LyrArc Article Gist
Mr. Ambani's Jio company is targeting both ends of the pyramid. It is investing $25 billion on a 5G network coming in late 2023. At the lower end a new $12 mobile phone calld JioBharat by India's largest telecom provider aims to reach 250 million people who use 2G mobile phones. Mobile phone penetration in India is about 46% in 2021, up from 17% in 2016, according to World Bank. This is largely due to the efforts of Mr. Ambani who built a 4G network from scratch and has 440 million subscribers with some of the lowest data rates in the world. The new phone has a smaller screen, physical keyboard, camera and runs on 4G. 

LyrArc Article Gist
VW and BMW show strong car sales in Germany, China and the U.S. for the first quarter of 2012, offsetting weaker sales in the rest of Europe.

LyrArc Article Gist
Jack Ewng's interview with Norbert Reithofer, CEO of BMW, in Nov. 2012. Reithofer tells Ewing about the time in 1997- 2000 when he was in charge of the BMW Spartanburg plant in the U.S. Reithofer made a list of problems and presented this to managers. Managers at the plant told Reithofer that in the U.S. the company did not have problems, it had challenges and every challenge was an opportunity. This made a deep impression on him and he sees the current problems in the European auto market in that light. BMW has an agreement with unions to cut production quickly as it did in 2008, if there is a sharp decline in the market. It will continue to invest in R&D, bring out a light weight battery powered car in 2013, and build a new factory in Brazil.

LyrArc Article Gist
Chris Wormald to be replaced by Antonia Romeo as Cabinet Secretary in Feb 2026. The only way Keir Starmer can get a new start is to be himself and follow his convictions about what is right for the nation. It means getting a new team that will help him implement a plan of action. Antonia Romeo top civil servant in Britain's Home Ministry, is given the job of Cabinet Secretary replacing Chris Wormald. This means the PM will be getting better advice on making choices for the future compared to McSweeney and Wormald, political and civil servant members from the previous team that were overawed by people in powerful positions, and did not respect people of conviction and honesty regardless of where in Labour that they came from. The future of Britain and the US, and of Europe will be build by people of honesty and conviction, common sense, and willingness to learn, not by false notions of centrist and left or right that for too long have determined the nature and sway of politics. For this to happen Starmer must look deep within himself. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
  We show her the view from Europe on Ukraine in Feb 2025. Francois Hollande leader of the Socialists in France and former president says that the United Kingdom, France and Germany must be at the forefront of genuine European security. In this long interview he answers questions from Le Monde. He says US may withdraw its 80,000 troops from Europe in NATO. This will require European forces and European nuclear deterrent. In 1966 De Gaulle's successor president Pompidou said- "France must be returned to itself. Thus we are serving Europe and preparing the re-emergence of Europe so that it can play its part. Do not imagine that we are changing sides. We are against hegemony and so do not intend to favour Soviet hegemony, nor does our attitude towards the war in Vietnam encourage Chinese hegemony in that part of the world." Hollande says if this US withdrawal of troops from NATO happens will Article 5 will then apply to Europe? Hollande's answer is "it is upto us to prepare. Even without him."   On Merz's election as Germany's leader- Hollande says we will have to broaden the geographic scope of our deterrent force. Merz has expressed interest in nuclear deterrent from partners UK and France, France having proposed to Germany a mutual nuclear deterrent under president Pompidou, a successor to president De Gaulle in the 70's. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
“My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA." European perceptions of recent happenings in the Ukraine war and the war's progression from the beginnings over three years will matter in 2025 as Europe, as Germany, France and Britain take on the role of bringing a fair peace to Europe that closes the war and does the reconstituting of defense architecture of Europe under new institutions that needed to be taken up in the 1990's after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Republicans and DJT's perception of Europe as 27 states is likely to be false. Germany and France in the 21st century may just be stepping into a role that was prepared since the formation of the European community in the 1950's with Germany and France at the core of Europe. It may surprise many that Europe just steps into this role. And with it a reconstituting of the defense architecture of Europe that needed to be done after the fall of the Berlin Wall and not left to the vagaries of free market capitalism that have created the present situation. “It was not a spontaneous reaction to interventions by Zelenskyy, but obviously a manufactured escalation,” Merz of Germany has said recently of recent White House happenings.  “My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA,” Germany's Merz says and means it even if it confounds the US, China and other nations. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
This is what former Attorney General Bill Barr has to say about Mr. Trump. "If you believe in his policies, what he's advertising as his policies, he's the last person who could actually execute them and achieve them...He does not have the discipline, he does not have the ability for strategic thinking and linear thinking, setting priorities or how to get things done in the system."

"And so you may want his policies, but Trump will not deliver Trump policies. He will deliver chaos, and if anything lead to a backlash that will set his policies much further back than they would otherwise would be."

