World News Insights
1-3 Minute Gist
Search, personalize, or simply browse. Follow the world around you from gist and context to insights.
Who we are | Our Credo | Ways of using Lyrarc | FAQ | Send Feedback | First Letter From the Editor
Sign up. It's free and easy to use
Create an account
to personalize your feed of articles and topics.
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 Links
Mario Monti and the future of the European Union
02/10/2012
Monti on more democracy in the European Union with more power for the European Parliament, and the enduring quality of the EU becaus it is in the interests of Germany.
Linked Articles
Italyâs Leader Is Optimistic About Greece and Euro
New York Times 02/10/2012
Italy's Leader Warns EU Needs Better DemocracyWall Street Journal 02/16/2012
High used car prices and resale values in the U.S. in 2012-2013
02/06/2012
Linked Articles
That Car in the Driveway Is Now Worth More
Wall Street Journal 08/01/2012
Used-Car Prices ClimbWall Street Journal 02/06/2012
A smaller Wall Street in New York as the culture shifts towards emphasis on technology and other fields.
12/27/2011
The culture at Goldman Sachs and on Wall Street and the growing feeling that a shift to growth in other fields is a healthy development for New York and the U.S.
Linked Articles
Public Rebuke of Culture at Goldman Sachs
New York Times 03/14/2012
Wall Street Meets RealityNew York Times 12/27/2011
Tax evasion in Italy and Greece and Germany's insistence on good governance and financial practices for a sound euro currency
11/25/2011
One estimate of tax evasion in Italy cited by Faiola in the Post is $340 billon a year. Greece has a similiar problem. This is one area in which the culture and practices of individual countries have to converge to acceptable norms to make a common currrency viable, something the founders of the euro currency did not take as seriously as needed and account for in a disciplined framework. The political enthusiasm for a union of European countries of EU founders led to ignoring the dangers of not having controls and convergence in place.
Linked Articles
New York Times 12/01/2011
Amid crisis, Italy confronts a culture of tax evasion - The Washington PostWashington Post 11/25/2011
The Christian Democratic Union, the 2011 CDU convention in Leipzig, and the shifting German view on strict austerity policies
11/15/2011
A faction of the CDU favors a strict interpretation of austerity policies for the eurozone. As CDU leader, Angela Merkel shifts policies to accomodate growing weariness in the rest of Europe with strict austerity policies to accomodate growth, Merkel faces dissent in the CDU. This is evident in the conflicting statements from the EU trade commissioner Mr Gucht, and its economic affairs commissioner Mr. Rehn, on Greece continuing in the eurozone, after Merkel's stated willingness to compromise at the Camp David G-8 summit.
Linked Articles
Greek Stimulus Is an Option, Merkel Says
New York Times 05/16/2012
Merkel Party Seeks Euro Exit PolicyWall Street Journal 11/15/2011
Missteps by H-P's Board and the risk-averse nature of the Board at Microsoft- two tech companies and the transition to new information technologies
08/28/2011
Linked Articles
Microsoft Board Shows Little Taste for Bold Choice in CEO
Wall Street Journal 09/02/2013
H-P's One-Year PlanWall Street Journal 08/28/2011
The Ford Focus EV and the Nissan Leaf electric cars in 2012-2013
07/19/2011
Linked Articles
Ford CEO: Battery Is Third of Electric Car Cost
Wall Street Journal 04/18/2012
Nissan Raises Leaf Price to $35,200Wall Street Journal 07/19/2011
Austerity measures and economic contraction in Portugal 2010-2013- the terms of the 2011 EU-IMF loan agreement with Portugal
05/05/2011
The forecasts of higher unemployment reaching 17% and economic contraction of 7% for 2011-2013 are widely diverging from the original estimates in 2011 by EU and IMF officials. This increases the urgency for reappraisal of the terms of the original agreement including borrowing rates, giving more time to achieve deficit targets, and other action to put Portugal back on the road to growth in 2014.
Linked Articles
Portugal to Seek New Bailout Terms
Wall Street Journal 03/04/2013
Government Sees Deep Recession Ahead for PortugalNew York Times 05/05/2011
Transfer of American technology to China
02/02/2011
China's new policy is to require transfer of technology by American and European manufacturers as price of access to the Chinese market. This is affecting industries from aerospace to automobiles.
Linked Articles
The Roadblock in GM's Route Through China
Wall Street Journal 04/20/2011
U.S. Firms, China Are Locked in Major War Over TechnologyWall Street Journal 02/02/2011
GE transfer of aerospace technology to China in joint venture
01/17/2011
New policies require transfer of technology for access to the Chinese market.
