LyrArc Article Gist
A new study by the City University of New York of the largest retailers in New York city shows retail workers earn $9.50 an hour. Ony 40% of workers were full time, and over 50% were part-time, and the others being temporary workers. Lower work hours worsen the impact of low pay per hour, according to professor Stephanie Luce of the Murphy Institute of the City University of New York, the main author of the study. Only 3 of 10 workers receive health insurance with their jobs. The study is based on interviews of 436 nonunion employees at department stores, electronic stores, clothing stores, bookstores, and other retail stores, and includes stores ranging from Fifth Avenue to the Bronx.

LyrArc Article Gist
The growth in U.S. GDP was 1.7 % in 2011, yet unemployment dropped by 0.7% in the last 12 months to 8.3% by Feb. 2012. A pickup in hiring is seen in job figures. Christina Romer gives as an explanation to the rise in unemployment in 2009 to 10%, more than expected, and the drop since then, to the overreaction of companies to the financial crisis by laying off workers and freezing hiring- with hiring picking up as conditions return to normal levels. The unemployment rate as defined is also not an accurate measure of the jobs situation, as it reflects only workers who are looking for work, and many workers drop out of the jobs market when they are discouraged especially the long term unemployed. Taking into account people who have dropped out of the labor markets the unemployment rate was 11% in Nov. 2009, according to Luce in the Financial Times- in Ezra Klein, Washington Post 12/12/2011, Wonkbook: Real unemployment rate 11%. Lawrence Katz, Harvard Labor economist also cites this as one of three jobs crises in unemployment today that need to be addressed, the other two being: foreclosures and debt, and the low number of jobs added because of automated manufacturing- in Friedman, NYT, 12/10/11, The Next First 100 Days. Explanations for the low GDP growth as unemployment declines is a likely productivity slowdown. Prof. Robert Gordon of Northwestern University, sees a slowdown in productivity. Worker output for every hour worked, how productivity is measured, increased only 0.4% in 2011 and 0.9% in the last 7 quarters, and is trending downward in the longer term. A more likely explanation is that unemployment is still at higher levels but is understated in unemployment figures....

LyrArc Article Gist
Some of the UAW union's key demands such as a 25% increase, cost of living adjustments, and other benefits leads to the settlement with Stellantis and Ford Motor Company. The 25% increase is spread out over four and half years so that the companies remain competitive.

LyrArc Article Gist
Shira Ovide shows when it comes to new iPhone 16 deals everything you need to know and how not to fall for an upgrade if you don't need one and can change the battery for battery life, or get a recent model just not the 16 at lower cost, or simply stay with your existing one. It helps cut the cost. The AI features on the 16 may not be there or not worth that much.

