LyrArc Article Gist
The German Statistical Office reported that GDP growth in Germany was 0.1% in the second quarter of 2011. This compares with GDP growth of 1.3% in the first quarter. This is slower than Italy which came in at 0.3% for the second quarter. France had no growth in the second quarter. The German Statistical Office said the causes were: lower household consumption and construction investment, imports rising faster than exports and a buildup of inventories. Analysts at Commerzbank say the warm spring resulted in construction activity starting earlier and taking out some of the growth in the second quarter, in its absence the growth would be 0.4% for the second quarter. The statistics office said an additional 553,000 persons were added to employment compared to the prior year, with a total of 41 million employed.

LyrArc Article Gist
Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry tells an audience in Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost treacherous- or treasonous, in my opinion." He was referring to Federal Reserve chairman Bernanke when he said: "I know there's a lot of talk and what have you about if this guy prints more money between now and the election... I don't know what y'all would do to him in Iowa, but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas." Perry's spokesman said Perry feels strongly about printing money, and "got passionate" in his comments.

LyrArc Article Gist
Proposals being considered by the Obama administration for overhaul of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. One proposal being considered is to keep Fannie and Freddie in a reduced role with safeguards such as an insurance pool of money created by a fee the firms would charge mortgage lenders and banks. The insurance pool would act as a fund to cover losses before the government stepped in. Another safeguard would be to require the firms to hold adequate reserves to cover potential losses. The earlier preferential advantage for Fannie where it ony needed to keep a fraction of the reserves banks had to keep would be eliminated. Under this proposal both firms would shrink their mortgage portfolios over coming years. The White House says it wants to see a winding down of Fannie and Freddie and let private capital be at the heart of a new housing system.

LyrArc Article Gist
Brazil's infrastructure needs include port and road facilities for its agricultural exports and mining industry. Road and rail transport networks for passengers are small considering Brazil's size. The rail network is smaller than that of France and only 12% of the one million mile road network is paved. Brazilian petroleum fund Petrosal will invest in infrastructure needs. Investments are being made to upgrade port facilities by Santos Brazil, and investment in toll roads by CCR, a private-highways company. The government is planning investments in infrastructure to prepare for the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016.

LyrArc Article Gist
Google Inc. has made an agreement to acquire Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. for $12.5 billion in cash. This deal puts Google in direct competition with Apple Inc., RIM, and Nokia. Google is taking on new risks with this acquisition. It is known as a software company, and the acquisition puts it in an area with which it has little experience- manufacturing and managing sales of devices working with retailers. It also risks making partners- such as Samsung, HTC Corp., Sony Ericsson, and LG Electronics that make mobile phones- into rivals. Forrester Research points out that this could lead to these companies hedging their bets and also making mobile phones that use the Microsoft operating system. Google considered a similiar plan for entry into the PC market after it developed the Chrome operating system but decided against it, opting instead to work with PC manufacturers Acer Inc and Samsung. The deal brings with it a large number of patents Motorola holds in mobile technology.

LyrArc Article Gist
Kenneth Volpert, head of taxable fixed-income at Vanguard Group in Valley Forge, Pa, says the weak economy and the Fed's easy monetary policy could lead to higher inflation. Inflation bonds strategists at Barclays Capital says the consumer price index after taking out food and energy is running at an annualized rate of 2.5% over the past 6 months and 2.9% over the past 3 months and is expected to go higher. The yield gap between 10 year TIPS and 10 year nominal Treasury notes, was trading at 2.24 percentage points on August 12, 2011 This means investors expect an annualized average rate of inflation of 2.24% in the U.S. over the next decade. This figure has declined from 2.65% in April, it is up from 1.5% in October 2010.

LyrArc Article Gist
A study by Bank of Japan's Research and Statistics Department in the Feb. 2013 Bank of Japan Review paper titled "About the Real Effective Exchange Rate," shows how Japan maintained international price competitiveness during the period of the strong yen at 80 to the dollar. It found that with deflation the cost inputs of labor, factory equipment and materials in Japan were reduced, even as the price in overseas markets for finished products went up. It found that while the yen went up against the dollar in nominal terms, in price adjusted terms accounting for deflation it has actually fallen. Nomura economist Kiuchi says the Japanese yen had to go to 54 to the dollar before it matched the level of the 1995 priceadjusted high of 79 to the dollar.