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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.


New York Times Original article ›
The New York Times Original article ›
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For the first time there is a peaceful transition to a new government in Liberia following the recent election. Mr Weah, a soccer player, won 61% of the vote.

DW.COM Original article ›
WSJ Original article ›
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During this coronavirus pandemic SOuthwest Airlines in the U.S. is expanding its network and adding new airports to its flights. Four more in 2020 and six more in 2021.

New York Times Original article ›
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Making the shift to smaller cars and putting its money where its mouth is meant converting Ford from a large vehicle company to a company that makes a lot of smaller cars, and this meant Ford would have to convert to smaller cars a lot of its truck and SUV plants and close some of the other plants. Alan Mulally is doing just that as he moves to give Ford a completely new direction What is not surprising but is still more than a bit disconcerting is the skepticism he is meeting from executives inside the company that Ford can only make money building larger vehicles even in the face of a market that is moving in the opposite direction. So again and again Alan is having to ask the question "what does a sustainable Ford Motor look like?" Shows that the American car companies are not only caught with the wrong bag of product mix but are in some kind of culture shock as the ground below them is changing. Alan also is focused on a global market almost as though he realizes that from now on there is only a global market to deal with not the sort of American market that existed in the past, so he reminds other Ford executives that the global market share of larger vehicles is only 15%, and as if to sound incredulous asks them and you want us to continue to invest limited resources in that market?...
Wall Street Journal Original article ›
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Areas in the "too big to fail" part of Dodd-Frank U.S. financial reform legislation where work remains to be done to prevent a future crisis include: the creation of living wills by the largest banks so that they can be dismantled in an orderly fashion, and the designation of which banks are systemic risks by the Financial Oversight Stability Council. The FDIC and the Federal Reserve have yet to finalize the rules for creating "living wills" for large banks. The rules are expected to be finalized by fall 2011. The FOSC is working on the designations and what criteria to use for selecting the non-bank firms that pose systemic risks. Progress has been made at the FDIC by finishing several rules for implementing a new system to wind down a large failing bank. The FDIC is hiring staff for a new office that focusses specifically on large complex financial firms. Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo has led the effort for higher capital reserve requirements for U.S. banks, requirements that would be closer to 14% for capital reserves. In an editorial on June 16, 2011, the Wall Street Journal said that if the Federal Reserve is serious about controlling systemic risk then it should support capital reserve requirements of 14%....
Wall Street Journal Original article ›
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Malaysia's debt to GDP ratio increased to 242% in mid-2012 from 192% in 2008 according to McKinsey. As export growth has slowed the Malaysian government is relying on credit expansion to consumers and large capital projects such as the planned subway project in Kuala Lumpur to sustain growth. Similiar credit expansion is seen in other Asian countries- Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong. The period 2008 to 2013 has seen a rapid acceleration in credit expansion in these countries and especially in China. China's debt to GDP ratio increased to 183% in mid 2012 from 153% in 2008, according to McKinsey. Nomura Holding's economist Zhiwei Zhang, and other economists say it is above 200% when government data on "shadow banking" lending institutions such as trust companies is included. IMF economist Giovanni Dell'Ariccia has studied of debt expansion and credit booms since the 1970's. He and other economists at the IMF have found that credit booms- the rapid increase in credit to GDP ratios- end up in crises one third of the time, result in below par growth in another third of the time, and only in one third of the time does growth continue at the high pace. Alex Frangos talks to government officials in Kuala Lumpur who do not take seriously the high vacancy rate for office buildings in the capital of about 20% even as new office towers are being built. Bob Davis gives the example of government owned Hunan Expressway company in China which has a huge road building program and doubled its 2009 debt levels. Another state owned company in shipping China Cosco Holdings increased total debt from 85 billion yuan in 2009 to 123 billion yuan in 2012. As export growth slowed in China in 2009 credit expansion is driving growth. The normal restraints of the market are absent in China's state owned companies. Charlene Chu, senior director of Fitch Ratings Inc in Beijing, says 2012 demonstrated that the Chinese government cannot slow credit growth without risking a decline in growth. China's GDP growth in the 1st quarter of 2013 slowed to 7.7% from 7.9% in the 4th quarter of 2012. This poses a serious problem for China. China has never experienced the kinds of problems seen in Asia after the 1997 banking crisis, in the eurozone today, and in the U.S. following the financial crisis of 2008, making government officials prone to complacency about the risks....
