World News Insights
1-3 Minute Gist
Search, personalize, or simply browse. Follow the world around you from gist and context to insights.
Who we are | Our Credo | Ways of using Lyrarc | FAQ | Send Feedback | First Letter From the Editor
Sign up. It's free and easy to use
Create an account
to personalize your feed of articles and topics.
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.
All Topics Links
Governance, corruption and rule of law- new political dynamics and voter focus in Mexico in 2016-2017
06/10/2016
Public discontent with governance and rule of law are major issues in Mexico in 2016-2017
Linked Articles
Mexico’s Ruling Party Loses Gubernatorial Races in Several States
WSJ 06/10/2016
Mexico Stubbornly Resists AccountabilityNew York Times 01/04/2016
2016 U.S. presidential candidate Jeb Bush's Tax Plan that spells out details, and takes a shot at 4% growth for restoring lost social and economic mobility in the U.S.
09/09/2015
The efforts to wrestle with the deficit in 2011-2012 led to a vigorous debate on changing the tax code, yet political leaders failed to take up new ideas or spell out the details. Jeb Bush, with advisors Martin Feldstein and Kevin Warsh, takes the unconventional approach of putting in the details, and taking up ideas such as the idea of limiting itemized deductions to 2% of adjusted gross income proposed by Feldstein in that debate. On the $2.1 trillion in income held overseas by U.S. companies Bush proposes 8.75% tax paid over 10 years. On business investment he proposes capital investment be allowed to be deducted in full immediately. It is based on the idea that business investment can drive a vigorous recovery, that workers bear 50% of the burden of higer taxes through sluggish wage growth. It levels the playing field for debt and equity capital, removing "carried interest" provision, as a lesson from the excessive leverage taken by financial institutions in the past.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 09/10/2015
Jeb Bush Tax Plan Makes Forays Into PopulismNew York Times 09/09/2015
Issues of debt reduction for Puerto Rico and Ukraine- Franklin Templeton Fund, other funds with investments and differing perceptions of the issues
08/13/2015
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 08/13/2015
What the United States Owes Puerto RicoWall Street Journal 08/14/2015
China's debt at over 250% of GDP and the financial crisis in 2015- Harvard Prof. Rogoff and former Treasury Secretary Paulson on the reckoning with debt issues
04/20/2015
Linked Articles
A Warning on China Seems Prescient
New York Times 08/24/2015
A Veteran of the Financial Crisis Tells China to Be WaryNew York Times 04/20/2015
What Greece won in the negotiations and what Greece lost in the failure of talks with the EU, capital controls, closing of banks and the referendum on July 5, 2015
02/27/2015
Major concessions were won by Greece on the most important issues of the surplus, and the size of the public sector with high unemployment. Compromise was being reached on the value added taxes and age for getting pensions, next down the list. Next on the list were pension cuts which undoubtedly would hurt pensioners but in the larger picture of the economy would come after the size of the surplus and dateline, and the size of public sector. The size of these cuts is small compared to the cost of 60 billion euros from the damage done to the economy, and the alternatives for pensioners and the rest of the country. under bank closure. For the EU this was seen as part of pension reforms and for left leaning Syriza compromising on behalf of pensioners.
Linked Articles
IMF Raises Referendum Stakes With Call for More Aid for Greece and Debt Relief
Wall Street Journal 07/03/2015
What Greece WonNew York Times 02/27/2015
The case for a minimum wage for U.S. workers with families to support- how Australia approaches the issue taking into account the median wage
12/31/2014
Australia's minimum wage is 54% of the median wage, compared to 38% for the U.S., according to the OECD. Australia's wage setting body sets the minimum wage for workers over 20 years of age, and takes into account the median wage in the interest of fairness. Workers with families to support need the Australian minimum wage of 16.87 Australian dollars ($13 U.S.). All of this money goes into consumer spending providing an immediate boost to the economy.
