World News Insights
1-3 Minute Gist

Direct From the Editor / On Topics Vital to the Nation

The role of long range planning and industry working with government in securing the US position in rare earths

06/22/2026

Andy Burnham has the potential to achieve what Clement Attlee achieved for Britain in 1945-51

06/22/2026

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 Articles

LyrArc brings in selected articles from many of the world's top publications.

Articles are selected by experts and you can see the gist of the important articles.

Biogen Shares Plunge 22% on Poor MS Drug Performance, Slashed Outlook

3 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 07.25.2015 Original article ›
Joseph Walker, Joseph, Walker
LyrArc Article Gist
Lower demand for Tecfidera, Biogen's drug for multiple sclerosis led to a drop of 22% in the company's share price. Because of the lower demand the 2015 revenue growth for Biogen will be 6-8% instead of 14-16% predicted earlier for the Cambridge, Mass. company. The lower demand is because of a rare side effect, patients discontinuing treatment because it was not helping, and lower reimbursement price in Germany. Tecfidera sales were $2.9 billion in 2014. Another factor is the competition from Gilenya for MS by Novartis.
Read LyrArc gist ›

Boxed In at US Airways

1 Groups   
BusinessWeek - 09.24.2009 Original article ›
Dean Foust, Dean, Foust
LyrArc Article Gist
US Airways has the weakest hub network of the old carriers. With continued problems for air travel from the poor economy the airline is estimated by analyst reports to lose $600 million in 2009, this on top of $!.5 billion in prior years. Robert Herbst of airline financials.com says that the airline has leveraged everything it could to raise cash and doesnt have any other ways. It sold 26 millio shares to Citigroup for $100 million. An increase in luggage fees is expected to raise $400 million this year.
Read LyrArc gist ›
Original article 1 minute, gist 1 minute

Public Views Congress as Top Culprit in Debt Debate, Poll Finds

1 Groups   
New York Times - 08.04.2011 Original article ›
Michael Cooper, Michael, Cooper, Megan Thee Brenan, Megan, Thee Brenan
LyrArc Article Gist
Both parties were given poor ratings by respondents for the way they conducted the debt ceiling negotiations- a 72% disapproval rating for Republicans in Congress and a 66% disapproval rating for Democrats in Congress. On the spending cuts the views are ambivalent. On one hand showing Americans 2 to 1 favoring job creation over spending cuts. On the other hand 44% of those polled saying the cuts in the debt ceiling were not enough, 29% that the cuts were about right, only 15% saying they went too far.
Read LyrArc gist ›

Australian Property, Long an Outlier, Joins Decline

1 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 08.24.2011 Original article ›
Geoffrey Rogow, Geoffrey, Rogow
LyrArc Article Gist
Real estate prices are declining in Australia, with signs of overbuilding. Growing immigration, a commodities boom with higher demand from China, slow construction and foreign investors had pushed home prices higher. This led to a decrease of 2-6% in home prices in Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne, according to RP Data. Home construction in Melbourne increased by 40% since 2006, according to Australia's Bureau of Statistics. Analysts point to an oversupply of homes in Melbourne. Home and apartment prices in Melbourne declined by 3.9% in 2011, according to RP Data-Rismark.
Read LyrArc gist ›

Buffett Bets $5 Billion on BofA

3 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 08.26.2011 Original article ›
Dan Fitzpatrick, Dan, Fitzpatrick
LyrArc Article Gist
Warren Buffett's Berkshire will invest $5 billion on "cumulative perpetual" preferred stock in Bank of America. These shares will pay a 6% annual dividend. In addition Berkshire gets warrants giving it the right to purchase $5 billion in Bank of America common stock at $7.14 a share. The Bank of America share price was $7.63 on August 25, 2011. The warrants if exercized could leave Berkshire with 6.5% ownership stake in the bank. The deal comes as Bank of America's share price is under severe pressures in the financial market.
Read LyrArc gist ›

China's Nationalist Furies

6 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 09.25.2012 Original article ›
Editorial
LyrArc Article Gist
This WSJ editorial says China's nationalist sentiment should not be underestimated and there are risks of a skirmish between Japan and China over disputed islands. The Japanese government's decision to buy the islands was meant to counter the effort of nationalist Tokyo governor Ishihara's attempt to buy the islands, and should not have been seen as a provocation by China. It says the U.S. should stand by Japan. WSJ reported on Sept. 25, 2012, joint exercizes with Japan's Self Defense Force on the island of Guam, providing American training on island defense.
Read LyrArc gist ›