LyrArc Article Gist
Seniors helping seniors is the subject of this report by Clare Ansberry in the WSJ. This is a growing trend. Worker shortages increased in the home care industry during the pandemic. Now older workers such as Diane Richards, 81 years, a registered nurse, are filling some of these positions. Ms. Richards worked as a nurse for 59 years and after her husband's death decided to join Right at Home in Bend, Oregon. Some are retirees like Linda McCallum, 79 years, who are taking positions to supplement Social Security income at $20 per hour. Right at Home depends on her, as it lost half its workers during the pandemic. Over 20 years the broader workforce grew by 13%, yet the workers over 65 years working or seeking work increased by as much as 144% or 6.4 million in the US, according to the Labor Department. WSJ shows pictures of these older workers who are dependable and can relate to mobility issues, care of loved ones, need to take health medications in ways that younger workers cannot. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The resilience of Indian democracy shows in the fourth phase of the election with 70% election voter turnout for parliament. The Election Commission says 67% over all four phases with the current heat wave 45-50 degrees centigrade. 150 million more voters over 18 years will vote this time in 2024 compared to 2019. 978 million people or 70% of the population eligible to vote. And 5.5 electronic voting machines, 1 million polling stations, 15 million election workers and security personnel. Compare this to the elections for European parliament with voter turnout in 2014 of 42%, in 2019 of 51%, and expected increase in June 6-9  election to 61%. Total seats are 720 compared to 543 in India. There are 3 debates, in Maastrict, Netherlands and Brussels, Belgium, in May the last in English. With Ursula Von Der Leyen of CDU heading European People's Party, Zimmerman of Renew and Nicholas Schmit for Party of European Socialists and others. EPP met in Bucharest, Romania, PES in Florence, Italy in March, Greens in Lyon, France. Issues in EU Climate change, Security policy, Economy, Migration and Borders. In India issues are Vikshit Bharat 2047 modernization effort, State governance leakage of funds intended for development, Security, Backward Caste development. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Mead on Greenland and DJT at Davos- he says in WSJ that Europe and US have a lot in common. From the way the media handled it it played right into Mette Frederiksen of Denmark's effort to portray the US in a colonial light when the colonial power on record is Denmark which followed the British, the Dutch and the Spanish in setting up colonial empires, but just failed to compete and sold off its colonies one by one to the US or traded it for territory. Denmark has along dispute with Germany on Schlewig-Holstein. Germany's Merz avoided the rhetoric and his foreign minister Wadephul emphasized importance of Greenland for security of Europe and indirectly of the eastern seaboard of the US. Germany and Italy meet Feb 12 and both coungries will work with the US. Britain's Starmer joined the Nordic countries in protest with its own colonial record providing some of the darkest hours for China during the Opium Wars. Farage and Conservatives see Greenland would be best in US control for US and European security. This means much of Europe is still with the US on the Greenland issue though misrepresentations of the US position by Denmark and many Democrats continue because of a certain inveterate opposition to DJT, with no mention of Admiral Robert Peary's discoveries in north of Greenland in the 1890's (for US Navy), and Democrat Harry Truman's offer of $100 million for Greenland in 1947, going back to Secretary of State Seward's effort to add Greenland to the Alaska Purchase in 1867. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
WSJ Quiz on data centers- test your knowledge. Does China have the most data centers? No the US with 4000, followed by Britain with 515 and Germany with 500 showing that China is not in the AI craze the way the US is even though the idea of the US falling behind in AI is used to get trillions of dollars in AI funding. This only means infrastructure that is dilapidated and broken in the US will not be replaced, and that the US plan to reindustrialize to get jobs will lack funding as dollars are diverted from these essential and vital needs to AI. Eventually Asian countries with new infrastructure will find ways to get that US technology without having to pay for it. The American public will be paying for this AI craze. We at Lyrarc.com checked how many data centers China has built? The number is 250 data centers are operational and note this in the MIT Technology Review it says 80% of these data centers are not being used, there is 80% overcapacity in China. Because China's AI such as Deep Seek is designed so that it uses less computing power. What this means is that only the US will put over 3 times the combined data centers put in by China, UK and Germany for AI and US will put in 16 times the data centers China has put in. As China only needs or is using 20% of its 250 operational data centers or 50 data centers the US is putting in 80 times the data center capacity China is using in 2026. Why 80 times? Because China has a Plan and it can manage the supply to the need or demand. In the US each company is trying to put so many in so it can get the leadership position in the market. For example Amazon puts in $200 billion instead of the $100 billion it can afford simply to be in the leadership ranks. There is much wasteful spending in the US market system than China's coordinated effort in a new technology even though ideologues like to say the US system is superior, and a plan by the state is frowned upon in the US, costing the US dearly when it lost its entire manufacturing base to China while economists said everything was OK. Even the WSJ Quiz fails to ask the question we asked about China and how many data centers China has actually made operational, how much is overcapacity- 250 datacenters and 80% overcapacity. Showing how little the public knows and even WSJ has looked into, giving a few companies such as Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and others the freedom to spend in a reckless way so that future infrastructure investments and reindustrialization investments will be crowded out in the US economy. And economists as usual will say its OK. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The first of four German IRIS air defense systems shipped to Ukraine. The systems can protect an entire city from missiles approaching at altitude of upto 12 kilometres and a distance of upto 40 kilometres. It is designed to quickly boster air defense of Ukraine.

LyrArc Article Gist
UK student survey shows 49% of students have  financial issues affecting their diet, missing meals or not having enough food or poor quality of food. It also shows 55% have financial issues that affect their mental health. Loans were falling short of covering living costs by 582 pounds a month in 2023, it was 439 pounds in 2022. Maintenance loans for students increased by only 2.8% in 2023-24 in Britain,for a maximum of 9978 pounds a year outside London. Shown here is an engineering student who gets up at 4am to do a supermarket shift, a law student who works 20-25 hours a week as a receptionist and missing one third of her lectures.