Linked Articles
Australia Weighs Whether Its Minimum Wage Is Too High
Wall Street Journal 01/26/2015
States’ Minimum Wages Rise, Helping Millions of WorkersNew York Times 12/31/2014
Dangers of credit fueled bubble in China- 2015-2016
10/17/2014
Bob Davis of WSJ sees the end of China's economic miracle in 2015-2016. He is pessimistic about the future. The Economist cites estimates of debt to GDP reaching 250%, and the IMF warns of the dangers of credit fueled growth citing examples of Ireland, Spain, Brazil and Sweden.
Linked Articles
The End of China’s Economic Miracle?
Wall Street Journal 11/24/2014
Chinese debt: The great hole of ChinaEconomist 10/17/2014
Changes in American breakfast eating habits affect cereal and orange juice sales in 2012-2015
07/22/2014
Linked Articles
As Cereal Slips, a New Battle Over Breakfast Dollars
Wall Street Journal 07/22/2014
U.S. Orange-Juice Sales Fall to Record LowWall Street Journal 07/22/2014
Britain's RBS bank and the issue of high bank bonuses after a $15 billion loss in 2013
02/27/2014
Linked Articles
Royal Bank of Scotland to Slash Costs as Losses Deepen
Wall Street Journal 02/28/2014
Bailed-Out Royal Bank of Scotland Sees Years of LossesNew York Times 02/27/2014
China's steadily growing automobile market in 2014-2015 (2)- the 49% increase in SUV sales in 2013 over 2012
12/16/2013
Ford Motor's early push into SUV's in China is helping it catchup with GM and Toyota.
Linked Articles
Renault to Focus on Building SUVs in China
Wall Street Journal 12/16/2013
Ford's SUVs Propel Its China GainsWall Street Journal 04/08/2014
Banking culture issues- the suicides of Broeksmit, senior executive at Deutsche Bank, following federal German investigations, and of Wauthier, CFO at Zurich Insurance following difficult interactions with former Deutsche Bank executive
09/04/2013
Questions about cultural issues in banking raised by the two suicides, and the culture at Deutsche bank.
Linked Articles
Friction at Zurich Built in Months Before Suicide
Wall Street Journal 09/04/2013
Executive Who Committed Suicide Anxious Amid Deutsche Bank ProbesWall Street Journal 03/26/2014
Amazon's use of temporary workers in Germany and the issue of lower wages
06/19/2013
Linked Articles
Amazon Wage Dispute Spreads Beyond Germany
Wall Street Journal 12/17/2013
Amazon Vexed by Strikes in GermanyWall Street Journal 06/19/2013
The steadily growing automobile market in China in 2014-2015 (6)- CCTV 315 and the importance of consumer issues for VW, GM, Toyota
03/15/2013
Linked Articles
VW's China Unit to Recall Cars After TV Broadcast
Wall Street Journal 03/17/2013
VW to Bolster Its Output in ChinaWall Street Journal 03/15/2013
The Donald Trump campaign for U.S. president in 2016- strategies from "The Art of the Deal"
02/25/2016
Thinking big embracing the entire electorate, using social media to the fullest, improvising often based on voter sentiment, commonsense approaches, worked for Trump in the Republican primaries in 2016. The failure of the other candidates to address issues of voter frustration, and splitting of the vote with many candidates, created the opportunity for Trump to succeed with his unconventional campaigning style coupled with a careful attention to what troubled voters.
Linked Articles
Donald Trump’s Campaign Blueprint: His Own Book
Wall Street Journal 03/03/2016
Trump and the Also-RansWall Street Journal 02/25/2016
The failure of the U.S., UK, Canada and Australia to take in refugees from war torn Syria and other parts of North Africa- 1500 for U.S. , 166 for UK, 800,000 for Germany
09/04/2015
Ignatieff of the Kennedy School and Kristof of the NYT say the inaction of Obama, Cameron, Harper and Abbott, is deplorable considering the gap between the 800,000 Merkel and the German people have openly welcomed and the 1500 the U.S. has accepted, and 166 the UK has taken in. There is hardly any mention of the issue by the leaders of the U.S. and Canada in September 2015, even as the global media has covered this daily. In Hungary the Orban government faile to remember the Hungarian uprising of 1956 and the violent crackdown by the Soviets, leading to a wave of refugees reaching other parts of Europe and the U.S.