This WSJ Editorial Board report says a lot of the work done during the Trump administration was a result of work done by the Federalist Society, Mitch McConnell, Mike Pence, Paul Ryan, other Republicans. Many of these Republicans will not support a second term or be actively involved in a second term, says the WSJ.

LyrArc Article Gist
Delicate labor relations cause nervousness at Moodys and the rating is lowered for GM in Feb 2006, for a second time.

LyrArc Article Gist
Germany's soccer coach Joachim Low spells out his strategy in the upcoming World Cup. Germany is trying to win a consecutive World Cup, a tough feat. Low says luck and outside influences can play a role, though planning will help. He describes the role of the coach in this report as a visionary, looking to the future, the contact person, special relationships with players. Kamilla Jarzina talked to Low for this interview.

LyrArc Article Gist
China's strategy for climate change action makes allowance for the need for coal as base energy, and insurance to prevent factory shutdowns from shortfalls of hydroelectric energy in drought seasons. It planned 80GW in 2024 for new coal powered plant construction. 

What should the US do? DJT and Republicans including North Dakota Governor Borghum say the US should also make some room for this in transition policy. DJT calls it "drill baby drill." Yet it is more nuanced than that, it means US will produce natural gas to supply Europe and keep gas and electricity prices down as a cost of living action. DJT knows industry has already put in plans for renewable energy production, it just won't be accelerated in ways that won't let the US economy grow. This is the rational for Alaska oil and gas and rare minerals policies shown alongside this article.

LyrArc Article Gist
This WSJ report says the use of stimulants and pills is openly discussed and visible in the fields of finance and banking, as ways to get through long hours and for making huge pay packages. It says drugs are used as a tool to optimize performance on the job particularly when it comes to entry level people in banking and finance. Leaders in finance are supposed to set the positive image role models- are they failing now, and are the practices being put in place for making health and healthy living a priority in the workplace as it is the only way to optimize performance. American history shows many leaders in business, finance, politics, the military, and government in the last 200 years- nowhere is it evident that stimulants optimize performance.

It is up to the captains of American industry and finance to set the right role models for the people working in their companies and for the Nation. 

LyrArc Article Gist
Another problem complicating sales of pickup trucks and larger suv's is that as prices of this type of used vehicle have dropped precipitiously these owners are out of equity and find it harder to come in for trade-in and purchase of new vehicles. So 1 72% zero interest plan is being offered by GM to counter this. GM has hired Citigroup to help it sell the Hummer brand.

LyrArc Article Gist
The system of using performance evaluations for "forced" or "stack" ranking of employees started with Jack Welch at General Electric. Microsoft adopted the system under Ballmer till 2013, when it decided that the need for teamwork was more important and discontinued the practice. Welch used it to get rid of "underperformers" or managers who did not conform to his requirements when he became CEO of General Electric. It was his personal style and way of bringing change to GE. The practice of "forced" ranking increases competition inside the company instead of teamwork, say managers, and leaves a lot to the caprice of individual managers. In December 2013 Ballmer facing criticism from his Board for missing some of the disruptive technologies in the information tech business and falling behind Apple and Google, sought the advice of Alan Mulally of Ford Motor Company. Mulally had to fight entrenched Japanese competitors and pull Ford out of a crisis in which even Ford's logo had been put up as collateral for loans. Meeting for 4 hours on Mercer Island in Seattle Mulally told Ballmer that he focussed on teamwork and simplifying the way Ford did things. Ballmer phased out the "forced" ranking system as one of the last major steps before he leaves Microsoft. In today's environment for tech companies of intense competition worldwide and disruptive technologies without teamwork and employees looking to come up with new and exciting products the future is surely lost. Having the "bottom" 50% of the employees compete for limited positions can be dangerous or suicidal without the dominant position in markets that GE and Microsoft had. It also makes no sense to substitute internal competition and capricious manager behaviours for teamwork. It is the responsibility of managers to do as much as possible to make good hiring decisions, and then motivate and help employees to achieve their best performance with frequent helpful feedback, and to promote teamwork. This is the lesson Ford learned through its crisis and Microsoft is now learning....

LyrArc Article Gist
Jakab warns investors about the problems in GE stock and the need to wait for more information on transformative actions.

LyrArc Article Gist
This report in the Washington Post says the cancellation of the Trump meeting with Kim Jong-un of North Korea was the result of a lack of detailed planning and lower level meetings before a top level meeting. The more that Trump mentioned "Libya" the more North Korea turned hostile leading to the cancellation by president Trump. North Korea has long seen the Libyan route where Moammar Khaddafi of Libya closed all nuclear facilities as leading to the fall of the dictator and his government.  Experts say the Trump unconventional way of diplomacy is not entirely disproven, yet this shows it has its limits in what can be accomplished. It is also one of highs and lows, moving in one direction and then in the opposite direction in a short period.