benetton family and retail investors. For Pirelli this is the first step in a journey with a major Chinese investor and a focus on the Chinese consumer market.
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Nigeria’s New Broom

  
Wall Street Journal - 04.02.2015 Original article ›
Wsj Editorial, Wsj, Editorial
LyrArc Article Gist
This WSJ editorial on Muhammadu Buhari, the newly elected president of Nigeria, welcomes the peaceful transition to a new government in Nigeria. This comes at a time when Nigeria faces a crisis, with the Boko Haram insurgency in the north east and the decline in oil revenues, compounding the worsening economic troubles from corruption and failure to build infrastructure. It also reminds readers about Buhari's role as military dictator for 20 months in the 1980's, and the need for a peaceful transition in four years if he fails to deliver on promises.
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Andrew Lack Returns to NBC News Amid Turmoil

12 Groups   
New York Times - 06.09.2015 Original article ›
John Koblin, John, Koblin
LyrArc Article Gist
NBC News division brings back Andrew Lack 20 years later to run the division. Lack had success at NBC News during the days of Tom Brokaw at the news division. He faces a different situation now with the rise of digital media, the decline in ratings of MSNBC, and other problems including the Brian Williams episode. Lack worked at Sony Music, Bloomberg, and Voice of America, but was never at home the way he was at NBC News. At Bloomberg his goal of increasing viewership was never realized, and Bloomberg remains a small television channel.
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The Wall Street Journal

7 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 06.30.2015 Original article ›
Things To Know About The Supreme Court's Decision On Epa Mercury Rules, Things, To, Know, About, The, Supreme, Court's, Decision, On, Epa, Mercury, Rules
LyrArc Article Gist
The Supreme Court ruling on EPA mercury regulations gives smaller plants with coal fired plants more leeway in installing scrubbers. Large companies have already committed to installing scrubbers for coal fired plants. Regulations are only one reason for the shift to natural gas from coal. Lower prices of natural gas and increasing supplies are a major reason. The U.S. will reduce dependence on coal for energy from 39% to 36% in 2015, with natural gas increasing from 27% to 31%, and renewable solar wind energy making up about 13%, according to EIA.
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Hottest Housing Markets Hit Headwinds

2 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 11.23.2013 Original article ›
Nick Timiraos, Nick, Timiraos
LyrArc Article Gist
A WSJ survey of U.S. housing market prices and inventory in November 2013. Price gains moderated in the 3rd quarter of 2013. Gains were 1% in Orange County, 2% in San Diego, and 3% in San Francisco in the 3rd quarter 2013. Gains were over 20% in the 12 month period ending in September 2013 for San Francisco, Phoenix, San Diego, and Orange County, according to Zillow Inc, real estate website. Increase in interest rates on mortgages and rising prices have reduced the affordability of homes for new buyers.
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Time for Fannie, Freddie?

1 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 07.08.2008 Original article ›
Peter Eavis, Peter, Eavis, David Reilly, David, Reilly
LyrArc Article Gist
Questions are raised after a 16% drop in Faniie's share price and 18% drop in Freddie's share price whether the common equity in both will have any value left once the housing crisis has taken its toll. If capital raining by Fannie and Freddie do not get done at the right size which could be upto $46 billion of capital for Fannie and $26 billion for Freddie according to a Lehman Brothers report then the government may be forced to do something like takeover Fannie and Freddie leaving shareholders with pennies.
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U.S. Stocks Look Pricey, But Bargains Beckon Overseas

7 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 02.01.2013 Original article ›
Joe Light, Joe, Light
LyrArc Article Gist
P/E ratios for stocks in the U.S., Europe and the emerging market countries in 2013. A large gap between the U.S. and Europe for longer term returns, 22 for the U.S. compared to 10 for southern European countries such as Spain, Italy and Ireland. This uses the cyclically adjusted returns based on the Shiller P/E which takes average ten year earnings adjusted for inflation. Using earnings expectations for the next year the U.S. P/E is 13.5 compared to 12.7 for developed markets including Germany and the UK.
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British Banks Will Face Tougher Liquidity Rules

2 Groups   
New York Times - 10.06.2009 Original article ›
Julia Werdigier, Julia, Werdigier
LyrArc Article Gist
Britain's FSA takes the initiative to put in new liquidity rules to prevent afuture banking crisis. It puts pressure on financial services firms to buy 110 billion pounds of government bonds that would remain liquid in a financial crisis. The rules would be borught in over several stages over the next few years. A week earlier the British government met with executives of the 5 largest banks to agree to install limits to bonuses laid out at the G-20 Summit. THe British are the first to take these steps.
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Australia's Fast Recovery Spurs Fears It Overdid Stimulus

