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How Britain under Andy Burnham can recover with India (Commonwealth) and rise up to its potential

06/23/2026

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.

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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.

Rosneft CEO Sechin Enters Spotlight After BP Deal

8 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 11.01.2012 Original article ›
Gregory L. White, Gregory, L., White
LyrArc Article Gist
Igor Sechin, CEO of Russian oil company Rosneft, talks to the Journal's Gregory White after the completion of the BP-Rosneft deal giving BP nearly 20% stake in Rosneft. He says his goal is to make Rosneft "the most efficient." The deal made Rosneft the largest oil company in the world. Sechin sees that not as a goal set by management. Sechin started out as an aide to Putin in the early 1990's, and became chairman of Rosneft in 2004. The deal with BP gives Rosneft access to western technology to become the most efficient oil company in Russia. Sechin sees Rosneft's core business as technology.
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Tony Hall to Take Helm at Scandal-Shaken BBC

4 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 11.23.2012 Original article ›
Jeanne Whalen, Jeanne, Whalen
LyrArc Article Gist
Tony Hall, who joined the BBC in 1973, worked there for 28 years, heading the News Section from 1996 to 2001, was selected to head the BBC. His selection comes after the recent ethics problems at the BBC. The BBC is a major British institution with a 90 year history of providing news on world affairs. It reaches an estimated 240 million people worldwide. His selection was well received in Britain, with the host of the TV show Question Time saying hearing the announcement felt similiar to what it would have sounded to men in the Royal Navy when they heard that Winston Churchill was back.
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Mark J. Carney Seeks Greater Challenges at Bank of England

3 Groups   
New York Times - 11.26.2012 Original article ›
Ian Austen, Ian, Austen
LyrArc Article Gist
Mark Carney, chief of the central bank of Canada, was chosen to be the next Governor of the Bank of England, succeeding Mervyn King. Carney's private sector experience with Goldman Sachs has given him contacts with people in the city of London and in British industry. He also studied at Oxford for a doctorate in economics. He helped Canada strengthen the economic reforms made in the previous 15-20 years, in his position as head of the Bank of Canada, say experts. This helped Canada withstand the 2008 financial crisis better than other countries. He says he can "play a constructive role in relaunching this institution with its new responsibilities."
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Throwing Another Barrel of Fuel on the Euro Zone's Fire

13 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 11.29.2011 Original article ›
Liam Denning, Liam, Denning
LyrArc Article Gist
Oil prices are up and staying there longer in December 2011. The 12 month rolling average for oil prices for Brent crude oil is at $109, compared to $106 a barrel in September 2008, according to consultants JBC Energy. The situation is worse for eurozone countries because of the declining value of the euro estimated at between $1.16-$1.30 in 2012 depending on how the eurozone crisis is handled. The 12 month rolling average was 70 euros when Brent crude prices were at their high in 2008, compared to 78 euros today. France and Italy are seeing their current account surplus disappear with reduced exports and higher import bill for oil.
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Toyota Debuts New Compact Hybrid Aqua

6 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 12.27.2011 Original article ›
Yoshio Takahashi, Yoshio, Takahashi
LyrArc Article Gist
Toyota introduces the Aqua hybrid model in Japan with advance orders of 60,000. This model will be introduced wordwide as the Prius c. Toyota plans to introduce 11 hybrid models in the two years till the end of 2012. The Aqua is the 6th hybrid of the 11 models. The Aqua has fuel efficiency of 35.4 kilometres per liter, higher than the 32.6 of the larger Prius model. Its starting price is 1.69 million yen or $22,000. A lot depends on the hybrid models, as Toyota has set an ambitious target of increasing sales by 20% in 2012, after a 6% drop in sales in 2011.
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RIM’s New Boss: The Analysts React

4 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 01.23.2012 Original article ›
David Benoit, David, Benoit
LyrArc Article Gist
RIM's management change with new CEO Thorsten Heins is received positively by analysts as the co-CEO arrangement was not considered responsive enough to losses in market share- RIM's share in the smartphone market dropped below 10% in 2011. However the statement by Heins that there would be no "seismic" change at RIM was received with caution. One analyst pointed to the need for fresh thinking and thought it would have been better to bring in someone from the outside, though Heins only joined in 2007 and worked for 23 years at Siemens. The need for a new Chief Marketing Officer was pointed out.
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New RIM Chief Plots Overhaul

