World Events: 2007Q4

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World Event

1-Oct-07

Espoo; Chicago, IL - Finland; U.S. - Nokia Oyj agreed to buy Navteq Corp. for $8.1 billion; Navteq provides digital map information for automotive navigation, mobile navigation, and Internet-based mapping (Nokia; Navteq). (See also: Bloomberg.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 191.92 points (1.38%), closing at a record 14,087.55 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Toronto, ON - Canada - A Toronto judge acquitted senior administrators of the blood system of all criminal charges in the "tainted blood" trial; the Red Cross had pleaded guilty to distributing contaminated blood and was fined $5,000; victims of the tainted blood were angry at the Canadian justice system (Globe and Mail). The contaminated blood infected at least 1,100 Canadians with HIV; more than two-thirds died; about 20,000 more were infected with hepatitis C (Canadian Hemophilia Society). As of 1997, about 3,000 people had died from complications resulting from receiving contaminated blood (National Post). Canadian Hemophilia Society: "This verdict sends the wrong message to those responsible for the health of the public: serious errors can be made in the manufacture, licensing and distribution of essential drugs; these errors can lead to disability and death, yet companies and individuals will not be held accountable" (Canadian Hemophilia Society).

New York, NY - U.S. - Citigroup Inc. to report a decline in net income for 2007Q3 of about 60% from 2006Q3; pre-tax credit and trading losses on loans and mortgage-backed securities estimated at $5.9 billion (Citigroup). (See also: Bloomberg, 2-Oct-07.)

Zurich; Basel - Switzerland - UBS AG to report a 2007Q3 pretax loss of between CHF 600 million and CHF 800 million, and a writedown of positions in fixed income, rates and currencies (FIRC), of around $3.4 billion, (UBS). (See also: MarketWatch; NYT.)

2-Oct-07

Toronto, ON; Cherry Hill, NJ - Canada; U.S. - TD Bank Financial Group (TD) agreed to buy Commerce Bancorp Inc. for $8.5 billion (75% stock; 25% cash) (TD Bank Financial Group; CNW). (See also: Bloomberg; TheStreet.com.)

Georgetown, CO - U.S. - 5 contractors were killed after a fire at an Xcel Energy Cabin Creek Station hydroelectric facility (Xcel Energy; Washington Post-AP, 3-Oct-07).

3-Oct-07

Elandsrand Mine - South Africa - Harmony Gold Mining Co. accident: 3,200 miners were trapped more than 1 mile underground (Reuters Africa, 4-Oct-07; Bloomberg, 4-Oct-07). (See also: Guardian Unlimited-The Guardian, 4-Oct-07.)

Frankfurt am Main - Germany - Deutsche Bank to write down $3.1 billion in loans and mortgage-backed assets; Deutsche Bank net profit in 2007Q3 to exceed EUR 1.4 billion (Deutsche Bank). (See also: AP; NYT, 4-Oct-07).

Pandharkawada, Vidarbha - India - More than 10,000 cotton farmers rallied to protest against increasing costs, decreasing incomes, and dependence on money-lenders; more than 800 farmers commited suicide since Jan-07 in Maharashtra state; more than 5,000 farmers commited suicide since 2005 in India as a consequence of indebtedness and poverty (ENS). (See also: TwoCircles.net, 4-Oct-07 and 26-Aug-07.)

4-Oct-07

Vienna - Austria - The Governing Council of the ECB kept the minimum bid rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility unchanged at 4.0%, 5.0% and 3.0% respectively (ECB).

London - U.K. - The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee kept the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 5.75% (BOE).

Kinshasa - Democratic Republic of Congo - Russian-made Antonov-26 plane owned by Africa 1 crashed killing at least 30 people (CNN International-AP). (See also: BBC News; VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters.)

Vietnam - Typhoon Lekima hit Vietname; about 400,000 people were evacuated; 55 people were killed; 16 remain missing (Al Jazeera-Agencies, 4-Oct-07; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies, 8-Oct-07). [4-Oct-07 - 8-Oct-07.]