New York Times Original article ›
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Poland says its President Lech Kaczynski, is not hit as hard as other countries in Eastern Europe, by which he may be referring to Hungary, and may achieve 2% growth in 2009, if things do not worsen considerably. The prime minister of Hungary had warned of a new Iron Curtain coming down over Europe, as a result of the economic downturn. Unemployment is rising, but nowhere near the high double digits of the 1990's, and exports are still holding up, and Polish banking sector is relatively healthy not having made the risky investments.
New York Times Original article ›
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Airbus will be run by Louis Gallois as head of the management team with Thomas Enders reporting to him. Ruediger Grube becomes Chairman of EADS. He will oversee Gallois and Enders and the rest of the Airbus management team. The dual structure was considered inappropriate for a company in a competitive business environment and blamed for many of Airbus's recent problems. It has been taken out with Gallois now in charge of decisions and responsible for the running of the company. This was important to French president Sarkozy and agreement was achieved with Ms. Merkel, his German counterpart.
Wall Street Journal Original article ›
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Ann Marlowe has completed her sixth embed with American troops. She is a visiting fellow of the Hudson Institute. Her views from the ground are that without good governance the American effort there seriously risks failing. She is very concerned that the current administration is not taking good governance seriously. There should be alternatives to the Taliban and to the Karzai government which has failed to win public support.
New York Times Original article ›
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A good account of the history and weaknesses of the Amtrak based system of rail service in the USA. Questions abound about the queer situation where you find rail popular in Europe and so not prevalent and scarce in the USA. How efficient is Amtrak's rail service in conserving energy? Amtrak uses electricity made from coal, it uses 17% less fuel than a passenger car and 32% less than a airline airplane according to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Is this based on new fuel efficient locomotives? No the locomotives are old and Amtrak equipment is aging, so much more fuel efficiency gains could probably be made with new technology and investment. Rail service is coming out of a 40 year period of neglect, and Amtrak itself was probably created to put in one place and hold together a dwindling service, as the passenger services of freight railroads were consolidated to create Amtrak in 1970 by the federal government after the interstate highway system built during the postwar Eishenhower years led to a boom in car travel and the spread of housing to spread out suburbs. At the time private operation was not a consideration as Amtrak itself was a rescue operation to preserve some semblence of rail service before it died out. Now with fresh incentive to do mass transit the whole question being posed is whether private operators should be brought in and would do a better job than Amtrak. Today Amtrak has in all 632 usable rail cars an astonishingly small number, its Amfleet cars are 30 years old, and the Acela trains are 8 years old. In all it carried 25 million passengers last year and in 2008 probably will get to 27 million. Many of these are on long haul routes and where passengers can get to small towns where there is no plane service. Its labor contracts require it to keep these routes. So its a peculiar Amtrak that exists today as a result of historical events and shift to road travel, and it may not be the best vehicle to move the USA towards greater use of mass transit to conserve energy, as its slow to change and takes years to introduce new technology and is not spread out evenly over short and long haul routes. The customer service suffered all these years with no competiton and competition may be healthy for better technology, better service and service on new routes. The UK rail service from London to different parts of the country has been privatised for instance. Better technology and fast service are essential to attract new customers and this is an area in which Europe has made significant progress. At this point even with federal money Amtrak would take years to get new technology from the current manner of writing specification for bids, picking a vendor and waiting for delivery especially as vendors have dwindled because of the lack of demand in prior years....
Wall Street Journal Original article ›
LyrArc Article Gist
With Amazon taking customers from specialty retailers on the basis of price questions are raised about the future of Best Buy. Best Buy competed by having tech savy salespeople and moderately lower prices. Borders lost sales to Amazon. Now this is happening in electronics as Amazon increases share. Customers can visit Best Buy to check out electronic goods and then buy on Amazon for the lower price, making Best Buy Amazon's showroom. Amazon's electronics and nonmedia revenue went up by 66% in 2010 to $18 billion. With Sony selling through Costco another advantage is eroding. Even with Circuit City out of the market Best Buy was losing market share (December 2010 figures show) in the key television and computing segments.
WSJ Original article ›
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Private investment in U.S. Infrastructure is growing with investment in renewable energy and in digital communications. About $89 billion was raised in 2020 following $226 billion in 2019 for infrastructure deals.