1 Links 5 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 01.28.2012 Original article ›
Will Connors, Will, Connors
LyrArc Article Gist
Research in Motion's new CEO, Thorsten Heins, says he has revamped the leadership team and his focus will now be on execution. He says that when he joined the company in 2007 it operated more like a startup. Heins wants to see founder Lazaridis in more of a visionary role. Product cycle times will be shortened as the teams will be more focussed from now on, says Heins. Heins sees one key part of RIM's strategy being getting new phones into the hands of users. Most Blackberry users have older model phones and Heins says only 10-15% of users know about the Blackberry 7 phones.
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Apple's New Math On Textbook Pricing

2 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 01.20.2012 Original article ›
Peter Kafka, Peter, Kafka
LyrArc Article Gist
Apple's senior vice president Eddy Cue, says all of the textbooks on the iPad will be priced at $14.99. The way this works is that McGraw Hill instead of selling the textbooks to public schools for $75, will sell the book to a student for $15 for one year. At which point he can keep the digital copy but cannot resell it or pass it along to another student. New students will have to buy a new digital copy. Apple will get a cut on sales which could be about 30%, some of this will be made up from the absence of printing and distribution costs for McGraw Hill.
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In Greece, a Brewer'€s Dream Runs Into Frustration

1 Groups   
New York Times - 01.29.2011 Original article ›
Landon Thomas Jr., Landon, Thomas, Jr.
LyrArc Article Gist
The problem of poor competitiveness in Greece which is stifling the economy. A recent analysis by research firm Variant Perception based in London, shows severe pricing distortions in the Greek economy. The cost of labor in Greece from 2005-2010 was, on average, 25% higher than in Germany. And small business is muffled by the bureaucracy and old rules and restrictions. Compared to Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain have lower labor costs. This increases the trade deficit for Greece. Greece has one of the highest number of lawyers per capita in the world, one lawyer for every 250 people compared to 272 in the US.
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The Two Likeliest Political Outcomes for Mubarak

2 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 01.31.2011 Original article ›
Wsj Online, Wsj, Online
LyrArc Article Gist
Stephen Hadley, national security advisor to President George W. Bush, says there is every likelihood that the new government in Egypt after the departure of Mubarak will be non-Islamist and committed to a free and democratic Egypt. Such an Egypt would he says become a leader of a movement toward freedom ad democracy in the Arab world. Reports from Egypt in the New York Times and Washington Post show that the protests are led by younger people, many of them under 30 years of age, educated and middle class, interested mainly in moving Egypt to a democratic government and economic opportunity for all.
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The state of Spanish banks: Under siege

1 Groups   
Economist - 02.21.2011 Original article ›
Economist.Com
LyrArc Article Gist
Estimates vary on how much capital Spain's banks will need to recapitalize and push their tier one ratio to 8%. Moody's says they will need 17 billion euros to push their tier one ratio to 8% and UBS says they will need 120 billion euros to regain confidence in financial markets. The banks will have to redeem 90 billion euros of debt in 2011, 45% of this by the two largest banks, according to Barclays Capital. The problem lies in large debt in declining housing markets. Spain's banks have 323 billion euros or 31% of GDP in loans in the housing and property markets.
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Original article 3 minutes, gist 1 minute

As Data Flows In, the Dollars Flow Out

1 Groups   
New York Times - 02.09.2010 Original article ›
Jenna Wortham, Jenna, Wortham
LyrArc Article Gist
The spending on services like cable, television, internet connectivity, video games according to the Census Bureau for 2004 was $771 per year In 2008 this was $903, in 2010 $997 And add anothe $1000 for cellphone service and the average family in the USA spends as much on this as it does on dining or buying gasoline. Add extra for iTunes, texting services, music. Now buyers of Apple iPad can buy unlimited data access from AT&T for $30 a month. Are these expenses discretionary? Some experts think that it is part of the need for connectedness in today's society, and part of being functional in today's society.
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The Making of a Euromess

3 Groups   
New York Times - 02.15.2010 Original article ›
Paul Krugman, Paul, Krugman
LyrArc Article Gist
Krugman says the European Union countries were not ready for the euro and the current crisis shows this. Spain with its peseta could have regained its competitiveness with a 20% devaluation, after years of inflation as money flowed into Spain from other countries including Germany and fueled the housing boom. Or Spain would have received stimulus funds from the central government, if it was an American state like Florida. Instead Spain now has to work through this crisis with high unemployment and painful deflation. Greece faces severe austerity measures and is more to blame for its mess, because of faulty accounting to cover up its problems.
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Safety Valves Had a Dead Battery, Investigators Find