5-Oct-07

Iraq - U.S. forces attacked a Shoa town and killed at least 25 people, including children (NYT, 6-Oct-07).

6-Oct-07

Islamabad - Pakistan - U.S.-backed President Pervez Musharraf won Pakistan's presidential election (Bloomberg; CNN International).On 5-Oct-07, as part of a power-sharing deal, President Musharraf granted amnesty to former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and others (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters). (See also: AlJazeera-Agencies.)

Waziristan - Pakistan - At least 130 pro-Taliban fighters and 45 Pakistani soldiers were killed in clashes (VOA News-AFP-Reuters). (See also: Al Jazeera-Agencies.) [6-Oct-07 - 8-Oct-07.]

7-Oct-07

Waldorf; Paris - Germany; France - German software maker SAP AG, the largest independent software firm in Europe and the 3rd largest in the world, to acquire Business Objects SA for for slightly more than 4.8 billion euros ($6.8 billion) (SAP; Business Objects). (See also: Reuters UK, 8-Oct-07; ComputerWorld, 8-Oct-07.)

Sirnak - Turkey - Rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) killed 13 Turkish soldiers; mine explosions killed 2 more; 13 people were killed by suspected PKK members on 1-Oct-07 (Bloomberg, 8-Oct-07; CNN International-AP, 8-Oct-07; Al Jazeera-Agencies, 8-Oct-07). [7-Oct-07 - 8-Oct-07.]

Zhejiang; Fujian - China - Typhoon Krosa hit China after killing 5 people in Taiwan (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies, 8-Oct-07). Krosa destroyed at least 3,500 houses; more than 1.4 million people were evacuated (China View-Xinhua, 8-Oct-07).

8-Oct-07

Santa Clara - Cuba - Cuba marked the 40th anniversary of the death of Ernesto "Che" Guevara; President Fidel Castro Ruz: "He ["Che"] was the liberator of the city of Santa Clara and the mastermind of voluntary work; he accomplished honorable political missions abroad and served as messenger of militant internationalism in East Congo and Bolivia. He built a new awareness in our America and the world. . . He still fights with us and for us" (Cuban News Agency). (Ceremonies honoring "Che" were held in Bolivia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina (Al Jazeera-Agencies). (See also: BBC; AFP.) [8-Oct-07 - 14-Oct-07.]

Samara; Baghdad; Kamaliyah; Tikrit - Iraq - Explosion, car and truck bombs killed at least 27 people (BBC News). (See also: Los Angeles Times.)

Gari Dupata - Kashmir; Pakistan - A helicopter escorting president Pervez Musharraf crashed killing 4 people, including brigadier Zahoor Ahmed (BBC; NYT, 9-Oct-07; China View-Xinhua).

Stockholm - Sweden - Mario R. Capecchi (University of Utah; Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Salt Lake City, UT, USA), Oliver Smithies (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Chapel Hill, NC, USA), and Sir Martin J. Evans, (Cardiff University; Cardiff, U.K.) won the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells" (Nobelprize.org). (See also: AP.)

Edinburgh; Madrid; Brussels; Utrecht - U.K.; Spain; Belgium; The Netherlands - Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc to take over ABN Amro Holding NV (Royal Bank of Scotland Group; BBC News; Bloomberg). The RBS group expects cost savings and revenue gains of 4.3 billion euros and a job reduction of 19,000 (Bloomberg).

9-Oct-07

Stockholm - Sweden - Albert Fert (Université Paris-Sud; Unité Mixte de Physique CNRS/THALES; Orsay, France) and Peter Grünberg (Forschungszentrum Jülich; Jülich, Germany) won the Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance" (Nobelprize.org).

Baiji; Baghdad - Iraq - Bomb attacks killed at least 34 people, including women and children (Al Jazeera-Agencies). (see also: VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters.)

