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
Short termism of an interventionist U.S. Federal Reserve and the advantages of a rule based monetary policy at the Fed
08/11/2011
John Taylor and Allan Meltzer point to the risks of short termism and discretionary policies at the Fed. Taylor says a single mandate for inflation should replace the current dual mandate for both inflation and unemployment so that monetary policy can be rule based avoiding the boom and bust periods hitting the U.S. economy in the last decade, when interest rates were set too low using discretionary policy.
Linked Articles
The Dangers of an Interventionist Fed
Wall Street Journal 03/29/2012
The Folly of Economic Short-TermismWall Street Journal 08/11/2011
The June 2011 European Union plan for Greece faces strong criticism for being unworkable
07/01/2011
This plans doubles the interest rate for Greece debt owed to French and German banks under a French banking proposal. Sharp spending cuts and tax increases face opposition inside Greece and their negative impact on economic growth may leave Greece with a much larger debt to GDP ratio in 2011 than in 2010.
Linked Articles
Greece and the euro: The abuses of austerity
Economist 07/02/2011
Move Buys Time for Greece, But Growing Debt LoomsWall Street Journal 07/01/2011
The signs of slower growth in China in 2012-2015 and what this means for commodity producer countries and producer countries of high tech machinery
06/09/2011
How the slower growth will affect commodity exporters Australia, Canada, Chile, S. Africa and high tech machinery exporters like Germany and the U.S.
Linked Articles
What a China Slowdown Means for the World
Wall Street Journal 06/09/2011
In China, Sobering Signs of Slower GrowthNew York Times 03/05/2012
OPEC social programs and need to maintain high oil prices
04/18/2011
PFC Energy estimates a price of $90 at which Saudi Arabia would start cutting output to maintain a floor on oil price to support large spending programs after the democracy protests in Arab countries.
Linked Articles
Fears of a 2008 Repeat for Oil
Wall Street Journal 03/18/2012
Overheard: Oil and UnrestWall Street Journal 04/18/2011
Muni-Bond Default Estimates of $100 Billion
02/09/2011
Estimates on muni-bonds default range from the high side presented by Meredith Whitney to the more moderate estimate of $100 billion over several years by Roubini.
Linked Articles
Muni Default Estimate: $100 Billion
Wall Street Journal 03/02/2011
In Muni-Bond Ills, Danger and HopeWall Street Journal 02/09/2011
Angela Merkel's experience with the reunification of East and West Germany and her views of the eurozone crisis
01/30/2011
The perceptions of the eurozone crisis of ordinary Germans and of former East German Angela Merkel are colored by the period of reunification of the two Germany's. This was paid for with a"solidarity surcharge" tax paid by Germans amounting to $1.7 trillion and led in its early stages to 4 million unemployed in the eastern part and 20% unemployment. It took over a decade for East Germany to build new modernized industries in the larger cities of the east, but still leaves the rural parts of former East Germany in a neglected state as young peoplemoved out. During this period industry in the west also regained lost global competitiveness, especially in industries such as automobiles and advanced machinery, using wage restraint agreements with unions and increases in productivity. Germans see the need for eurozone countries in the southern part of Europe needing to make similiar sacrifices and see the tax evasion in Italy and Greece as unacceptable. The real estate bubble, the lack of transparency for banks bad loans, and out of control regional spending in Spain is also seen in a similiar light. Greece is seen as the most egregious offendor because of the bad financial accounting that grossly understated the extent of the bad loans. Less publicized in Germany is the role played in the bad loans through poor lending practices of German and French banks and that as experts have pointed out Germany was to some extent bailing out German banks when it was bailing out Greece- till German banks reduced their exposure to Greece in 2011.
Linked Articles
In former East Germany, anxious residents resent paying for Europe’s problems - The Washington Post
Washington Post 06/21/2012
Merkel's Defense of Euro Forged in East GermanyNew York Times 01/30/2011
New York Mayor Bloomberg calls for letting the Bush tax cuts expire for all income groups to address the U.S. deficit
12/16/2010
Bloomberg tells Republicans and Democrats that promoting the idea of a free lunch or getting something for nothing is delusional. He points to the road for U.S. economic recovery based on this step combined with an up or down vote on the Simpson Bowles plan in Congress.
