LyrArc Article Gist
Afghan warlord of a previous era Hekmatyar is proving difficult to buyout or win over, a strategy pursued with Iraqi insurgents. Younger Taliban insurgents are even harder to convert or buyout. THis raises questions about the chances of this kind of effort succeeding in Afghanistan, especially considering the "allergy" to foreign presence or foreign boots on the ground among Afghan people and the part religious fervour plays. Religious fervour was much less of a factor with Iraqi Sunni insurgents. Add to this the terrain differences, between desert and high mountains, makin the kind of house to house searches and securing of areas extremely difficult.

LyrArc Article Gist
The Senate FInance Committee's $829 billion bill, would cut by $113 billion money for America's Health Insurance Plans over ten years, specifically Medicare Advantage, reducing insurer profits. The AHIP is responding with aad campaign to seniors to fight this setting up aconfrontation with the Obama adminsitration.

LyrArc Article Gist
Pearlstein says in the WPost that the analysts at Goldman Sachs who says companies are undervalued in October 2009, are acting the part of Goldman's marketing machine so that Goldman can use its M&A activity, its trading desk and other financial stock and bond issues to make higher profits. But this risks creating another bubble as there has been a50% runup in stock prices with the DJ average close to 10,000 in October 2009. He says GOldman analysts are talking about how the cash that is on the balance sheets of companies can now be used for acquisitions instead of product development or productive investments. This is dangerous because finance ended up in shaky products like mortgage securities in the last decade instead of being put to productive use in investments for the nation's future. See the links to groups on US National Debt and UK national debt, articles by Kandish on the debt and the risks the US is facing. All the liquidity run up by the Fed can create another bubble if not mopped up. If the Fed moves too quickly at some point when it sees the bubble get out of hand, unemployment and credit tightening could throw the economy into a downward spiral....

LyrArc Article Gist
Australia is seeing strong results from apickup in CHinese demand, the stimulus of 67 billion Australian dollars ($60.58 billion US), and investment including A$43 billion natural-gas project of Chevron Corporation. As a result the unemployment rate fell to 5.7% in September from 5.8% in August 2009. Australia has the third highest fiscal stimulus package 2008-2010 as a percent of GDP at 4.6%, after the US at 5.6%, S. Korea at 4.9%. As aresult Australia's central bank is the first of the G-20 to raise interest rates lifting it to 3.25%.

LyrArc Article Gist
Foreclosures are shifting to the top third of the local housing values, up to 30% in June 2009 from 16% in 2006 when the foreclosure crisis began, according to Web site Zillow.com. The bottom one third by home values now represent 35% of foreclosures down from 55% in 2006. This category of expensive homes includes exotic mortgages including interest only mortgages that allowed borrowers to defer principal payments for the initial period. Borrrowers are not able to refinance out of these mortgages.

LyrArc Article Gist
A sign that investors are moving too quickly is the manner in which investors are putting money in emerging markets. THe sovereign credits of Argentina, Ecuador, Pakistan and Ukraine have risen by 100% to date on teh benchmark JP Morgan's Energing Markets BOnd Index Global. Gavin of Barclays Capital says the odds that current level rise to bubble levels are very high. Emerging market funds have absorbed more than $40 billion so far this year according to EPFR GLobal fund tracker, reversing the outflows during the crisis in early 2009.

LyrArc Article Gist
A subsidized lending program which takes off 4 percentage points off interest rates on loans that enterprises take from lenders will be extended to end of 2011. Since its introduction as part of stimulus measures, domestic banks have loaned $22.9 billion. Growth is targeted at 6.8% for the fourth quarter. to give an average of 5% for 2009.

LyrArc Article Gist
China's effort to close small inefficient steel mills by reducing national taxes and sending more taxes to the regional level which could be used to create jobs for laid off steel workers. This would lead to consolidation in the CHinese steel industry and lead to higher prices for steel for appliance makers and auto makers, as steel makers in Europe and North America keep down supply. It would also lead to stronger negotiation for ironore prices as the small steel mills often struck their own deals. It would also reduce the flood of excess Chinese steel and reduce trade complaints filed in Europe.