LyrArc Article Gist
Just as the drug industry is more getting more dependent on the government with the medicare drug benefit raising the retail drug purchases paid by government to 34% in 2006 from 28% in 2005, the industry is facing more governmental scrutiny, from the FDA, from Congress from the public, and during this election campaign. Rep .Rosa DeLauro, who heads the House appropriations subcommittee that has oversight over FDA funding compares the drug industry to the tobacco industry saying that it requires the same amount of scrutiny. At the same time the drug industry is aware of the changes in the public mood and the recent controversies over drug studies, such as the one on Vytorin and other controversy. It is initiating some voluntary changes, registering clinical trial results, submitting commercials to the FDA before they air, and under pressure from medical journals registering trials before they are performed. A new law will requires and its not clear whether the drug industry is dragging its feet and then making changes when there is increasing public pressure. This is the feeling of the medical journals like the Journal of the Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine. JAMA's editors will be keeping up this pressure as they have more articles showing how the drug industry manipulates data and the need for public skepticism of information that comes out of the drug industry. The New England Journal editors expressed the need to publish information that helps doctors get all the available information, and not just the information from the drug industry that makes the drug look better than it really is, such as the information and analysis it provided on antidepressant medications. The chairman of the energy and commerce investigations subcommittee Rep. Stupak, finds the advertising for drugs contains information that cannot be backed up and not true ethically, medically, or legally. As this reflects the public mood look for more investigations in Congress and investigative research by the journals. On the issue of importation of drugs from Canada there is bipartisan support as both Senator McCain and Senator Clinton support importation. Clinton supports legislation that allows the FDA to approve new generic versions of biotech drugs which would lower prices of biotech drugs. And with the US consumer budget facing strains in a recession there will be increasing pressure and demands for relief in the area of drug prices, especially for the elderly and uninsured and from corporate payors. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Starmer could not get a DJT commitment to US supporting with its forces and air support a 30,000 European peacekeeping forces. DJT saying  lets get the peace agreement first. 

“I have confidence, if we make a deal, it’s going to hold, the approach will be trust and verify.”

“Peacekeeping is very easy. It’s making the deal that’s very tough,” DJT said.  His idea was get the first step first and peacekeeping could be done after that “Let me make peace first.”

LyrArc Article Gist
Prince Salman's efforts to launch an IPO of Saudi Arabian National Oil Company faces resistance from Saudi bureaucrats. Prince Salman wants to reduce the country's dependence on oil revenue, and hoped to use the IPO generated $100 billion to make investments in other industries. Saudi technocrats see risks in the plan- as costing consumers billions of dollars in higher gasoline prices, legal risks and public scrutiny. The IPO has been pushed back to 2021. Large new investments such as solar generation hub also face passive resistance in the bureaucracy. New investments policies have led to a Saudi recession in 2017, and reduced investment and consumer spending. Prince Salman sees it differently, once telling Theresa May of Britain that even if he got 50 of the 100 things he wanted done, that would be 50 not done otherwise. Salman has a disdain for the bureaucracy and has tight control over the country. He has led popular social changes such as letting women drive and taking away the power of religious police to make arrests. The Economy Minister has slowed down a plan to sell state assets such as government owned hospitals,airports, because conditions are not ideal. A plan to invest $7 billion in Uber was shelved. Aramco chairman Mr. Falih has reduced the size of investmetns including for the solar energy generation project. A plan to have ARAMCO listed on the New York Stock Exchange preferred by Prince Salman has been changed with advisers suggesting the London Stock Exchange as a place with lower risks of law suits under U.S. tort laws. Saudi executives at ARAMCO also pointed out that to reach the $2 trillion valuation that the Prince has in mind for ARAMCO the company would have to sell gasoline to Saudis at market rates, tripling oil prices in the kingdom -costing consumers $98 billion. The advisers believe it is more prudent financially to raise debt. Under that plan ARAMCO could raise debt to buy the Public Investment Fund's (PIF) 70% stake in state owned chemicals company Saudi Basic Industries Corp. which would infuse PIF with $70 billion, almost as much as generated by a IPO for ARAMCO. On solar energy Mr. Falih lowered the plan from 1500 gigawatts to 200 at a cost of $200 billion. Under a new plan this is at 60 gigawatts from solar and wind with 70% produced by the Public Investment Fund, the state's investment fund.   ...