Linked Articles
Federal Budgets and Class Warfare
Wall Street Journal 03/29/2012
Washington Taxes Own CredibilityWall Street Journal 12/16/2010
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
Stiglitz and Krugman point to the dangers in the Cameron-Osborne austerity measures in Britain
10/20/2010
Jospeh Stiglitz writing in the Guardian in 2010, at the time of the first Osborne Budget, said it was a huge gamble that the private secotr would pick up enough to make up for the impact of the budget cuts. Lower growth would mean lower tax revenues and deficit reduction targets would be missed. Krugman points out that the 490,000 job losses planned through attrition under the Osborne plan is similiar to 3 million in job losses in the U.S., a huge risk for the British economy.
Linked Articles
Britain Details Radical Spending Cuts, Citing Debt
New York Times 10/20/2010
British Fashion VictimsNew York Times 10/21/2010
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
Tan Guocheng and Yuan Yandong- migrant workers on production lines in China and change in 2010-2013
06/13/2010
David Barboza's exceptional journalism talking to production workers on assembly lines in China. Here he tells the story of Tan Guocheng and Yuan Yandong, young migrant workers on assembly lines at Honda and Foxconn in the middle of major changes in China after the first wave of urbanization.
Linked Articles
In China, Unlikely Labor Leader Just Wanted a Middle-Class Life
New York Times 06/13/2010
A Night at the Electronics FactoryNew York Times 06/18/2010
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
Campbell Soup's acquisition of Bolthouse Farms as it diversifies away from canned soup
02/22/2010
The high end juice maker provides Campbell with products in a growing market. Store brands have eroded sales of Campbell brand canned soups. Campbell also hopes to tackle a younger demographic.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 07/10/2012
Headwinds Threaten Campbell's ChargeWall Street Journal 02/22/2010
Antonis Samaras and the political opposition to harsh austerity measures in Greece- 2011-2012
07/02/2011
Antonis Samaras of the New Democracy Party opposes tax increases that will further reduce any prospects for economic growth in Greece. As opinion polls show his party passing the socialist party of prime minister Papandreou in popularity in July 2012, any future E.U. agreement for Greece will have to be negotiated with Samaras. The E.U.'s June 2011 plan for Greece faces strong criticism.
Linked Articles
Greek Opposition Slams Tax Rises
Wall Street Journal 07/05/2011
Greece and the euro: The abuses of austerityEconomist 07/02/2011
The Wall Street Journal calls the June 2011 E.U. plan for Greece "the French deception," and the Economist says it is doomed to failure
06/30/2011
Doubling the interest rate on loans owed by Greece to French and German banks is called "the French deception" by the Journal . The Economist sees the sharp spending cuts and tax increases having enough detrimental impact on economic growth to make the debt load larger than before.
Linked Articles
Greece and the euro: The abuses of austerity
Economist 07/02/2011
The French DeceptionWall Street Journal 06/30/2011
Pernambuco and other states in Brazil's northeastern region- lack of investment in public health, education and transportation services infrastructure
05/21/2011
During the boom years much of the investment, about three fourths of the growth rate of over 4%, came from infrastructure investments that supported exports of soyabeans, iron ore and other commodities to China. Under the Worker's party socialist governments that get much of their support from the northeast, this disguised the low investments in public infrastructure services for drinking water, health sanitation, public schools and transportation services. This is a problem in developing countries of Latin America, South Asia, and Africa, with some regions lagging behind in essential infrastructure services, even with high growth rates.
Linked Articles
The Brazilian Doctors Who Sounded the Alarm on Zika and Microcephaly
Wall Street Journal 01/30/2016
Brazil's north-east: Catching up in a hurryEconomist 05/21/2011
Apple's low tax rate of 9.4% on global profits
03/24/2011
Companies ranging from Apple and Google to GE pay low tax rates. The New York Times reports that corporate share of U.S. tax receipts dropped from 30% in the 1950's to 6.6% in 2009. This has a serious impact on states and local governments and the federal government as they cut essential services and education to balance their budgets or lower deficits.