10-Oct-07

Waziristan - Pakistan - At least 250 people, including Pakistani soldiers, were killed in 5 days of fighting; Pakistani F-16 fighter bombers pounded pro-Taliban areas (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies).

Detroit, MI - U.S. - United Auto Workers (UAW) launched a strike at Chrysler LLC plants (UAW; Bloomberg; MarketWatch); Chrysler has 48,000 workers, about 36,000 workers may be affected (NYT). The UAW reached a tentative agreement with the Chrysler Corporation within 6 hours (UAW; Bloomberg; BusinessWeek).

Washington, DC - U.S. - Executives from Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and other banks met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to discuss the establishment of a fund of about $100 billion to buy assets from structured investment vehicles (SIVs) (Bloomberg, 13-Oct-07; Reuter, 13-Oct-07).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The U.S. House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee passed (27 to 21) a non-binding resolution declaring the killings of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as a genocide (VOA News; RFE/RL, 11-Oct-07). H.RES.106, Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution: "The Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, resulting in the deportation of nearly 2,000,000 Armenians, of whom 1,500,000 men, women, and children were killed, 500,000 survivors were expelled from their homes, and which succeeded in the elimination of the over 2,500-year presence of Armenians in their historic homeland" (Library of Congress-THOMAS).

Stockholm - Sweden - Gerhard Ertl (Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Berlin, Germany) won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces" (Nobelprize.org).

Baikonur - Kazakhstan - Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko of the 16th International Space Station (ISS) and Malaysian spaceflight participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor crew were successfully launched in a Soyuz TMA-11 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan (NASA).

11-Oct-07

Tokyo - Japan - The Bank of Japan decided to keep the uncollateralized overnight call rate at around 0.5% (BOJ).

Thar; Baghdad; Kirkuk - Iraq - The U.S. military killed 9 children, 6 women, and 15 insurgents in the That region; a suicide bomber killed 8 people in Baghdad; a car bomb killed at least 7 people in Kirkuk (VOA News-AP).

Stockholm - Sweden - The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2007 was awarded to Doris Lessing (U.K.) - "that epicist of the female experience, who with skepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny" (Nobelprize.org).

12-Oct-07

Stockholm - Sweden - The Nobel Peace Prize 2007 was awarded jointly to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr. "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change" (Nobelprize.org).

Washington, DC - U.S. - Retired Army Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, on journalism and the Bush administration's strategy for war in Iraq: "The basic ethics of a journalist . . . 1. Seeking truth, 2. Providing fair and comprehensive account of events and issues, 3. Thoroughness and honesty. All are victims of the massive agenda driven competition for economic or political supremacy. The death knell of your ethics has been enabled by your parent organizations who have chosen to align themselves with political agendas. What is clear to me is that you are perpetuating the corrosive partisan politics that is destroying our country and killing our servicemembers who are at war. . . There has been a glaring, unfortunate, display, of incompetent strategic leadership within our national leaders. As a Japanese proverb says, "Action without vision is a nightmare." There is no question that America is living a nightmare with no end in sight." (Military Reporters and Editors.) (See also: Washington Post, 13-Oct-07; Bloomberg, 13-Oct-07.)

14-Oct-07

According to an article in The Sunday Times, Dr James Watson "is 'inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa' because 'all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really'” (Times Online-The Sunday Times). (See also: Times Online, 19-Oct-07; VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters, 19-Oct-07.)

15-Oct-07

Beijing - China - 17th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress (China View-Xinhua). (See also: VOA News; NYT; Bloomberg; Council on Foreign Relations; The Sydney Morning Herald; The Times of India.)

New York, NY - U.S. - A consortium of global banks, including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America, announced a plan to create a fund to buy up mortgage-backed debts (Bank of America). The $80-$100 billion fund, called The Master Liquidity Enhancement Conduit (M-LEC), will be used to bail out Structured Investment Vehicles (SIVs) (The Independent, 16-Oct-07). There are about 30 SIVs with assets estimated at $400 billion (WSJ, 16-Oct-07). The bailout ("the biggest bailout on Wall Street since 1998") may be a disadvantage to investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns (New York Post). (See also: Reuters; Washington Post-AP.)