Obama and Clinton Arrive for United Nations Session

3 Groups   
New York Times - 09.24.2012 Original article ›
Helene Cooper, Helene, Cooper, Steven Lee Myers, Steven, Lee, Myers
LyrArc Article Gist
President Obama attends a filming of a show for "The View" hosted by Whoopi Goldberg and co-host Barbara Walters at ABC studios on Sept 24, 2012. This happens just as world leaders are greeted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as they arrive for a meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York. And just as Tim Arango reports in the NYT that the situation in the Middle East is seeing spillover affects from Syria that affect the entire region, and Middle East tensions are rising.
Read LyrArc gist ›

Conflicts at Home Resonate in Iranian's U.N. Farewell

6 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 09.27.2012 Original article ›
Jay Solomon, Jay, Solomon
LyrArc Article Gist
Ahmadinejad says at a news conference in New York that he opposed the decision by Iran's central bank to allow the currency, the rial, to drop by about 60% against the dollar in the first 9 months of 2012. The central bank policy is to maintain foreign exchange reserves in the face of stricter international sanctions against Iran's nuclear weapons development program. Ahmadinejad delivered his final address to the UN General Assembly at the end of his second four year term, his last because of Iran's term limits.
Read LyrArc gist ›

Hungary, Once a Star, Loses Its Shine

1 Links 6 Groups   
New York Times - 01.16.2012 Original article ›
Jack Ewing, Jack, Ewing, Palko Karasz, Palko, Karasz
LyrArc Article Gist
The effects of the eurozone crisis on the everyday lives of ordinary Hungarians in Budapest. The impact is particularly severe on retirees and other people with home loans that were taken out in swiss francs or euros because of the depreciation of the Hungarian currency, the forint. There is a loss of confidence in politicians, and the government of prime minister Orban is seen as having worsened the crisis by losing international credibility and confidence . Hungary's debt is denominated mostly in euros which make repayment difficult. Yields on its bonds are over 10%.
Read LyrArc gist ›

Fed Sees Low Rates to 2014

3 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 01.26.2012 Original article ›
Luca Di Leo, Luca, Di, Leo, Jon Hilsenrath, Jon, Hilsenrath
LyrArc Article Gist
Federal Reserve chairman Bernanke said the Fed would target a 2% inflation rate and keep short term interest rates near zero till late 2014. Eleven of seventeen Fed officials at a two day policy meeting ending Jan. 25, 2012 supported this policy. The announcement is part of the Fed's new communications policy which hopes to lower long term rates to stimuate growth and employment by signalling intentions on rates on a longer term basis. The Federal Reserve has lowered its estimate for growth in the U.S. to between 2.2-2.7% in 2012 from 2.5-2.9%.
Read LyrArc gist ›

Global Banks Far Short of Capital Rules, Basel Report Shows

3 Groups   
New York Times - 12.16.2010 Original article ›
Jack Ewing, Jack, Ewing
LyrArc Article Gist
Based on 2009 financial results, 94 largest banks worldwide would be 577 billion euros or $769 billion short of risk free capital they would need to hold if the Basel III rules were applied to these banks. About half of this shortfall is in Europe. This was stated by members of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The banks have till Jan 1, 2019 to comply with the new rules. Banking profits for these banks was 209 billion euros in 2009, suggesting that these banks could meet these requirements from retained profits.
Read LyrArc gist ›

Credit Remains Scarce in Hurdle to Recovery

  
Wall Street Journal - 02.27.2010 Original article ›
Jon Hilsenrath, Jon, Hilsenrath
LyrArc Article Gist
Financial conditions- as measured by the quantity of money available and the availability of credit- tightened in the fourth quarter of 2009. Issuance of asset backed securities went down from $51 billon in the third quarter to $29 billion in the fourth quarter, and commercial paper outstanding declined to $1.1 trillion in January 2010 from $1.3 trillion in September 2009. A ""financial conditions index" produced by Columbia, NYU, Princeton and Deutsche bank, Goldman Sachs, shows the conditions tightening, revealing a financial sector that remains weak and impaired even with very low rates by the Fed.
Read LyrArc gist ›