LyrArc Article Gist
Biden gives a rousing call to the Nation, on what he has achieved for America and its workers and families, for the people of 51 states, and what the tasks are for the future to 2035. It surpasses the State of the Union address 2024 in the vigor and importance of his message, 76 days before a national election to decide the future of the Nation and the World. Key parts of the speech selected by Lyrarc, on Infrastructure above and Manufacturing here with 800,000 new Manufacturing jobs created. "Because of you and so many electeds out there, American manufacturing is back. Where the hell does it say we wouldn’t lead the world in manufacturing. Eight-hundred-thousand new manufacturing jobs. Our Republican friends and others made sure they’d go abroad to get the cheapest labor. We used to import products and export jobs. Now we export American products and create American jobs, right here in America, where jobs belong. With every new job, with every new factory, pride and hope is being brought back to communities throughout the country that were left behind. You know you’re from it, many of you. You know what it’s like when that factory closed where your mother, your father, your grandmother, grandfather worked. And now you’re back, providing once again, proving that Wall Street didn’t build America, the middle class built America, and unions—unions—built the middle class.  It’s been my view since I came to the Senate and that’s why I’m proud to have been the first President to walk a picket line and be labeled the most pro-union President in history. And I accept it. That’s a fact. Because when unions do well, we all do well.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
About 14 million people or 16% of Turkey's population is in the earthquake zone. Much of the area is in rubble and people say there is not the equipment and support to find family members trapped in the damaged buildings. Millions are homeless, sleeping in tents, cars, and next to open fires in the wintry cold, says this report in WSJ. Criticism is mounting says this report that the response in the first 48 hours was slow and uncoordinated leading to loss of lives. Turkey which faces 200 earthquakes above magnitude 4 each year has faced earthquakes before, and knew that one like that in 1999 could happen again.

LyrArc Article Gist
Paletta, Hilsenrath and Solomon give an exceptional journalism report on the silence and tension in the room at the meeting on Monday, October 13, 2008, at 3.00 pm in the Treasury building. It was an historic meeting between Treasury Secretary Paulson, Fed chairman Bernanke, and FDIC chairwoman Sheila Bair on one side, and the head of America's leading banks on the other side. The situation was explained, the bankers asked questions, bankers were not allowed to negotiate, and at one point Bernanke had to intervene saying there was no need for this meeting to have a confrontational tone. Wells Fargo's Kovacevich asked why banks had to accept a capital injection. Kenneth Lewis of Bank of America softened the tone of the meeting by saying that "any one of us who doesn't have a healthy fear of the unknown isn't paying attention." Even before the meeting an anxious John Mack of Morgan Stanley asked Paulson for the reason for the meeting and Paulson told him, "come on down, you will be pleased." John Mack who had fought so many rumors of the firm's demise, was surely pleased with the $10 billon injection of capital in Morgan Stanley by the government in return for preferred share and a dividend of 5%, which helped assure markets about Morgan Stanley's future. Goldman Sach's also received $10 billion. The meeting was ended at 4.30pm. Before this Timothy Geithner, head of the New York Fed, acting as the point man went around handing each CEO a term sheet with a place to sign. Another meeting was setup for 6.30 pm and at that time all the term sheets were returned - and all were signed. There was no meeting. Treasury officials and Fed officials and others had hoped that the intervening time would give CEO's a time to talk to their boards, to think things over, and clear their heads. In a few hours the government took preferred shares in the nation's leading banks and injected $125 billion into the largest banks. Treasury injected $25 billlion in Bank of America, Citigroup, and JP Morgan Chase, And between $20 and $25 billion in Wells Fargo, and $3 billion in Bank of New York Mellon, and $3 billion in State Street. Another $125 billon would be injected into other smaller banks in coming days. Officials at Treasury, Fed and FDIC and other government officials hoped this would give a "confidence shock" to the nation's banking system. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
This WSJ report on Elon Musk of Tesla shows him neglecting a healthy lifestyle and not paying enough attention to needed sleep and nutrition. Since taking over Twitter the 51 year old Musk is working even longer hours from 80 hours to 120 hours a week, says this WSJ report. This type of hectic lifestyle is not productive in the quality of work and comes with a personal cost to health. Musk's acquisition of Twitter acts as a serious distraction from running electric car maker Tesla.

LyrArc Article Gist
By August 6, Britain had 16 gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze medals at the 2012 Olympics in London, more than any nation except the U.S. and China. Andy Murray won the Olympic gold medal in tennis defeating Federer in straight sets. Britain won gold medals in cycling, sailing, long distance running. Runner Mo Farah won the 10,000 metre race. At one point Britain won three medals in one hour in track and field events as Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Farah won gold.