16-Oct-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The price of crude oil rose to a record $87.97 per barrel as a result of tensions between Turkey and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) (Bloomberg; VOA News). (See also: CNN Money-Thomson Financial.)

Shanghai - China - Shanghai Composite Index (SSE) climaxed at 6,092.06 (Yahoo! Finance).

17-Oct-07

Washington, DC - U.S. - Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, received the Congressional Gold Medal (VOA News; U.S. Department of State).

Beijing - China - Number of students studying in Chinese universities: 25 million (China View-Xinhua).

Ankara - Turkey - Turkish parliament approved (507-to-19) cross-border military operations against the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies; NYT, 18-Oct-07). (See also: VOA News; China View-Xinhua.)

18-Oct-07

Shanghai - China - Shanghai Composite Index (SSE) lost 211.00 points (-3.50%), closing at 5,825.28 (Yahoo! Finance).

19-Oct-07

Karachi - Pakistan - Two bombs targeting former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's convoy killed at least 136 people, including about 50 of Bhutto's security staff (Bloomberg). (See also: Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies; CNN; NYT.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 366.94 points (-2.64%), closing at 13,522.02 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

22-Oct-07

Santa Barbara, San Diego, Lake Arrowhead, Malibu, Orange county, Ventura county, Agua Dulce, CA - U.S. - Wildfires killed 5 people and destroyed 2,327 structures; damages may exceed $1 billion; arson is suspected (Bloomberg, 24-Oct-07). About one million people were evacuated (VOA news, 23-Oct-07). (See also: NYT, 24-Oct-07; Los Angeles Times, 23-Oct-07.) [22-Oct-07 - 24-Oct-07.]

Doha - Osama bin Laden called on Sunni Arabs in Iraq to unite against the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq (Al Jazeera). Bin Laden: "My brethren, be careful of your enemies, particularly the hypocrites who penetrate into your ranks to spark strife among the mujahidin [Muslim fighters] groups. Those should be referred to trial" (Al Jazeera, 23-Oct-07). (See also: VOA News, 23-Oct-07; Christian Science Monitor, 24-Oct-07.)

Hong Kong - China - The HANG SENG lost 1,091.42 points (-3.70%), closing at 28,373.63 (Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

23-Oct-07

Hong Kong - China - The HANG SENG gained 1,003.23 points (3.54%), closing at 29,376.86 (Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

24-Oct-07

Sichuan - China - China launched its first lunar orbiter: The Chang'e One satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) (China View-Xinhua). (See also: VOA News; Los Angeles Times).

25-Oct-07

Shanghai - China - Shanghai Composite Index (SSE) lost 280.72 points (-4.80%), closing at 5,562.39 (Yahoo! Finance).

26-Oct-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 294.26 points (-2.14%), closing at 13,432.77 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

28-Oct-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 331.01 points (2.55%), closing at 13,289.45 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

29-Oct-07

Hong Kong - China - The HANG SENG gained 1,181.68 points (3.89%), closing at 31,586.90 (Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

30-Oct-07

Hong Kong - China - The HANG SENG climaxed at 31,638.22 (Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

31-Oct-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) climaxed at 13,930.01 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

1-Nov-07

Tokyo - Japan - The NIKKEI 225 climaxed at 16,870.4 (Nikkei; Yahoo! Finance).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 362.14 points (-2.60%), closing at 13,567.87 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

2-Nov-07

Tokyo; Hong Kong - Japan; China - The NIKKEI 225 lost 352.92 points (-2.09%), closing at 16,517.48; the HANG SENG lost 1,024.54 points (-3.25%), closing at 30,468.34 (Nikkei; Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