A wholesale invasion

8 Groups   
Economist - 05.20.2010 Original article ›
Economist.Com
LyrArc Article Gist
Big retail supermarket style stores are taking off in urban areas of India. Indian and western companies Tata and Tesco, Godrej, Reliance, Bharti and Wal-Mart, are setting up these stores. A government backed study by ICRIER shows that even though the arrival of the big stores results in a drop in sales of 23% in the 1st year, thereafter sales recover and in 5 years these smaller stores are back to where they started. And gradually the protests like those seen in 2007 are fading from these smaller stores.
Read LyrArc gist ›
Original article 3 minutes, gist 1 minute

Housing Market Stumbles

2 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 07.21.2010 Original article ›
Nick Timiraos, Nick, Timiraos, Robbie Whelan, Robbie, Whelan
LyrArc Article Gist
Housing market looks weak in Juy 2010 with the U.S. Census Bureau reporting single family housing starts falling in June by 0.7%. Permits for single family starts fell 3% in June 2010. A Wall Street Journal quarterly survey shows rising inventories in 28 metropolitan areas. Inventory was up at the end of June 33% from a year before in San Diego, and 19% in Los Angeles. Compared to 2008 when the banking crisis caused problems, now it is the general economic conditions that are acting as a drag on the housing market.
Read LyrArc gist ›

Four Deformations of the Apocalypse

1 Links 3 Groups   
New York Times - 07.31.2010 Original article ›
David Stockman, David, Stockman
LyrArc Article Gist
Reagan adminstration Budget director, David Stockman, faults the Republicans for not controlling runaway spending, and for tax cuts when the deficit was already growing to unmanageable proportions. The Republican party he says, has not acted responsibly by opposing tax increases for the nation's richest taxpayers of three percentage points. He adds in the municipal bonds and the $7 trillion of new deficits, and says with this the total debt reaches $18 trillion by 2015, a Greece style 120% of gross domestic product, which calls for much needed austerity.
Read LyrArc gist ›

At Last! Banks Rev Up Lending

5 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 02.29.2012 Original article ›
Victoria Mcgrane, Victoria, Mcgrane
LyrArc Article Gist
The FDIC report in Feb. 2012 shows improvement in bank lending to $130 billion, for the 4th quarter of 2012. This is an increase of 1.8% over the previous quarter. Lending to commercial and industrial borrowers increased by $62.8 billion, or 4.9%. Smaller commercial and industrial loans of less than $1 million increased for the first time since 2010. Banking profits for 2011 were up to $119 billion, up 40% from the prior year. Banking revenues for 2011 declinedby 4.5% from 2010, as a result of low rates and slower loan demand.
Read LyrArc gist ›

Questions as Banks Increase Dividends

1 Links 3 Groups   
New York Times - 03.14.2012 Original article ›
J. B. Silver Greenberg, J., B., Silver Greenberg
LyrArc Article Gist
Prof. Admati, of Stanford, says that with the March 2012 stress tests the Fed has prematurely announced the banks are healthy. Prof. Cole of DePaul University, questions some of the assumptions used by the Fed as too optimistic even though it used a 13% unemployment rate and decline in stock and real estate values by 21%. He says the loss of $56 billon on home equity lines of credit and second lien mortgages, 13% of the portfolio, is highly underestimated. He says the legal liabilities of banks are also underestimated.
Read LyrArc gist ›

BOK’s No. 2 Retires With Parting Words For No. 1

2 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 04.09.2012 Original article ›
LyrArc Article Gist
Bank of Korea's senior deputy governor, Lee Ju-yeol, says he feels "heavy resposibility" for the policies pursued by S. Korea's central bank in the years following the financial crisis of 2008, when inflation fighting efforts of the bank were set aside to focus on growth. Inflation has increased in S. Korea in recent years. He said our "hard won reputation was turned away under the current of globalization and reform... values and rules that have been built up over 60 years were denied in just a single day."
Read LyrArc gist ›

Poland Trying to Build Banks' Defenses

2 Links 4 Groups   
New York Times - 04.13.2012 Original article ›
Melissa Eddy, Melissa, Eddy
LyrArc Article Gist
The efforts by Poland to maintain control over its banking sector. About 70% of the banking sector was owned by foreign owned banks before the recent withdrawal by banks from Western Europe. State regulators and the central bank would like to see more of the banking sector in Polish hands. Bank Zachodni WBK, wholly owned by Banco Santander of Spain will merge with Kredyt Bank, a subsidiary of KBC Group of Belgium, to create a larger bank with a stake of $104 million taken by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Read LyrArc gist ›