1 Links 3 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 05.13.2010 Original article ›
Ben Casselman, Ben, Casselman, Jennifer Levitz, Jennifer, Levitz
LyrArc Article Gist
Investigators cited in Congressional hearings say the blowout preventor, a 450 ton set of valves, in the BP oil rig explosion and leak, had a dead battery and was leaking hydraulic fluid. It was the last recourse to prevent an accident. The "deadman switch" that is a device used to trigger the preventor if it loses communication with the rig, as it woud in the event of an explosion, did not work because at least one of its two batteries was dead. The leak in the hydraulics that control the valves could have made the valves not able to function as required to shut the well down.
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California's Building Bust Choking Off Jobs

6 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 07.29.2010 Original article ›
Cari Tuna, Cari, Tuna
LyrArc Article Gist
A shocking statistic. Of the 12 metropolitan areas in the US with over 15% unemployment, 10 are in California, and this is because the construction industry has taken a severe hit. It lost 74,000 jobs in the 12 months ending in June 2010. From June 2006 to June 2010, this industry in California lost 43% or about 402,000 jobs. And the construction industry is still shrinking there. One reason why the unemployment rate in California is 12.3%. The overbuilding during the boom makes it that much harder to rebuild. The construction industry has been hard hit in Los Angeles and Riverside metro areas and in Napa and Solano counties.
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Chrysler Posts $172 Million Loss Amid Sluggish Sales

9 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 08.09.2010 Original article ›
Jeff Bennett, Jeff, Bennett
LyrArc Article Gist
Chrysler's second quarter loss of $172 million, follows a first quarter loss of $197 million. Operating profit for the second quarter was $183 million, compared to $143 million in the first quarter. Chrysler's forecast is to breakeven on sales between $40-45 billion. Revenue was up by 8.2% in the second quarter to $10.5 billion. Main problem Chrysler faces is an old product lineup. A slowdown in the economy in the second half of 2010 and in 2011 could hurt Chrysler more than the other automakers. Chrysler has available cash of $7.84 billion and additional $2.3 billion available from U.S. Treasury and Canadian government loan agreements.
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Currency Fight With China Divides U.S. Businesses

1 Groups   
New York Times - 11.16.2010 Original article ›
David Barboza, David, Barboza
LyrArc Article Gist
Critics say China's currency is undervalued by 20%. China is only willing to increase the value of the yuan by 3% this year, fearing that a signifcant revaluation will lead to the closure of textile and other factories in the coastal areas that operate on a small profit. Facing high unemployment the US is not willing to let this happen gradually. US businesses that manufacture in the US and export to China would benefit if the yuan appreciates significantly. Retailers such as Wal-Mart and textile producers with offshore manufacturing at contract sites in China are on the other side as they benefit from the lower value of the Chinese currency.
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India Struggles to Dig Up Enough Fuel to Power Growth

4 Links 6 Groups   
New York Times - 04.19.2012 Original article ›
Vikas Bajaj, Vikas, Bajaj
LyrArc Article Gist
Problems in the power sector that limit India's economic growth. Power plants being built are short of coal and other fuel supplies. Coal supply has not kept up with increase in power plant capacity- coal production increased by a mere 1% in 2011 and power plant capacity increased 11%. The gap between demand and supply for power increased from 7.7% in 2010 to 10.2% in 2011. Coal India which has 80% of production has not invested enough in new mining equipment and technology to rapidly increase production. This combined with higher energy costs for imports and weak infrastructure continues to act as a constraint to economic growth.
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France Moves to Make Labor More Flexible

2 Links 12 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 05.01.2012 Original article ›
William Horobin, William, Horobin, Gabriele Parussini, Gabriele, Parussini
LyrArc Article Gist
France's CFDT trade union says both Sarkozy and Hollande have shown agreement with a plan for workers to show flexibility in wages and benefits in return for preserving jobs. This comes at a time when France's trade deficit is widening. It was 69.6 billon euros in 2011. Hourly labor costs in France are 34.20 euros, 14% higher than in Germany, where similiar wage restraint was shown by the unions during the last decade to reduce high unemployment. It is 20% higher than the euro-zone average, according to Eurostat. Now France is looking to adopt some aspects of the German model to improve competitiveness and reduce unemployment.
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India Takes New Steps to Boost Sagging Rupee