5-Nov-07

Hong Kong - China - The HANG SENG lost 1,526.02 points (-5.01%), closing at 28,942.32 (Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

7-Nov-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 360.92 points (-2.64%), closing at 13,300.02 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

8-Nov-07

Tokyo; Hong Kong; Shanghai - Japan; China - The NIKKEI 225 lost 325.11 points (-2.02%), closing at 15,771.57; the HANG SENG lost 948.71 points (-3.19%), closing at 28,760.22; Shanghai Composite Index (SSE) lost 271.76 points (-4.85%), closing at 5,330.02 (Nikkei; Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

12-Nov-07

Tokyo; Hong Kong - Japan; China - The NIKKEI 225 lost 386.33 points (-2.48%), closing at 15,197.09; the HANG SENG lost 1,117.68 points (-3.88%), closing at 27,665.73 (Nikkei; Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

13-Nov-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 319.54 points (2.46%), closing at 13,307.09 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Tokyo - Japan - The Bank of Japan decided to keep the uncollateralized overnight call rate around 0.5% (Bank of Japan).

14-Nov-07

Tokyo; Hong Kong; Shanghai - Japan; China - The NIKKEI 225 gained 372.93 points (2.47%), closing at 15,499.56; the HANG SENG gained 1,362.66 points (4.90%), closing at 29,166.01; Shanghai Composite Index (SSE) gained 254.57 points (4.94%), closing at 5,412.69 (Nikkei; Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

16-Nov-07

Hong Kong - China - The Hang Seng lost 1,136.78 points (-3.95%), closing at 27,614.43 (Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

21-Nov-07

Tokyo; Hong Kong - Japan; China - The NIKKEI 225 lost 373.86 points (-2.46%), closing at 14,837.66; the HANG SENG lost 1,153.02 points (-4.15%), closing at 26,618.19 (Nikkei; Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

22-Nov-07

Shanghai - China - Shanghai Composite Index (SSE) lost 230.07 points (-4.41%), closing at 4,984.16 (Yahoo! Finance).

26-Nov-07

Hong Kong - China - The HANG SENG gained 1,085.53 points (4.09%), closing at 27,626.62 (Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

29-Nov-07

Tokyo; Hong Kong; Shanghai - Japan; China - The NIKKEI 225 gained 359.96 points (2.38%), closing at 15,513.74; the HANG SENG gained 1,111.30 points (4.06%), closing at 28,482.54; Shanghai Composite Index (SSE) gained 199.94 points (4.16%), closing at 5,003.33 (Nikkei; Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

6-Dec-07

London - U.K. - The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee reduced the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves by 0.25% to 5.50% (Bank of England).

9-Dec-07

New Delhi - India - India to invest $500 billion in infrastructure over 5 years (VOA News). The Asian Development Bank (ADB) to loan India $500 million (China View-Xinhua, 14-Dec-07).

10-Dec-07

Chicago, IL - U.S. - Lord Black of Crossharbour (Conrad Black) was sentenced to 6-1/2 years in prison, fined $125,000, and ordered to forfeit $6.1 million; Black was found guilty of fraud and obstruction of justice (BBC News; National Post, 11-Dec-07). Black claims he is innocent and plans to appeal (BBC News). (See also: BBC News, 13-Jul-07.)

11-Dec-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 294.26 points (-2.14%), closing at 13,432.77 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered its target for the federal funds rate 0.25% to 4.25% (Federal Reserve Board).

12-Dec-07

Washington, DC - U.S. - Five central banks, the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve, and the Swiss National Bank adopted measures to reduce "pressures in short-term funding markets." Federal Reserve established a temporay $40 billion Term Auction Facility (TAF) scheduled for 17-Dec-07 and 20-Dec-07. (Federal Reserve Board.)

Moscow - Russia - Russia suspended the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty (VOA News-AFP-Reuters; Al Jazeera-Agencies).

