LyrArc Article Gist
Gerard Baker describes the potential and the risks of the new DJT administration in this essay in The Times of London. The risks are being minimized to some extent with Susie Wiles as the Chief of Staff and having an experienced group of Senators and governors in the core of his administration- from Thune, Borghum, Noem all from North and South Dakota in the rural heartland of the country, and experienced financial talent at the Treasury with Scott Bessent.  Pew Research and NYT poll shows overwhelming support for quick action by the administration to remove illegal immigrants who have a record of committing offenses in the US- as much as 87% of the Pew Research poll shows support for action. For this and the task of cultural literacy in the US that is at risk there is broad support and it falls to Senator Thune, Cornyn and others and to Susie Wiles to keep the narrative from getting distracted by some attention getting or volatile businessperson or lobbying by special interests. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Job seekers and job stayers make no difference in pay increases about 4.6% increase for the US in Jan and Feb 2025.

LyrArc Article Gist
Edward Johnson and daughter Abby Johnson- Fidelity Investments succession turmoil and Abby Johnson emerging as CEO is covered in a new book- House of Fidelity by Justin Baer, Deputy Markets Editor WSJ. CEO Edward Johnson (Ned) failed to come up with a succession plan and executives under him were planning to sell the company to Chase or another bank. Ned had talked to Chase's Dimon in 2005 and said he was not interested in selling the company founded by his father. Yet this is what executives under Ned, Reynolds had in mind, who did not have confidence in Abby Johnson's leadership. Fidelity Investments has recovered from poor performance in that period and manages the pension plans of employers in the US, being the largest in this business. In 2026 Fidelity manages life savings of 20% of American adults and 50% of these customers signed up in last 5 years, says WSJ. After a period in her performance in the mutual funds business which was not great Abby was listed for demotion by executives under her father, who would sent her to run the philanthropy part of the business. It shows how awoman now 64 years struggled through this period and took the bold step of defying her father through control of 41% of the stock of the company to gain control of the company- a step that led to her father relenting and letting Abby run the company. It is a tale of how in such situations even the most favored can be put at a disadvantage by perceptions - in this case by Reynolds of Abby's leadership and ability- and need to act swiftly and decisively after impressions have been formed that lead to an outcome that doesn't need to occur. Her father Ned even though he in his younger period was a good stock picker, failed in two ways. By not planning a clear succession and lacking confidence in his daughter to overcome temporary obstacles. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Trupti Shete of Aurangabad is one of 21 women pilots of 91 who will operate the new Metro 2A and 7 in Mumbai inaugurated by prime minister Modi. She did her bachelors in electrical engineering. For 3 years she struggled to get a job. Building much needed infrastructure means new opportunities for young people in India.

LyrArc Article Gist
Children's scores remain below pre-pandemic levels for kindergarden, and for 1st and 2nd grades for students tested in 2023. Test scores of over a million students in the US show this sizable gap in school readiness for these younger children.

LyrArc Article Gist
Shigeru Ishiba was reappointed LDP party secretary-general in Japan. Ishiba served three terms as defence minister, is popular with the rank and file and the public. He has a good grasp of security issues. He will be the No. 2 person in the cabinet after prime minister Shinzo Abe. Ishiba was the first LDP official to give a specific trading range for the yen by publicly calling for a range of 85 to 90 yen to the dollar. The yen closed at about 85 yen to the dollar on Dec. 25, 2012. Two women join Ishiba and Abe in the leadership positions. Seiko Noda is now chairwoman of the party general council. And six term parliamentarian Sanae Takaichi is policy chief for the LDP.

LyrArc Article Gist
The arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. in Cambridge Massachusetts at his own home. Putting Henry Gates in handcuffs after he apparently lost his temper when being questioned. He was threatened with arrest and shown handcuffs.

LyrArc Article Gist
Where does US president DJT get his "good genetics" for his health? It comes from his mother's side where for generations his grandparents and previous generations were fisherman on the shores of the northern British Isles islands. Specifically Tong, a village on the island of Lewis in Scotland. These were rugged coastlines where fisherman fought hard to make a living in the 19th century. His mother immigrated from Scotland to the US as a young girl seeking a better life. She later married a up and coming builder of homes in New York state.

LyrArc Article Gist
This NYT report shows how the chip shortage and surging demand for cars is leading to higher prices for carsin the US. Auto manufacturers ordered fewer chips during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020 resulting in shortage of cars on the market in 2021.

LyrArc Article Gist
Fruits and vegetables with different shapes and sizes are making it to shelves in grocery supermarket Lidl's shelves in Britain as a way to help farmers facing drought conditions.

LyrArc Article Gist
The pound trades at 1.23 U.S. dollars and the Euro at 1.12 U.S. dollars. Both currencies lost about 3% in 2019 and the pound could reach parity with the U.S. dollar if Boris Johnson takes Britain out of the EU without a negotiated settlement.

LyrArc Article Gist
Kurzabeit is a big part of the social safety net in Germany. It means short time work. When companies face a loss of orders or production or some crisis workers still get paid 60 to 67% of their wages. This avoids layoffs and benefits both employees and the company, as the company can quickly ramp up its production to full capacity with employees working full time. Workers make up for the work lost once the crisis has passed. 

This has enabled Germany to keep the unemployment rate low as in the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

LyrArc Article Gist
South Africa's currency drops to 16.78 against the dollar by Jan 11, 2016. The currency is affected by the slowdown in China since June 2015. In the 6 months from June 2015 to the beginning of 2016 the currency lost 26% of its value.