Linked Articles
New York Times 09/04/2015
The Refugee Crisis Isn’t a ‘European Problem’New York Times 09/05/2015
Ban on election advertising on commercial television and radio in Britain and strict limits of $29.5 million for each party in general elections- contrast with the U.S.
05/02/2015
Britain disproves the popular belief that an ever upward trajectory for election spending is inevitable. The 2010 general election in Britain cost half that of the 1880 general election in 2002 prices, say researchers. In the U.S. spending has increased to the point where candidates may be spending more time fund raising than talking about the issues. The 2016 presidential election in the U.S. is estimated to lead to $10 billion in spending. India, Brazil, and other developing countries face a similar situation.
Linked Articles
Britain’s Campaign Finance Laws Leave Parties With Idle Money
New York Times 05/04/2015
F.E.C. Can’t Curb 2016 Election Abuse, Commission Chief SaysNew York Times 05/02/2015
U.S. shale oil producers confounding Saudi price strategy- (1) 77 U.S. companies acting like tech startups with access to capital markets
03/14/2015
Linked Articles
OPEC’s Problem: There Is No Minister of Shale
Wall Street Journal 06/03/2015
U.S. Producers Ready New Oil WaveWall Street Journal 03/14/2015
Deep differences in 2015 between Alexis Tsipras of Syriza and the Merkel government in Germany on debt forgiveness and the bailouts for Greece
01/26/2015
The deep differences between Greeks and Merkel operate at two levels. On the level of austerity policies Greece shares the view with other EU countries, the governments of Hollande in France and Renzi in Italy that austerity is not the best course for the eurozone. This view is also shared by people in Spain facing unemployment exceeding 20%, though the government of Rajoy in Spain like that of Samaras in Greece lived with the austerity policies with some changes. At this level there is also support from within Merkel's coalition government from Social Democrats. The other level of deep differences is on debt forgiveness and bailouts where Greece has to find its own way out in negotiations hoping that the EU and the IMF will agree to make concessions based on action taken by Syriza to ensure prudence in fianncial management. On issues such as minimum wage one would expect Syriza to be firm and make concessions where the hardship does not fall on the poorer and working class, winning support from the Social Democrats in Merkel's coalition. Beyond the symbolic moves and posturing the actual negotiations are likely to take into account the eurozone's need for help on the fiscal side desired by the ECB's Draghi to support monetary easing to fight deflation, and the need to keep the eurozone intact at a sensitive time. Syriza for its part is aware that a majority of Greeks favor staying in the eurozone.
Linked Articles
Greece’s new prime minister wants Germany to pay for Nazi war crimes - The Washington Post
Washington Post 01/26/2015
A young, impatient leftist is Greece’s defiant new face - The Washington PostWashington Post 01/27/2015
The miscalculations and missteps of Russian president Putin in 2014 leading to a major crisis for the Russian economy in 2015
12/18/2014
A major miscalculation was totally misjudging Merkel and post-war German public opinion about policies that remind people about the period between the two World Wars- this is anathema to Germans who see the European Union as a way to build a new and different Europe. The other miscalculation was on how a foreign adventurous policy in Syria would affect Sunni world opinion, in particular Saudi Arabia. Just as Brezhnev took Russia into Afghanistan where Russia had no vital interest leading to eventual Soviet collapse, Putin risked alienating a key member in OPEC pricing moves and hurting Russia's economic interest. By not listening to Kudrin, the head of Sberbank, and other economic advisers from the first and second terms of the Putin-Medvedev administrations, Putin opened the door to two years of serious missteps, risking the very real accomplishments of the first and second term of creating a stable growing Russian economy with close economic ties to Europe. The only positive outcome of the crisis and low oil prices would be making the shift away from oil dependence, which was talked about but never seriously attempted in the Putin administrations. For this to happen major new investments would have to be made and technology links to the outside strengthened, both hammered by the missteps in 2013-2014. The irony of all this is that Putin gained the support of rural Russians in the countryside in the 2012 presidential elections by promising no return to the economic crisis conditions following earlier ruble collapses. Now by ignoring Kudrin and other wiser counsel from the first and second administrations he does just that.