Wall Street Journal Original article ›
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$1.4 trillion in bank lending in 2009, an increase of 32%, andd an increase in the money supply by 29% in 2009, may create problems for China. Some experts warn that as investment soars there may be falling returns and inefficient spending.
BBC News Original article ›
LyrArc Article Gist
Rep Jodey Arrington of Texas on Liberation Day Tariffs-

"It just seems to me that it's un-American to not fight for our American manufacturers, producers and workers to simply have an even playing field." 

On the other side of the Atlantic the British press does not like America. Here is one report from the BBC News shown as Analysis by the BBC News.

It says Xi and the six other members of the Politburo Standing Committee were out planting trees to prevent deforestation while DJT was announcing big tariffs. And BBC News report Live goes on to say that the picture of Xi planting tress gives out the vibe that - go on America "this is China, we are not interested in your crap."  

Wall Street Journal Original article ›
LyrArc Article Gist
On one hand Chinese environmental officials are aware of the pollution problems in Beijing and Shanghai and other cities. Levels of nitrogen dioxide in Beijing exceed the WHO clean air guidelines by 78%. On the other hand the newly emerging middle class is seeking car ownership, and the local government officials need growth in the car industry to show good GNP and GDP growth numbers on which their performance is judged. Beijing and Shanghai and Anhui province local governments are part owners of some auto companies. About 416,000 people are employed in the Shanghai area auto industry alone and the auto industry in Shanghai pays about 900 millon dollars in taxes, according to government figures. At seven cars per 1000 population car sales are just beginning to take off. And with China's population its clearly not going to be possible to have the same level of ownership as in the US. The same is true for India. This would increase by many times the current demand for crude oil and increase emissions to the point of creating a disaster. And even today because of lax enforcement, and older models on the road, about 40% of vehicles in Beijing have no pollution controls and the other 60% have varying degrees of pollution controls. Experts say changes to the subsidized oil price policy, refineries that produce cleaner gasoline, policies to build more mass transit which has lagged behind in China as car sales took off (and probably more GNP impact from car plants than mass transit which act as inducement for local officials), and stricter fuel efficiency and auto emissions standards are needed....
Wall Street Journal Original article ›
LyrArc Article Gist
Cheng provides the basics of cloud computing and how best to use cloud services.
WSJ Original article ›
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With increasing defaults on auto loans and lower prices in the used car market, banks are pulling back from auto lending in 2017. The decline is most evident in lending to risky borrowers.

The Times Original article ›
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Boris Johnson's new Brexit plan leaves Northern Ireland out of the customs union with the European Union which could be a sticking point for Ireland and the European Union. The plan has other issues that will require to be resolved including the lack of adequate customs checks for goods entering Britain from the European Union. Northern Ireland's government can change any association with the European Union in 4 years is another sticking point that could put at risk the peace agreement in Northern Ireland.

The Guardian Original article ›
LyrArc Article Gist
Spain lifts its state of emergency and reopens it borders after 13 weeks o coronavirus with 28,000 dead and 245,000 cases. Prime minister Pedro Sanchez said "we can all be a wall against the virus or the means of its transmission. It depends on each and every one of us." He said the government was building up its strategic reserve of essential products to cope with any potential second wave. Masks will continue to be mandatory in public spaces when physical distancing of 1.5 metres is not possible.

WSJ Original article ›
The New York Times Original article ›
New York Times Original article ›
LyrArc Article Gist
The short story collection, "Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh," and "Garlic Ballads," provides an uncoventional view of rural life, and provide pictures of arrogant officials and rural folk just trying to survive. Mo Yan says: "As long as humans live, there is pain." And he provides a humorous view of the situation. There is poverty and conditions are difficult he says in a preface: "the people struggled to keep death from the door, with little to eat and rags for clothes." His recent work "Life and Death Are Wearing Me out," shows life in rural China since 1949.
New York Times Original article ›
New York Times Original article ›

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