LyrArc Article Gist
Daniel Henninger of the WSJ says the state of opinion that asks does it matter, about the terrorist attack on Benghazi, is misplaced. He watched the movie "13 Hours" on what happened at Benghazi, and says a terrorist group had made plans to attack the American consulate, the depiction in the movie fairly accurate, and the Obama White House version with the 2012 election in two months not accurate. Henninger cites the indictment by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia of Abu Khatallah. In June 2014 Khatalla was captured by Special Forces for the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. The indictment says Khatallah and militias "launched a violent attack on the U.S. mission on Sept. 11, at 11.15 pm.." following this up with an attack on the CIA annex.

LyrArc Article Gist
Yale University's Robert Shiller quotes Thomas Jefferson from a letter written in 1820, where he said about the passions in the North and South about extending of slavery to the Missouri territory: "this momentous question, like a fire bell in the night, awakened and filled me with terror." He says there are serious consequences of letting longterm unemployment continue. He cites a proposal by Edmund Phelps, Nobel prize winner in economics from Columbia University, which would have the government give a subsidy of $4.50 an hour for the lowest paid workers, with declining amounts till they earn $15 an hour. This proposal would cost about $150 billion and be aimed at reducing income inequality and making these lower paid jobs attractive. Other proposals for reducing unemployment are to use work-sharing on a national basis with government help.

LyrArc Article Gist
According to a report from China's Environment Ministry for the first half of 2013, only 4 cities met the acceptable air quality standards. The national grade 2 standard in China is for 35 micrograms per cubic meter for levels of airborne particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrograms in diameter. WHO standard is for 25 micrograms per cubic meter in a 24 hour period. The 4 cities with acceptable air qualty out of 74 cities monitored by the Environment Ministry are Lhasa in Tibet, island city Haikou, coastal town Zhoushan, and Pearl River Delta city of Huizhou.

LyrArc Article Gist
DJT and Putin talk for 1 hour on February 12, 2025, on the phone and agree to hold talks to end the Ukraine War. He also talks to Zelensky of Ukraine following the talk with Putin. In this video DJT says he feels that Putin wants to end the war, Zelensky wants to end the war, and he wants to end the war. The talks will be continued on the phone, at a meeting in Saudi Arabia, and by visits of the two leaders to the US and to Russia. DJT says he agrees with Defense Secretary Hegseth that the war settlement will not include Ukraine joining as a member of NATO. The Munich Security Conference is Feb 14-16, 2025.

LyrArc Article Gist
Efforts to bring better wages and conditions to fast food business  through a law passed by Governor Newsom in California, to bring upward mobility and integration into the mainstream of society for millions of American families and children being opposed by McDonald's and Starbucks. Current wages are $15 a week which would bring a typical fast food worker $30,000 a year for a 40 hour week for 50 weeks. The poverty level for a family of five is $32,470 on the Healthcare.gov site for the USA. Are fast food business corporations saying that children of these families should be kept forever at below the poverty level set by the American government? Why? Are they saying that labor is subordinate to capital? Are they then going to go further to say that upward mobility shall forever be denied to millions of children in these families? On what grounds? Republicans say they are the party of Lincoln. Something more- What did Lincoln fight the Civil war for? The plantation economy of the South also denied labour and children of labour the rights of upward mobility. How did Lincoln win the civil war? By speaking up for the rights of free men everywhere in a land of abundant land and new future. "This is essentially a People's contest. On the side of the Union it is a struggle for maintaining in the world, that form and substance and government, whose leading object is to elevate the condition of men- to lift artificial weights from all shoulders- to clear the path of laudable pursuit for all- to afford all, an unfettered start, and a fair chance in the race of life. Yielding to partial, and temporary departures, from necessity, this is the leading object of the government for whose existence we contend." July 4, 1861, Special Message to a special session of the US Congress. "Our adversaries have adopted some Declarations of Independence; in which unlike the old one, penned by Jefferson, they omit the words " all men are created equal."  Why? They have adopted a temporary national constitution, in the preamble of which unlike our  good old one signed by Washington, they omit "We, the People" and substitute "We, the deputies of the sovereign and independent States." Why? Why this deliberate pressing out of view, the rights of men and the authority of the people?"   ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The moon landing by Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969 after takeoff on July 16 and a 195 hour journey. Armstrong said as he stepped out on the moon: "That's one small step for man, and a giant leap for mankind." The last nine miles of descent in a spacecraft that separated from the Apollo 11 lunar module with Aldrin and Armstrong were the most risky. Armstrong manually guided the craft to its landing spot during the last couple of hundred feet.