Linked Articles
Putin’s Year of Defiance and Miscalculation
Wall Street Journal 12/18/2014
Russian President Vladimir Putin Seeks to Reassure on EconomyWall Street Journal 12/18/2014
Hillary Clinton's uphill battle for the 2016 presidential election
09/28/2014
For the most part Hillary Clinton's public life has been overshadowed by the presidency of her husband Bill Clinton, and by the presidency of Barack Obama. How she defines herself to ordinary voters facing the economic issues at home, and worried about U.S. weakness overseas, will determine to a large extent how she does in the 2016 presidential election.
Linked Articles
A Record of Resilience at Vanguard of American Presidential Politics
New York Times 09/28/2014
Hillary Clinton and Democrats Aim to Buck HistoryWall Street Journal 04/13/2015
Popular discontent with hosting the World Cup and Olympics in Brazil- construction issues and lack of improvement in infrastructure and services
05/26/2014
Linked Articles
Hope Fades in Brazil for a World Cup Economic Boost
Wall Street Journal 05/28/2014
Brazil Is Tired of Being ScoldedNew York Times 05/26/2014
Predominance of rail over pipelines in transport of crude from Canada and the Bakken region till 2016
02/02/2014
Pressure to build pipelines comes from congestion and safety issues for the rail system in the U.S. In the short term rail still remains the main method of transport.
Linked Articles
In Dakota Oil Patch, Trains Trump Pipelines
Wall Street Journal 03/04/2014
Even Without Keystone Pipeline, Oil Has FlowedWall Street Journal 02/02/2014
Norway parliament's decision to divest holdings in companies 30% dependent on coal opens up the debate on coal- (1) the issue for Africa stated by the Copenhagen COnsensus
12/03/2013
Linked Articles
Norway Will Divest From Coal in Push Against Climate Change
New York Times 06/05/2015
The Poor Need Cheap Fossil FuelsNew York Times 12/03/2013
Insights into the thinking of Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke for a strong labor market before increasing interest rates
07/18/2013
Yellen is expected to look beyond the unemployment rate target of 6.5% set by Bernanke in Dec. 2012, and give emphasis to the long term unemployed. Bernanke also mention the under employment rate as an additional factor to consider.
Linked Articles
Don’t Expect Job Data Alone to Persuade Fed on Rates
New York Times 01/23/2014
Bernanke Plays Down Link Between Jobless Rate, Fed MovesWall Street Journal 07/18/2013
Jeb Bush- the campaign issues of restoring social and economic mobility for all, immigration, and 4% economic growth
03/16/2013
Linked Articles
Jeb Bush: The Road to Republican Revival
Wall Street Journal 03/16/2013
Jeb Bush to Decide by Year-End Whether to Run for PresidentWall Street Journal 04/07/2014
We took a different way to help millions around the world build educated informed mindsets that affects and shapes their lives. For a future that is open, global and digital, with everyone having access to high quality information. We believe in the renewal of America, renewal of Europe, the renewal of India, the rest of Asia, Latin America and Africa. The renewal of our supply chains, health, education, infrastructure, as we rebuild our countries after the pandemic. Literacy and knowledge we believe cannot thrive and grow in a world of web bots, web crawlers, or AI. This requires human curiosity, human learning, and human imagination. We take as inspiration the saying- “One has to be free, and as broad as sky. One has to have a mind that is crystal clear, only then can truth shine in it.” Every contribution whether big or small is precious- in this crisis and ahead.
Support Lyrarc from as small as $1
Terms and Conditions | Copyright Policy | Privacy Policy | Contact Us