Linked Articles
U.S. Firms, China Are Locked in Major War Over Technology
Wall Street Journal 02/02/2011
G.E. to Share Jet Technology With China in New Joint VentureNew York Times 01/17/2011
How Samsung jumped ahead of Sony in the smartphone market- the dismal failure of the Sony-Ericsson joint venture
01/07/2011
The glaring weaknesses of the Sony-Ericsson mobile joint venture was the slow decisionmaking and the inability to take advantage of Sony's strengths in manufacturing and its companywide technological capabilities. As late as 2011 Samsung was struggling behind other competitors. A key advantage was the quick decisionmaking and marshalling of resources within the company for the smartphone effort in Samsung. The joint venture proved to be a disaster for Sony.
Linked Articles
Samsung Moves in Smartphone Race
Wall Street Journal 01/07/2011
Sony Stakes Recovery on New SmartphoneWall Street Journal 03/01/2013
The experience of Kawasaki in high speed rail and transfer of technology to China
11/17/2010
The transfer of technology to Chinese partners as a price of access to the Chinese market.
Linked Articles
The Roadblock in GM's Route Through China
Wall Street Journal 04/20/2011
Train Makers Rail Against China's High-Speed DesignsWall Street Journal 11/17/2010
Apple products at manufacturing plants in China and at retail stores in the U.S.- low worker pay and lack of future prospects
05/29/2010
The high margins for Apple achieved through a combination of keeping costs low- even at the risk of providing poor wage and working conditions for the majority of employees employed in the retail stores in the U.S. and in supplier Foxconn plants in China- and by a grasp for innovation and technology. The paradox of a well deserved image for pioneering in technological innovation and the indifference to working conditions and prospects for employees who add value in manufacturing and customer interface. This model of growth is a recent development, put in place after 1997. In 1995-1997 Apple was nearing collapse under Michael Spindler and Gil Amelio, as documented by WSJ technology reporter Jim Carlton in his book- "Apple- The Inside Story of Intrigue, Egomania, and Business Blunders." Steve Jobs returned as CEO in 1997 and set the future course and this model in place emphasizing design, his ability to grasp technologies that would appeal to customers, and hired Tim Cook to set up the manufacturing which had high rate of defects and higher costs. The model was as full of paradoxes, of genius combined with mediocre behavioursas the man Steve Jobs. Tim Cook has responded to criticism in 2012 by having the Fair Labor association audit Foxconn plants in China. Foxconn increased wages in 2012, shifted plants to the interior of China, and increased use of robotics.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 05/29/2010
Apple Stores Army, Long on Loyalty but Short on PayNew York Times 06/23/2012
The views of Condoleeza Rice and Vladimir Putin on Russia's evolution through democratic processes
02/09/2012
Rice points out that diversification of the economy away from oil utilizing Russian technological capabilities will help Russia move away from the corruption of a resource based economy and build a healthy democratic setup. Putin says he recognizes the need for democratic processes to keep pace with the development of civil society and the growing middle class, but emphasizes that democracy cannot be built overnight, and places a higher priority on what he calls the "sovereignty of the people," the right to work, the right to education and free medical care.
Linked Articles
How Russia’s urban middle class can bring an end to Putinism - The Washington Post
Washington Post 03/09/2012
Vladimir Putin: My vision for a better Russia - The Washington PostWashington Post 02/09/2012
Kodak's slow struggle to reinvent itself since 2000, and the succesful effort at reinventing itself of Fuji Films in Japan
01/20/2012
Kodak Labs scientists continue to look for new applications for its patents and technologies at Eastman Kodak Park in Rochester, New York. A more successful effort at reviving the company in the face of technological obsolescence was made by its rival Fuji Films in Japan since 2000.
Linked Articles
At Kodak, Clinging to a Future Beyond Film
New York Times 03/20/2015
Fujifilm Thrived by Changing FocusWall Street Journal 01/20/2012
Technological change and America's future
12/26/2011
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 01/30/2012
Behind I.B.M.'s Big PredictionsNew York Times 12/26/2011
A cultural shift in job choices on U.S. campuses away from investment banking and finance to technology and other fields
11/22/2011
Shift in choices by graduates during U.S. campus recrutiing by companies.
Linked Articles
Wall Street' Latest Campus Recruiting Crisis
New York Times 03/15/2012
A Blow to Pinstripe AspirationsNew York Times 11/22/2011
Mercedes Benz targets younger buyers with smaller cars
09/14/2011
The average age of Mercedes Benz buyers is 53 years compared to 49 for BMW and Audi. Mercedes targets younger buyers with the B class compact.