  
Wall Street Journal - 10.14.2009 Original article ›
James Glynn, James, Glynn, Enda Curran, Enda, Curran
LyrArc Article Gist
Australia is seeing strong results from apickup in CHinese demand, the stimulus of 67 billion Australian dollars ($60.58 billion US), and investment including A$43 billion natural-gas project of Chevron Corporation. As a result the unemployment rate fell to 5.7% in September from 5.8% in August 2009. Australia has the third highest fiscal stimulus package 2008-2010 as a percent of GDP at 4.6%, after the US at 5.6%, S. Korea at 4.9%. As aresult Australia's central bank is the first of the G-20 to raise interest rates lifting it to 3.25%.
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In U.K., Getting Tough With Nationalized Banks

1 Links 5 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 02.09.2009 Original article ›
Alistair Macdonald, Alistair, Macdonald, Sara Schaefer Muñoz, Sara, Schaefer, Muñoz
LyrArc Article Gist
The bonus issue at RBS bank in the UK, where performance has been abysmal but 1 billion British pounds in bonuses were planned. The public outcry. RBS has been the biggest disaster in British banking or one of the biggest. It has angered Prime Minister Brown for the Government to come up with $20 billion pound injection of capital into RBS recently, yet the current management saw it fit to consider this sizable bonus. Somewhere in all this there is a disconnect between what makes sense and what does not make any sense.
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AstraZeneca Drug's Effectiveness Questioned

2 Links 1 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 02.28.2009 Original article ›
Avery Johnson, Avery, Johnson, Shirley S. Wang, Shirley, S., Wang, Jeanne Whalen, Jeanne, Whalen
LyrArc Article Gist
Astra Zeneca faces over 9000 lawsuits from people who developed diabetes after taking it. Its a drug for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia that has sales of $20 billion over the years, with $4 billion in 2008. Now it is revealed that Astra Zeneca conducted studies on the effectiveness of Seroquel from 2000, and these studies show that Seroquel was less effective than a generic medicine haloperidol, that has been around for 50 years. Seroquel was only more effective than a placebo,the analysis says from hundreds of pages of unsealed documents.
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’07 U.S. Births Break Baby Boom Record

  
New York Times - 03.19.2009 Original article ›
Erik Eckholm, Erik, Eckholm
LyrArc Article Gist
2007 saw arecord number of births, of 4,317,000 . The average woman has 2.1 births and there are alarger number of childbearing women of all ages. In a sign of what society is looking like and changing mores in different racial groups, there were a record number of births to unmarried women. 40% of all births were by unmarried women in 2007. 28% of white babies were born to unmarried women, 51% of Hispanic babies, and 72% of black babies, and the rate is accelerating for white babies and Hispanic babies.
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Dream Mortgage Bailout Has a Darker Side

6 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 04.03.2009 Original article ›
Peter Eavis, Peter, Eavis
LyrArc Article Gist
With the reduced demand for Fannie and Freddie mortgages with coupons under 5%, the Fed steps in and purchases $192 billion of 4% and 4.5% conforming mortgages on a gross basis by March 25, 2009. The move helps support falling house prices in the U.S. and reduces mortgage rates. It also helps banks improve profits. Estimates show the top 10 banks increased their holdings of securities issued by Fannie and Freddie and government agencies by $128.6 billion or 30% in 4th quarter 2008, which can be marked up in future quarters.
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A wake-up call from the voters

1 Links 1 Groups   
Economist - 04.04.2009 Original article ›
Economist.Com
LyrArc Article Gist
In the March 29, 2009, local elections in Turkey the AK party led by Mr Erdogan got only 39% of the vote down from the 47% it obtained in the 2007 general elections. Unemployment is 13.6% and the Turkish currency's value dropped, and GDP is declining. Mr Erdogan's claims that the global meltdown had not touched Turkey irked voters, and other local issues and parties also resulted in a loss of support. Erdogan is seen as aloof and losing touch with the people compared to the years when AK was on the rise.
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Original article 3 minutes, gist 1 minute

Too Much Hope May Be Pinned On Rate Cut

  
Wall Street Journal - 09.17.2007 Original article ›
E.S. Browning, E.S., Browning
LyrArc Article Gist
Thoughtful opinion by experts that the rate cut or a series of rate cuts may just not do it and the economic growth will slow to 1.5% or nearer that number next year. The housing declines, lower consumer spending, and the credit crunch won't disappear with the rate cuts. The effects on the dollar are another factor. See the article on how ewe may be entering a new period in the global economy where the US slows and the rest of the world pushes ahead in the wsj Sept 20, 2007.
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