Linked Articles
Apple's Tax Strategy Aims at Low-Tax States and Nations
New York Times 04/28/2012
G.E.'s Strategies Let It Avoid Taxes AltogetherNew York Times 03/24/2011
High youth unemployment and lack of economic growth in Italy
02/02/2011
Linked Articles
Italy Seeks to Spur Growth, Narrowing Gap With Peers
Wall Street Journal 07/18/2011
The Youth Unemployment BombBusinessWeek 02/02/2011
Delta Airlines's unconventional approach to high cost of aviation fuel- buying Conoco-Phillps Trainer refinery in Pennsylvania
01/18/2011
Linked Articles
Delta Warns That Higher Fuel Costs Could Erase Gains
New York Times 01/18/2011
Delta Chases Fuel's GoldWall Street Journal 04/06/2012
The prospects of a stalled economy in China as the productivity of capital deteriorates
11/23/2010
Inflation, repressed consumers, and the failure of current economic policy to produce the kind of sustainable growth China needs. One of the concerns raised before the Asian economic crisis of 1997 was the poor and declining productivity of capital in some Asian countries.
Linked Articles
New York Times 01/20/2011
Sclerosis in China's Economic VeinsWall Street Journal 11/23/2010
New York Mayor Bloomberg's call for an up or down vote on the Bowles Simpson plan in the U.S. Congress
11/15/2010
Bloomberg says the political class in the U.S. has promised a free lunch or something for nothing for too long. His two step plan to put the U.S. on the path to economic recovery includes the passage of Bowles Simpson deficit reduction plan and the step of letting the Bush tax cuts for all income groups expire.
Linked Articles
Federal Budgets and Class Warfare
Wall Street Journal 03/29/2012
Left, Right and Wrong on TaxesNew York Times 11/15/2010
The warnings on trade in 2010-2011 and sharply shifting public sentiment in the U.S. across all age, income and education groups
10/02/2010
A WSJ poll in 2010 showed that between 1999 and 2010 public sentiment had completely changed seeing trade as hurting American workers. A study by counties in the U.S. by Autor, Hanson, and Dorn showed the damage done by trade policy for American manufacturing workers. By March 2016 in the U.S. presidential election Michigan primary large gains were made by Republican and Democratic candidates opposing trade agreements including TPP negotiated by president Obama.
Linked Articles
Tallying the Toll of U.S.-China Trade
Wall Street Journal 09/27/2011
Americans Sour on TradeWall Street Journal 10/02/2010
Paul Volcker and Economists in the Squam Lake Group share concerns about the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council
06/15/2010
Volcker voiced his concern that a lot depends on how tough and vigilant a new council is with banks in the US on a day to day basis. The 10 member Financial Oversight Council was set up in the US financial reform bill of 2010. Some of the economists in the Squam Lake Group, 15 highly reputed economists in the U.S., also share this concern.
Linked Articles
Paul Volcker Pushes for Reform, and Regrets His Past Silence
New York Times 07/09/2010
15 Economists Issue Crisis-Prevention ManualNew York Times 06/15/2010
strikes and wage increases in Chinese factories and the effects on inflation..
05/29/2010
Inflation reached a high of 3.1% increase in May 2010 over the previous year according to government data. The wage increases are still to be reflected in eventual inflation. The need for stronger measures such as increasing interest rates and revaluing the currency.
Linked Articles
China Inflation Rises to a 19-Month High
New York Times 06/11/2010
Unrest May Signal New Phase in China EconomyNew York Times 05/29/2010
Chrysler-Fiat's Marchionne and his effort to turn the Jeep into a global brand
05/20/2010
Efforts to promote the new Jeep designs as a lifestyle vehicle in emerging markets where it is seen as an off road vehicle. By manufacturing locally Chrysler hopes to avoid the import duties that make it impossible for the Jeep to compete.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 03/29/2012
Many Hopes Ride on Makeover of the Grand CherokeeNew York Times 05/20/2010
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