LyrArc Article Gist
New York city Mayor Bloomberg, says President Obama and Republicans should stop promising a free lunch, or something for nothing. He points to Obama's reelection strategy of higher taxes for the rich- by taxing those earning over $1 million at minimum of 30% in federal income taxes- as generating $1.1 billion, according to Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation. This would make little difference on a federal government with $1.2 trillion gap in spending and revenue. And he says Republicans who say making the Bush tax cuts permanent while at the same time cutting the deficit are promising a free lunch, with no connection to reality. The answer says Bloomberg should be to eliminate the Bush tax cuts for all groups, for shared sacrifice, and for Congress to pass the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction plan with $4 trillion in savings on an up or down vote.

LyrArc Article Gist
No town can be seen as bouncing back after loss of its manufacturing jobs, its factories, which is the economic backbone of each community.

LyrArc Article Gist
After a chemical attack by the Assad government in Syria in 2013 Trump urged president Obama not to make air strikes on Syrian government targets, saying jobs, healthcare and other priorities should be remembered. After the use of chemical weapons in April 2017 by the Syrian government and the outrage following media photographs of the men, women and children who suffered from the brutal attack, Trump had changed his mind. The graphic images led to a change of heart. President Trump said that "it was in the vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons." Reports on CNN state the president was offered two options to strike several airfields or one airfield near Homs in Syria, just before meeting China's president Xi Jinping. He chose the latter option and went on to his meeting with China's president. Pictures on the internet show Trump with key advisers, Mcmaster, Tillerson and others huddled together in a room at the Mar Lago resort following the strikes. It may be a decisive moment in the Syrian conflict as it was an expression of disapproval and action with the use of chemical weapons in any conflict. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The plan for a 4.5% mortgage rate the Treasury Department is considering is a good thing for stabilizing house prices and keeping up the demand for housing according to Hubbard and Mayer. Hubbard and Mayer are Dean and vice Dean of the Columbia Business School and Mayer is Professor of Finance and Economics. Their research estimates suggest that real house prices increase by about 75% of the decline in after-tax mortgage payments, so a decline in mortgage payments of 16% would result in approximately a 12% floor on the decline in house prices. In their view with the futures market suggesting a decline in house prices by 12-18% in the next 18 months a 4.5% interest rate might well lead to flat or even slightly higher house prices in 2009. How do they view other proposals to reduce foreclosures by reducing payments onmortgages with the government picking up some portion of the payments or reforming the bankruptcy code to keep people in their homes? In their view stopping foreclosures may not prevent house price declines as much as proponents claim. They now see the market as properly priced. In apaper to be published in the Berkeley Electronic journal of Economic Analysis and Policy they argue that in most markets house values are today lower than what is consistent with the average level of affordability in the last 20 years. The meltdown in mortgage markets and the poor employment outlook can cause prices to deteriorate and overshoot in the other direction. This is where government policy can help stabilize house prices....

LyrArc Article Gist
The profit squeeze is evident in JP Morgan's net profit margin of 2.14% in the fourth quarter, declining from 2.19% in the prior quarter. Return on assets at 0.78%, down from 0.87% in 2013. Lower interest rates hurt JP Morgan's fixed income, currency and commodities business, and this is not expected to change much in 2015. Legal expenses were $1.1 billion in pretax terms for the fourth quarter 2014.

LyrArc Article Gist
This WSJ editorial points out that justice and accountability have not been well served in the U.S. Justice Department's settlement with Credit Suisse in May 2014.

LyrArc Article Gist
The director of research at one of two cybersecurity companies that monitors disinformation used by the Senate Intelligence Committee to analyze and give reports on the Russian disinformation activities 2014-2017, shares her conclusions. Information from Facebook, Google and Twitter was turned over to the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, which in turn handed it over to the two cybersecurity companies for analysis and reports. The Russian disinformation activities have continued in 2018, according to DeResta. The domestic propagandists and actors have taken these methods and used it to target sub groups, expanding the scope of these activities. The advertising related segmentation provided by these companies gives a ready made tool to easily target subgroups in the U.S. population. The viral activity arising from this means the message is carried over to other groups. As a result many groups are affected, affecting how democracy works through vigorous, yet intelligent debate. Explicit bias happens in election campaigns yet this is not spread through anonymous sources that are not identified and whose interests are known, as in disinformation efforts in a medium that spreads information quickly and without any depth whatsoever. For some minority subgroups the effects as ubiquitous, says the report. This report concludes that it is the responsibility of government, private organizations and individuals, and the tech companies combined to tackle this, as tech companies do not have the resources to deal with it. Its not enough to adjust how you sell advertising as tech companies are doing, says the report. The whole ecosystem of information is being compromised in multiple and still not fully understood ways, making it essential that a comprehensive solution with multiple combined efforts address it effectively. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Ezra Klein is pessimstic that there is enough time (only two weeks to August 2nd deadline for raising the U.S. debt ceiling) for the "Gang of Six" deficit reduction proposal to be adopted. He cites Senator Durbin, one of the "Gang of Six" U.S. senators who says the proposal needs to be formalized and scored by the CBO before it can be adopted, and it cannot be done by August 2. Considering the Republican criticism that a plan needs to have sufficient public scrutiny and deliberation before it is adopted more time is definitely needed. What it has accomplished is to focus attention on the Simpson-Bowles deficit commission plan, as the "Gang of Six" proposal has similiarities to the Simpson-Bowles plan. Simpson-Bowles adopts a widely accepted approach to limit tax expenditures in the U.S. tax code.

