LyrArc Article Gist
For 2025 US stocks S&P 500 returns 19%, foreign stocks in Europe 36%. An extraordinary year for foreign stocks with Germany's big investments in the economy. Actually the average S&P stock was down 3.7%. It was the large investments in AI that propelled the US stock markets S&P 500 to the 19% gain.  AI investment may take a long time to be profitable and some companies may lose money yet the building of data centers creates demand for construction activity, and tariffs are bringing larger investments into the US economy. Media skeptical about tariffs led to many missing the surge in stocks. It was the same overseas after years of Merkel and limits placed in the constitution on needed spending, and the SPD coaltition struggling to get through FDP obstruction to investment spending. Chancellor Merz of CDU joined the SPD to make a big $1 trillion investment in German infrastructure and defense, and removed the constitutional brake on investment Merkel had unwisely put in, with so much of Germany's infrastructure and digital in bad shape. This pushed up European stocks that had languished under the austerity logic of Cameron/Johnson-Merkel. This also was missed by many as the old logic was suddenly and quickly taken out with Russia emboldened in Ukraine taking over much of the eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region. Defense is now a rapidly growing part of the German economy. 2025 was a year of sudden and rapid change in the world economy with tariffs, US investment deals, and Germany taking on defense and infrastructure, which few could predict. And in which the media created confusion by saying the opposite of what was required from investors. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Afghanistan plunges into a dire economic crisis and socio economic collapse with the collapse of basic services such as health care, banks, food supplies, financial systems. The EU promises humanitarian aid of $1.16 billion to be delivered directly by aid organizations. A virtual group of 20 summit leads to discussion of how to prevent famine and collapse In October 2021.

LyrArc Article Gist
Postponing hearing loss tests can lead to cognitive decline and reduce the enjoyment of activities essential for good health, say experts. About 14.1 million or one in 6 people will have some degree of hearing loss in the UK by 2030. Hearing tests is an habit one needs to take up especially after reaching 50 years of age.

LyrArc Article Gist
Online shift hit Macy's hard. It is now closing 150 stores by 2026. Macy will concentrate its resources on its remaining 350 locations including the Bloomingdale stores and BlueMercury stores. Salez stagnant at $23 billion profits down by 91% to $101 million. Workforce cuts of 3.5% planned and no plans to sell the company to venture capitalists.

LyrArc Article Gist
Housing market looks weak in Juy 2010 with the U.S. Census Bureau reporting single family housing starts falling in June by 0.7%. Permits for single family starts fell 3% in June 2010. A Wall Street Journal quarterly survey shows rising inventories in 28 metropolitan areas. Inventory was up at the end of June 33% from a year before in San Diego, and 19% in Los Angeles. Compared to 2008 when the banking crisis caused problems, now it is the general economic conditions that are acting as a drag on the housing market.

LyrArc Article Gist
WSJ's Greg Ip points out the realities on the ground for housing inflation- Austin 11% higher prices for housing 2020-2024, for NYC 20%, supply up 17% in Austin NYC only 3%. Austin avoided rent control route in elections even when prices were up 23% in 1 year, rent control freeze is not allowed in Texas. Prices eventually dropped as supply increased. This is a warning sign for NYC primary winner Mamdani's rent freeze and rent control in NYC. This is not to say that landlords have to get their act together and fix homes, and moderate pricing. It is to say that the supply of housing matters and adding supply to housing as the British Labor government is doing in Britain under a socialist/private enterprise oriented government matters. For this to happen a comprehensive policy is needed cutting time to build reducing permit times, and incentivising builders, as well as cutting costs, and building affordable housing. It is a reflection of the degree of desperation that New Yorkers- created by the same educated and the professional workers among them, the rich and the elites- that the vast number of young college educated people are now pushing free buses, rent freeze, and city run grocery stores. And so little discussion is taking place on the comprehensive plan to increase supply of housing and building the new infrastructure in a city where roads and pavements, whole neighborhood infrastructures are crumbling as in Brooklyn. So little discussion on creating a rising tide that lifts all boats. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Over the last ten years average growth in real per capita income has averaged 1.6%, with declines only in two years of the last twenty years, 2008 with the global financial crisis, and in 1991 a year before President George H.W. Bush lost the election to Clinton. A forecast by Mark Zandl of Moody's Economy.com shows real disposable income per capita is expected to increase by 0.4% by the end of the third quarter of 2010 from a year earlier. This will show up in consumer spending and will weaken the recovery. It is also likely to be reflected in elections in the latter part of 2010.

LyrArc Article Gist
The longest serving senators as Majority Leader includes Joseph Robinson Democrat of Arkansas who was Minority and Majority Leader form 1923 to 1937 and helped put the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt through the US Congress. That role is also being played by McConnell and now Thune in this period of change in the 2020's with cyber security, tech monopolies, pandemic and cost of living issues.

LyrArc Article Gist
How is the oil price cap by the US, EU and G-7 countries working and what is its impact on Russian oil revenues, is the subject of this report in NYT. The gap between the price of Brent Crude  the global oil benchmark and Urals Crude for Russian oil is now about $40 in January 2023. Russia's finance ministry says the average price in January for Urals crude was $49.50, half of what it was a year earlier. 

LyrArc Article Gist
Emissions from China of ozone depleting chemicals such as from this refrigerator factory shown in NYT, have hurt the earth's ozone layer. This has been stopped says this UN report cited in NYT, CFC-11 emissions were a major issue at one time - the stopping of such emissions is a move in the right direction to allow the ozone layer to recover by 2040 say experts. NYT says that small factories in Eastern China were the source at one time.