6 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 05.11.2012 Original article ›
Sudeep Jain, Sudeep, Jain
LyrArc Article Gist
India's foreign exchange reserves of $295 billion cover about 7 months of imports. This is not enough in currency reserves for India's central bank to take actions to prevent a depreciation of the Indian currency, the rupee. The central bank, RBI, has taken other actions including giving local exporters 15 days to convert half their estimated $7 billion foreign exchange holdings into rupees. Analysts say the RBI is running out of policy options and is down to micromanaging the currency. India's trade deficit was at $13.4 billion in March 2012 with rising cost of importing oil and lower exports. The rupee is close to 54 rupees to the dollar.
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PC Firm Lenovo Hunts For Brazil Acquisitions

2 Links 12 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 05.29.2012 Original article ›
Juro Osawa, Juro, Osawa, Yun Hee Kim, Yun Hee, Kim
LyrArc Article Gist
Lenovo's efforts to increase sales in India and Brazil. Lenovo is the largest PC company in India with 15.8% market share in the first quarter of 2012. It has only 3.6% market share in Brazil and is planning to increase its market share in the Brazilian market. Its market share in China is 30%. Slowing sales in China is increasing the focus on growth in Latin America. Lenovo's head of Asia-Pacific and Latin America, Milko van Duijl says Lenovo will have to build a manufacturing presence in Brazil to be successful there. Lenovo is now the second largest in PC sales worldwide after H-P.
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Sony and Panasonic to Ally On Technology for Big TVs

4 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 06.26.2012 Original article ›
Daisuke Wakabayashi, Daisuke, Wakabayashi
LyrArc Article Gist
Sony and Panasonic will jointly develop mass production methods for organic light emitting diode display, or OLED, by 2013. The two companies are also cosidering an alliance to mass manufacture OLED television sets under their brand names. One option is to work with a low cost Asian manufacturers such as AU Optronics of Taiwan. Samsung and LG Electronics are planning to introduce 55 inch OLED television sets in 2012, with the sets costing about $9000. The challenge for the manufacturers is to bring down the cost of manufacturing. Sony is a leader in this technology, having developed the first 11 inch OLED set in 2007.
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New Test for U.S.-Pakistan Relations

1 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 05.02.2011 Original article ›
Tom Wright, Tom, Wright
LyrArc Article Gist
Questions about the U.S. raid at Abottabad on May 1, 2011, that killed Osama Bin Laden. Was a Pakistani military helicopter involved in the raid as the Pakistanis say. President Obama said that the U.S. did not trust anyone, especially knowing where he was located. Abbottabad is 40 miles from Islamabad, and the location of a Pakistani military academy. Obama's statement that no intelligence was shared with the Pakistanis makes sense till the next question that comes up immediately.That question is how American helicopters took off close to the Osama compound- in an area with a large military presence- without the Pakistani military knowing.
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Bigger iPhone Is Overdue for Apple

3 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 09.08.2014 Original article ›
Daisuke Wakabayashi, Daisuke, Wakabayashi
LyrArc Article Gist
Apple has 42% of the smartphone market in the U.S. A larger iphone with 5.5 inch screen could generate a meaningful upgrade cycle, say analysts, increasing Apple's market share by 11%. The larger device is especially important in emerging markets where the iphone serves as the main computing device. Samsung currently dominates the larger screen market with 34%, followed by Lenovo. The shift to larger screens is significant- market research firm Canalys estimates that 40% of global smartphone shipments were larger than 5 inches in the 2nd quarter of 2014, up from 21% the prior year quarter. This is the one area in which Samsung holds an advantage.
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Britain’s Costly Debate

1 Links 1 Groups   
Wall Street Journal - 01.21.2015 Original article ›
Editorial
LyrArc Article Gist
This editorial in the WSJ finds problems in the policies of the Tories and the Labor Party before the parliamentary elections in Britain in May 2015. It says Chancellor Osborne hurt lower income families disproportionately by raising the value added tax from 17.5% to 20%. Lower oil prices are lowering prices for middle and low income families, not the policies of the Conservative Party, it points out. Not much has been done to increase housing supply, with housing costs taking up about half of a family's income in some places. It finds little comfort in the targeted subsidies of the Tories, or the minimum wage ideas of Labor.
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