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David Brooks on a government captured by rent seekers. He says liberals have failed to take action against the rent seeking groups who have obtained special privileges through their influence on government, tarnishing the image of government in the minds of the American people.

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The New York Times reminds readers that Newt Gingrich- who criticized Romney's record at Bain Capital- was himself on the advisory board of private equity firm Forstmann Little. This editorial describes Santorum, Romney and Gingrich as corporate candidates who had close ties to private equity or lobbying firms.

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The sharp decline in share prices of GM and Ford since the IPO offering for GM in 2011. Analysts say the shares are pricing in a 15% decline in sales for Europe in 2012.

LyrArc Article Gist
Adam Parker, chief equity strategist of Morgan Stanley, sees the Standard and Poor's 500 stock index ending 2012 at 1167. Garry Evans, global head of equity strategy at HSBC, sees the S&P 500 stock index ending 2012 at 1190. This is down from the end of 2011 level of 1257. David Kostin, top equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, sees the S&P at 1250 at the end of 2012. Parker, Evans and Kostin, share concerns about the macroeconomic environment and Europe. Parker also sees weakness in bank earnings contributing to this level in the S&P 500 stock index. Parker view global macroeconomic factors determining 50% of the outcome, with weaknesses not only in Europe but also in China. His predictions for S&P earnings per share are at about $100 for 2012 and $103 for 2013.

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The Journal's interview with Weight Watchers International CEO, David Kirchhoff. Weight Watcher's strategies focus on increasing its online business and getting males to join Weight Watchers. According to Kirchhoff it has 1.4 million people, 90% of whom are women, attending meetings each week all over the world. Online business is surging, with an average of 1.8 million additional subscribers for the first 3 quarters of 2011. In the first 3 quarters of 2011 the online business showed gains of 70%. Estimates are for the online business to generate $400 million in revenues and $200 million in operating income in 2011. Today 65% of the business is in the U.S. and a large part of the rest is in Europe. Kirchhoff sees new opportunities in China, where poor lifestyles- the use of the internet instead of being outdoors, and the increased access to all kinds of food- is creating a surge in obesity.

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Norbert Reithofer initiated changes at BMW when he took over as CEO in 2007. He reduced costs and improved margins at BMW. BMW has also benefitted from increasing demand for premium and luxury cars in 2010-2012.

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New models introduced by Chrysler, Ford and GM, and the revitalization of the U.S. auto industry in 2011-2013.

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The Wall Street Journal has examined 77 businesses in which Bain Capital invested during 1984-1999, the period in which Mitt Romney headed the firm. Its findings show that 22% of the firms filed for bankruptcy by the eighth year after Bain first made its investment, some with large job losses. Additional 8% of the firms were in such bad shape that Bain lost all of its invested capital. Only a small number of firms produced most of the returns- 70% of the gains come from 10 firms. Of these 10 firms, four were later found in bankruptcy court. Another aspect mostly overlooked is that where large job gains were made they were mostly in lower wage retail jobs at Domino's Pizza, Staples and Sport's Authority, and did not involve the kind of innovation that produces sustained advantages.

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John Williams, the new president of the San Francisco Fed, is strongly in favor of more transparency in Federal Reserve policies, including its plans for interest rates.

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Counter programming and different approaches to the newscasts at CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and PBS television networks in the U.S.