LyrArc Article Gist
McGurn looks at a time when population growth was seen as an existential threat in China. China's population declined by 850,000 in 2022. An accompanying article in the NYT by Hawon Jung describes the views of South Korean women, which also reflect views of Chinese and Japanese women, about the uneven burdens of raising children between men and women, the discrimination against married women with young children in the workplace, the other challenges women face that have led to a marraige strike.

LyrArc Article Gist
The new Noida International Airport, Asia's largest when completed in 2024, will be a model for connectivity with connections to high speed rail, bullet trains. It will also be developed as an export hub for the country to provide needed logistics for India as a manufacturing hub in the new world supply chain. As part of the Master Plan for Gati Shakti it will be integrated into the development of the country as a whole over the next two decades.

LyrArc Article Gist
Queen Elizabeth's voice is heard on the microphone before a meeting of the Welsh parliament: "We only know about people who are not coming to the Glasgow Climate Change Summit, its very irritating that they say but they don't do." China had promised to peak coal use by 2030, and help achieve reducing global warming under Paris summit goals. This looks like a remote possibility today as China faces blackouts and factory closings from reducing coal use.

LyrArc Article Gist
The Biden Infrastructure plan aims to put $400 billion into home healthcare for seniors shifting away from hospitals and institutions. By 2030 one in every five people will be at retirement age in the US, as the aging population surges. Studies show seniors can - if supported by services and the resources allocated by the government - live better quality lives at home for an extended period in retirement. This is an important issue for seniors and the Biden administration after the pandemic.

LyrArc Article Gist
Governor Yuko Koike has set 2050 as the date for Tokyo to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has put out the plan in "Tokyo Zero Emissions Strategy." All vehicles will be using electricity or fuel cells. And all buildings will use solar and other forms of renewable energy. The govenor called on all Tokyo residents to fight climate change. Also planned is an effort to reduce use of plastic and other materials that consume large amounts of energy.

LyrArc Article Gist
Moderna has made the initial batches of doses of the vaccine for the variant of coronavirus including South African variant, and shipped these to the National Institutes of Health in the US. If the test results are positive the vaccine for variant could be given authorization by the third quarter of 2021. It is becoming crucial to stay ahead of variants developing from the coronavirus and pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, J&J, Astra Zeneca are working on the technology to tackle this.

LyrArc Article Gist
The $1.2 trillion spending bill to cover the budget for 2024 for defense, health and human services, education and other parts of the US government passed the Senate 74-24 with Republicans joining Democrats to pass the bill. It came in the wee hours of the morning just after the midnight deadline for funding the US government. Disagreements on funding programs between the 2 parties led to this situation of delay till the last minute as each side sought to improve its position. 

LyrArc Article Gist
Charles does a walkabout at St George's Chapel on Easter Day 2024, after a traditional Easter Service. He greets wellwishers who say they have the royal back. Charles and the Princess of Wales have boosted the spirits of many with their sharing of their own stories dealing with cancer. On Easter Day Britain comes together with the royal family in spirit just as it did when Queen Elizabeth gave her message to people in the early days of the pandemic.

LyrArc Article Gist
Gerard Baker in the WSJ says the abortion rulings of the Supreme Court and the Inflation Reduction Act, Climate Change bills have energized Democrats. He says that as the chances of president Trump running as the nominee of the Republican party in 2024 increased in August, the electoral prospects for Congress of the Republican party have diminished. He says the Mar-a-lago taking of documents by FBI and investigation are also now seen as part of national security issues.

LyrArc Article Gist
Senators Lankford (R- Oklahoma) Murphy (D-Conn), and Sinema (I- Arizona) are working hard to negotiate a deal which combines aid to Ukraine with an agreement to tighten border security. This report in The Washington Post shows how hard it is to reach a deal on intricate details and how it might not take place till January 2024. It is important to reach a deal as migrant push across the border has happened under both parties and a common solution is needed. 

LyrArc Article Gist
A study published by UNICEF shows that of 55 countries only three showed increase in popular perception of the importance of children's vaccines- India, China and Mexico. The Vaccine Confidence Project is conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The study says a total of 67 million children missed out on vaccinations between 2019 and 2021 the years of the pandemic, vaccination coverage decreased in 112 countries, and much backsliding in vaccination happened that needs to be corrected.

LyrArc Article Gist
The SUNY public university system is giving each student $2000 in aid to reduce college dropout. It is using simple approaches that include transportation money, and other aid to keep students from dropping out. It is called Accelerated Study in Associate Programs that has doubled graduation rates at the City University of New York since 2007. it provides textbook fees, transportation stipends, academic advisement, free tutoring, tution funds. In return the students commit to full time study and meet with their advisors regularly.

LyrArc Article Gist
Amazon's efforts to expand into fields outside its logistics, Prime, online retail, Amazon Web Sevices (AWS), search Advertising, which make up 90% of revenues. This includes the forays into devices with Kindle, healthcare, grocery retail stores Amazon Fresh. Amazon has less success with these ventures. Most of the success is in retail, online, Prime and AWS with 40% growth in 2019-2021. Amazon is struggling in new business  outside core online retail, logistics and AWS.

LyrArc Article Gist
In the middle of the pandemic US Congress approved $190 billion in aid to schools. Of this 20% was to be spent addressing learning loss for children. The pandemic period taking 50 million children out of schools is now seen as the biggest disruption in history of American education. It set student progress in math and education back by two decades and widened the gap between wealthy and poor children. These learning gaps remain unaddressed even as money runs out in 2024.

LyrArc Article Gist
The workforce participation rate reached a high of 84.5% in 2023. WSJ points to how the flexibility to work from home, remote work, is playing a role in bringing more women, and men into the workforce. More jobs are being created 275,000 in February, and the economy is resilient with inflation coming under control with a larger supply of labor productively used in the economy. Additional immigration, though the need for it to be organized is clear, has added to supply of labor.