Foreign Investment Jumps in Indonesia

1 Links 7 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 04.23.2012 Original article ›
Eric Bellman, Eric, Bellman, I Made Sentana, I, Made, Sentana
LyrArc Article Gist
Foreign direct investment in Indonesia surged 30% to 51.5 trillion rupiah ($5.6 billion) for the first quarter of 2012. Indonesia's Investment Board says the mining sector gained $1.1 billion of FDI, telecom $800 million and plantations $500 millon. Singapore invested $1.2 billion, Japan $600 million, and S. Korea $500 million. Meanwhile S&P retained the BB+ credit rating for Indonesia because of concern about the government's decision not to raise subsidized fuel prices by 33% to cut a fuel subsidy bill of $15 billion, and other "policy slippages."
Read LyrArc gist ›

Fannie Mae Falls Back Into the Loss Column

1 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 05.07.2011 Original article ›
Nick Timiraos, Nick, Timiraos
LyrArc Article Gist
U.S. housing firm Fannie Mae reported a loss of $6.5 billon for 1st quarter 2011. Home price declines pose an added risk for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as the firms have a large number of foreclosed homes. Fannie and Freddie had 218,000 homes at the end of March that have to be resold, a 33% increase from 2010. Fannie Mae has about $206 billion of delinquent loans on its books. Both firms are on government life support. Fannie said it would ask for $6.2 billion in new funds from the U.S. government.
Read LyrArc gist ›

Rethinking nuclear energy in Japan: Japan unplugged

1 Groups   
Economist - 05.14.2011 Original article ›
Economist.Com
LyrArc Article Gist
On May 10, 2011, prime minister Naoto Kan of Japan says the plan for nuclear energy to account for half of Japan's energy needs will be rewritten from scratch. This will mean Japan will have to look at renewable energy and other sources seriously to complement a tightly regulated nuclear power energy source. In the past Japan has not given the emphasis to renewable energy that it has received in countries like Germany. The pro-nuclear lobby has also worked against the development of other renewable energy sources.
Read LyrArc gist ›
Original article 2 minutes, gist 1 minute

Fiat To Buy Full U.S. Stake in Chrysler

1 Links 4 Groups   
New York Times - 05.27.2011 Original article ›
Nick Bunkley, Nick, Bunkley
LyrArc Article Gist
Fiat announced that it will buy all the U.S. government's shares in Chrysler. This comes a few days after Fiat payed back $1.3 billion to buy an additional 16% of Chrysler, increasing ownership to 46%. Fiat will have a 52% ownership stake in Chrysler after the purchase. By the end of the year Fiat says it expects to own 57% of Chrysler. Under the loan agreement Fiat automatically gets 5% of Chrysler if it begins producing a car rated at 40 miles per gallon. Chrysler earned $116 million in the first quarter of 2011.
Read LyrArc gist ›

Militarism and Humiliation Cast Shadow on Germany

8 Groups   
New York Times - 06.26.2014 Original article ›
Alison Smale, Alison, Smale
LyrArc Article Gist
One hundred years after the First World War Germans look at memorials and museums in Kiel about the naval buildup in Germany in 1910-1914 in a different light. Germany's effort to match Britain's naval supremacy and the increasing tensions and nationalist rhetoric led to the war- worse, the defeat created conditions for a larger conflict in 1939-1945. To put this period behind it Germany has emphasized the dangers of war and getting people to realize what war is. Kiel itself was 80% destroyed at the end of the Second World War.
Read LyrArc gist ›

Health-Care Stocks Avoid Market Malaise

1 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 01.07.2015 Original article ›
Daniel Strumpf, Daniel, Strumpf
LyrArc Article Gist
The defensive nature of invesments in healthcare sector with increasing uncertainty in the 4th quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of 2015. The S&P 500 Healthcare Index trades at 17.3 times earnings for the next 12 months, up from 16.7 at the beginning of 2014, according to FactSet. By comparison the S&P 500 trades at 16 times earnings. A major factor pushing earnings is the development of new drugs for cancer, and other diseases. FDA approved 41 new drugs in 2014, up from 27 in 2013, and 39 in 2012.
Read LyrArc gist ›

Support LyrArc

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




Support LyrArc →


Copyright © 2006 - 2026 Intelilinks LLC
Terms and Conditions | Copyright Policy | Privacy Policy | Contact Us