LyrArc Article Gist
The Air France strike ends after 2 weeks, with the government deciding not to step in with a mediator. Air France says it will continue its strategic plan to expand budget airline Transavia, though Air France pilots would not be required to fly for Transavia. About 250 Transavia pilots will be hired as part of overall hiring of 2000 new employees, and the pilots will fly longer hours at less pay than the current pay and hours of Air France pilots. About 35 single-aisle Boeing 737 jets will be added for Transavia. No Transavia base of operations will be setup outside Netherlands and France, such as ones planned for Portugal to reduce costs. About 40% of the European air travel market is now with budget airlines. The strike cost Air France about $25 million a day for 2 weeks.

LyrArc Article Gist
Controversy about whether bringing back a revamped Ford Explorer is a good idea. Ford's Farley thinks Americans might still consider an Explorer with high fuel economy, getting it up to 28 mpg from 15 mpg. But the evidence is that Americans have soured on SUV's. Consider that during the cash-for-clunkers program more Explorers were scrapped, and by a large margin, than any other model. Sales are down from 450,000 at one time to 52,000 today. To get buyers to look at the Explorer Ford is trying to change the looks from boxy to sleeker car-based crossover , and add high tech features. In fact it is going to be built not as an SUV, but on the same architectural base as the Taurus.

LyrArc Article Gist
Voters in France who in towns like Chartres, home of the famous cathedral, say France has lost its social cohesion based on old values. The old Catholic France appears to be awakened, in a nation of small churches and abbeys that dot the countryside. Voters in France say Francois Fillon is a candidate of this France of old forgotten values as France adopted a more cosmopolitan tone. The Christian church is a source of comfort for so many, says a church official in Lyon, home of the cathedral of St Jean, and more and more secular people are going back to church in the midst of increasing uncertainty.

LyrArc Article Gist
Mark Landler of NYT provides the background of the relationship with China and Taiwan during the Reagan administration. Reagan criticized the decision to abrogate recognition of Taiwan as a candidate and in 1982 pushed for Six Assurances, one of which was the assertion that the U.S. did not formally recognize Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan. Mr. Trump told a news channel that he doesn't see why the U.S. is bound by a One China policy, and that this would have to be part of a deal that included trade, and solving problems related to North Korea, and the South China Sea island fortifications. 