Linked Articles
Benz on a Budget, Angling for Youngsters
New York Times 03/14/2014
Mercedes Renews Small-Car PushWall Street Journal 09/14/2011
Problems with the EU July 2011 Plan for Greece and other troubled eurozone countries
07/28/2011
The lack of funding and powers for the European Fiinancial Stability Facility to deal with future crises. EFSF lacks adequate funding and power to buy bonds of troubled eurozone countries including Italy and Spain. Other issues that remain unresolved A sense that the EU leaders are a step behind each developing crisis and have not wrapped their hands around the whole problem.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 08/08/2011
The Euro Crisis: Big Rescue, Big DoubtsBusinessWeek 07/28/2011
The cost of the electric battery in electric cars and building a viable electric car industry
07/02/2011
Major advances in battery technology and cost are needed for electric cars to take off. Gasoline needs to be higher than $4.50 a gallon in the U.S. for electric cars to be economically attractive. This includes a rebate of $7500 towards the higher cost of the electric cars. Battery cost is a major component of the extra cost.
Linked Articles
Ford CEO: Battery Is Third of Electric Car Cost
Wall Street Journal 04/18/2012
Long and Winding Road for Electric VehiclesWall Street Journal 07/02/2011
The Elop memo in 2011 and the sale of Nokia's mobile phone business to Microsoft in 2013- the startling change of fortunes for Nokia
02/09/2011
Nokia was a pioneer in the development of mobile phones in an earlier era when fixed lines were the norm. It dominated the mobile phone business in the period before 2009 for 2 decades before the coming of smartphones. The change in Nokia's market came quickly and suddenly with the advent of the iPhone and Nokia was unprepared for this development. This is a classic case of obsolesence and disruptions caused by innovation and new technologies. Other companies from the previous era before cloud computing and the internet, H-P, Oracle, IBM, and Microsoft, face the continuing challenge to adapt or lose to new competitors.
Linked Articles
Microsoft in $7 Billion Deal for Nokia Cellphone Business
Wall Street Journal 09/03/2013
Full Text: Nokia CEO Stephen Elop’s ‘Burning Platform’ MemoWall Street Journal 02/09/2011
How a services-led consumption based economy has failed America through a loss of jobs, prosperity and prestige.
01/21/2011
Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GE, says the concept that the US could transition from a technology based export-oriented economic powerhouse to a services-led consumption based economy was fundamentally wrong. Mathew Slaughter of the Tuck School, Dartmouth, in a WSJ op-ed piece argues for a textbook principle of comparitive advantage, without considering the way it operates in a real the real world situation facing America as it struggles for economic renewal.
Linked Articles
Comparative Advantage and American Jobs
Wall Street Journal 01/26/2011
Jeffrey R. Immelt - A blueprint for keeping America competitiveWashington Post 01/21/2011
Maternity leave and technological progress- catchup tasks for Japan and the U.S.
01/17/2011
Linked Articles
Paid Leave Encourages Female Employees to Stay
New York Times 07/28/2014
At Toshiba, a Pioneer for Women in Japan's Work ForceNew York Times 01/17/2011
Bringing peace to Kashmir- the elections in 2014 with a 70% turnout as ordinary Kashmiris turn to development and infrastructure building
01/01/2011
Weary of conflict a whole region turns to economic development and infrastructure building plans as the next step to a brighter future. South Asia makes a new beginning as it catches up with its neighbors in East Asia. A billion plus market extending from South Asia to Indonesia makes a new beginning in 2014. Even the Kashmir Valley hears the message- the synergy of technology, capital, human resources and good governance can pave the way to a better future that is within the reach of today's young generation of South Asians and Indonesians.
Linked Articles
Modi’s Campaign Stop in Kashmir Is Notable for Lack of Unrest
New York Times 12/08/2014
Kashmir's troubles: Shaking the mountainsEconomist 01/01/2011
Greece's referendum and the 3 year bailout of July 12, 2015- military spending, shipowners taxes, and cuts to pensions
07/10/2010
Greece's left Syriza government almost pulled the country out of the eurozone over pension cuts, even as military spending in Greece remained at 2.4% of GNP compared to close 1.4% for the EU average. Greece did not propose further cuts to military spending to bring the Greece ratio closer to that of Germany and other countries in Europe, raising questions about prudent spending. Which is why Greece sometimes has aspects of the surreal to people not just in Germany and Holland, but other parts of Europe, and outsiders. Under the reform proposal and bailout of July 12, 2015 following the "no" referendum, Greece's parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the similiar cuts in pensions from an earlier EU proposal, with cuts of $300 million to the military spending by 2016. Greek shipowners will also pay taxes under the new bailout, negotiated by Greece with France's help when the referendum had damaged relations with the rest of the EU, particularly Germany with only 10% in polls willing to support any further concessions.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 07/11/2015
The Submarine Deals That Helped Sink GreeceWall Street Journal 07/10/2010
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
Terms and Conditions | Copyright Policy | Privacy Policy | Contact Us