LyrArc Article Gist
Boeing's goal is to make 10 Dreamliners a month by late 2013. The current rate is 2 per month, which Boeing hopes to move up to 2.5 a month by November 2011, and 3.5 a month by early Spring. Boeing CEO, McInerney, says it will take a few years before each Dreamliner turns a profit. He expects this will happen before 2020. The large investment during this decade should see returns in terms of an annuity for 25-35 years, said McInerney. The Dreamliner is the first jetliner to be made largely of plastic-composite materials, in place of aluminium. To build the Dreamliner Boeing had to accomplish what McInerney calls "game-changing innovation," and at the same time achieve improvements in production techniques. Jim Albaugh, head of Boeing's Commercial Airplanes division, says the next step is to take what takes an hour and half to assemble and bring this down to 15 minutes. This will help meet a long backlog of orders. Boeing has 820 orders for the Dreamliner as of Sept. 2011. The first Dreamliner was delivered on Sept. 26, 2011, to All Nippon Airways....

LyrArc Article Gist
This report on Bangladesh politics and economy is from The Guardian July 14, 2019. In 2009 the Awami League party under Sheikh Hasina contested the election in a Grand Alliance with Gen. Ershad's Jatiya Party winning an absolute majority of the seats. Since then Sheikha Hasina has been prime minister through 4 elections maintaining economic growth through the garment industry till the pandemic and disrupted supply chains hit Bangladesh hard leading to its debt burden doubling in 3 years. This led to turning to the IMF in 2022  with reserves down to $23 billion and student protests over lack of jobs. A second wave of protests led to her ouster in August 2024. This report by Derek Brown in The Guardian shows the changing situation in Bangladesh in the 1980's and 1990's after independence in 1971 following the India-Pakistan 1971 war. Zia Khaled of the BNP and Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League were alternately in power with periods of rule by the Army under Ershad contesting elections as the Jatiya party when the two parties failed to govern effectively. This went on from 1996 till 2009 when Sheikh Hasina began what would be four terms in office for 15 years. The economy was improving by 2019. And then Covid hit - the pandemic had serious effects on the foreign exchange reserves of Bangladesh, Sri Lankan and Pakistan economies. Only in India with the efforts of prime minister Modi was the economy put on a sustained growth path, corruption prevented by the personal example of Modi's leadership, and a state led development focus achieved using the example Modi had set in Gujarat as its chief minister for 15 years. The rest of South Asia lacked such firm and decisive leadership that is similar in its focus to the transformation of first Japan and China into leading industrialized nations.  In 2022 Bangladesh followed Sri Lanka and Pakistan in going to the IMF. By 2023 the foreign exchange reserves had declined to $23 billion. In 2024 to $19 billion. Garment economy dependent Bangladesh was seeing the effects of supply chain disruption and decrease in earnings from exports. In 2024 student protests on joblessness and frustration at economic prospects led to the ouster of the Hasina government.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Debate in Germany over whether there should be exception to the minimum wage agreement of 8.50 euros per hour. The head of the federal employment agency, Heinrich Alt, says a universal minimum wage would reduce incentives for young people to join vocational training. The new labor minister, Social Democrat Andrea Nahles, says "there will be no exceptions, notwithstanding all the escape fantasies." The Social Democrats insisted on the minimum wage to win support from rank and file working class members after losing support in its own base with the increase in the low wage sector in Germany. Unemployment in Germany is less than 5%, but this comes with an increase in lower wage workers as part of the reforms under the Social Democrat Schroeder administration when unemployment was close to 10%. Economists say the increase in wages would increase weak consumer spending in Germany and increase imports from other eurozone countries. In 2011 the share of the German population making less than the new minimum wage of 8.50 euros an hour, according to the German Institute for Economic Research, is- for former East Germany 27%, for former West Germany 15%, for ages under 24 years 44%, for ages 25 to 60 years 15%. This does not affect the manufacturing sector in East Germany as wages in the sector are above 8.50 euros. The other problem is that wages appear to be declining in Germany, with wages decreasing by 0.3% in October 2013, according to the Federal Statistical Office. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Getting to bed early by 9-10 pm and getting 8-9 hours sleep is becoming a trend for young people and young professionals. This is an effort to live healthy lives by getting better sleep. It means most professionals skip late dinners, winding up outside activity by 7 pm.