LyrArc Article Gist
French president Macron is seen as aloof from voter concerns about the rising cost of living. Visiting a farmer in the Burgundy region Marie Le Pen said prices of food and vegetables have gone up 25% over 5 years since Macron became president.  To win over supporters from working class communities in north and northeast who have voted for Jean Luc-Melenchon, a former Socialist candidate, Macron visited Denian, a town in the north of France.  Melenchon's France Unbowed party got about 21.95 % of the vote compared to Le Pen's 23.15%. Getting working class voters to support Macron who had 27.84% of the vote is now crucial for Macron. Denian has an unemployment rate of 36%. Macron told voters the best way to tackle poverty is to bring down the unemployment rate which is now 7.4%.  Many of these communities in the north, northeast, and in the southeast have suffered from the two decade shift of manufacturing to China, creating a situation similar to that in the midwest of the US and posing a challenge for established parties. The Republicains of De Gaulle and the Socialists of Mitterand, the established parties did badly in the election, each getting less than 5%of the vote. It is this problem that Macron has to address to get the votes of working class voters in France. Challenging the notion that he has been aloof from this problem and the problem of cost of living for young and for pensioners Macron says he will listen, learn and act, and he is "not afraid to go into battle in the most difficult areas." On this first day of campaigning for the second round he spent 2 hours talking to people in Denian. Angry voters told him he did not care for pensioners. In his response Macron said he will increase the minimum pension from 10500 euros to 13200 euros a year. A pension reform plan for increasing the retirement age for pensions to 65 from 62 will now be put to a referendum so that voters could reject it if they chose to. Macron also responded to the sentiment that his administration was more concerned about the rich by proposing that firms paying dividends to shareholders will be required to give one off bonuses of 6000 euros to all employees earning less than 46,000 euros a year.  On his opponent Marie Le Pen's plan to cut VAT tax on gasoline to 5% from 20%, Macron told voters that this was counterfeit money, asking "can anyone really say there will be no VAT for gasoline imported from the rest of the world?" ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The Indian Supreme Court on July 27 upholds the core amendments to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)  which gives the enforcement authority, the Enforcement Directorate ED, the powers to make summons, arrest, and other powers to enforce the law. The Supreme Court called the PMLA a law against "the scourge of money laundering." After independence in 1947 some of the problems that Mohandas Gandhi witnessed in the early Congress party ministries allowed by the British in the 1930's became a part of the political fabric as accepted ways of operating. It is only in the last decade that these practices have come to be seen as inconsistent with the development of the country and ones that would have been rejected outright by Mohandas Gandhi as inconsistent and repelling to his India of Hind Swaraj. In a 545 page judgement the Special Bench of Justices AM Khanwilkarm Dinesh Maheshwari, and CT Ravikumar, stated that- "This is a sui generis (unique) legislation... The Parliament enacted the Act as a result of the international commitment to sternly deal with the menace of money laundering of proceeds of crime having transnational consequences." Mohandas Gandhi would be appalled by how elected ministries operated in the India that followed in the first decades after 1947. Not only were some of the basic principles of honest government being violated, it was being done with such impunity that over time it crept into the culture of how things operated in India, destroying any confidence the people had in the responsibilities of government and its ability to deliver on those responsibilities. The Supreme Court has now taken up the task of restoring some of the integrity of Gandhi's Hind Swaraj with its statement that- "Money laundering is an offence against the sovereignty and integrity of the country." Money laundering the SC says is "every process and activity", direct or indirect dealing with the proceeds of crime. Justice Khanwilkar wrote: "Today, if one dives deep into the financial systems, anywhere in the world, it is seen that once a financial mastermind can integrate the illegitimate money into the bloodstream of an economy, it is almost indistinguishable. In fact the money can simply be wired abroad at one click of the mouse. It is well known that once this money leaves the country, it is almost impossible to get it back. Hence a simplistic argument  that Section 3 (offence of money laundering) should only find force once the money has been laundered, does not commend to us."   ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Mr. Zelensky of Ukraine makes his first official visit to Warsaw, Poland in April 2023. He was welcomed in Poland with an outpouring of support. About 10 million Ukrainians have crossed into Poland since the war began in February 2022. Of this 1.5 million Ukrainians have settled in Ukraine, the rest have gone to neighboring countries or returned to Ukraine. Poland has also opened its market to Ukrainian grain causing unrest among farmers because of lower prices. Poland has a population of 38 million, Ukraine a population of 43 million. These two nations are now the countries that are in the frontlines of the war after Russia's invasion. Other countries that have seen Soviet invasion such as Finland in 1939, Czech Republic in 1968, are now part of the NATO alliance force that faces Russia across a long common border. The Finnish border with Russia stretches for 830 miles through vast forested regions. The US is building a vast warehouse complex in Warsaw that will store US and NATO tanks. As the war continues a year later the resolve of the US and of Ukraine and Poland remain undiminished to the Russian invasion. This is unlike the events of post 1945 when Europe as a whole had seen the effects of 5 years of war and America faced the Soviet expansion into war ravaged Eastern Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Greece. In 2023 the economies of the US and European Union have survived the economic effects of the war and the US is embarking on a huge plan to rebuild its infrastructure and its manufacturing capacity. The US and European Union through NATO remain united to reject any nation changing borders with impunity by force- the issue they see in Ukraine and in Taiwan. On the issue of Taiwan the US, EU are joined by Japan, Australia, Philippines, Vietnam and India. The issue of impunity and allowing borders to be changed by force will remain a strong one for the US and EU, on which there may be little room for concessions because of the principle. In his History of Europe- The Struggle for Supremacy 1453 to the Present, Cambridge historian Brendan Simms has shown that no nation by itself or with its allies has been able to use its dominant position to exercize power with impunity without meeting formidable combined opposition of other countries  in Europe. Over 500 years of history France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, have in turn had to agree to give up claims after meeting a formidable opposition of other countries in Europe. This Russian invasion does not appear to be any different.  ...