14-Dec-07

Internet - Ayman al-Zawahri accused Arab leaders of betraying the Palestinians at the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, MD ((VOA News-AP-Reuters). Al-Zawahri: "The Annapolis meeting was held to turn Palestine into a Jewish state" (Al Jazeera-Agencies, 15-Dec-07).

15-Dec-07

Gaza City - Gaza - At least 300,000 rallied in support of Hamas; Hamas banner: "We will not recognize Israel" (BBC News). (See also: Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades, 16-Dec-07; VOA News.)

16-Dec-07

Turkey; Iraq - Turkish forces launched attacks against Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) bases in northern Iraq (VOA News). The U.S. is sharing intelligence with the Turkish military (Washington Post, 18-Dec-07). (See also: China View-Xinhua, 18-Dec-07.)

Moscow; Tehran - Russia; Iran - Russia started delivering enriched uranium fuel to Iran's Bushehr power plant (RIA Novosti, 17-Dec-07; BBC News, 17-Dec-07). (See also: NYT, 18-Dec-07.)

17-Dec-07

Paris - France - Investors pledged $7.4 billion in "aid" for the Palestinians over 3 years (VOA News; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies).

18-Dec-07

Frankfurt am Main - Germany - ECB allotted €348.6 billion (about $501 billion) to banks (ECB). (See also: MarketWatch.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. FY2007 results; Net revenues $45.99 billion; net earnings $11.60 billion (The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.).

Gaza City - Gaza - Israeli air strikes killed 13 Palestinians, including an Islamic Jihad commander (VOA News). Islamic Jihad vows to retaliate (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies).

19-Dec-07

Mecca - Saudi Arabia - Hajj (Day of Arafat) pilgrimage; number of pilgrims: more than 1.64 million (Arab News, 16-Dec-07). (For "Important Religious Dates in Unified Islamic Calendar," see Moonsighting.com.)

Mehrabpur - Pakistan - Train derailment kills at least 50 people (BBC News; Bloomberg). (See also: VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters.)

Time named Russian President Vladimir Putin its 2007 "Person of the Year" (Time).

20-Dec-07

New York, NY - U.S. - Bear Stearns Cos. reported a 2007Q4 loss of $854 million and net mortgage-related write downs of $1.9 billion; net income for fiscal year 2007 was $233 million (Bear Stearns). The 2007Q4 loss is Bear Stearns' first quarterly loss in 84 years (NYT; WSJ; Bloomberg).

Kanaan, Diyala - Iraq - Suicide bomb killed at least 14 people (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters).

21-Dec-07

New York, NY - U.S. - Goldman Sachs Group CEO Lloyd Blankfein's bonus for 2007: $67.9 million (MarketWatch).

New York, NY - U.S. - Bank consortium, including Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., canceled plans for the 'Super-SIV' fund, a rescue fund for mortgage backed securities (Bank of America). However, the banks kept their options open: the Master Liquidity Enhancement Conduit (MLEC) could still be revived (CNN Money; Bloomberg). Bank of America: "Recent reports show SIV assets have been steadily reduced to less than $265 billion in senior debt outstanding in early December from $340 billion at a summer peak. A continued decline is expected" (Bank of America). (See also: NYT, 22-Dec-07.)

Peshawar - Pakistan - Suicide bombing reportedly targeting former Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao, at a mosque near Peshawar, killed at least 50 people (VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters, 22-Dec-07; Guardian Unlimited-The Guardian, 22-Dec-07). (See also: NYT.)

22-Dec-07

Clarksburg, WV - U.S. - New FBI $1 billion Next Generation Identification project: to build the world's largest biometric database; the database will feature peoples' identifying physical characteristics, including digital images of faces, fingerprints, irises, palm patterns, and DNA (Washington Post).

Istanbul - Turkey - Turkish airstrikes on 16 and 22-Dec-07 killed at least 150 rebels; the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) deny Turkish claim (NYT, 26-Dec-07; VOA News, 25-Dec-06)

24-Dec-07

Alexandria - Egypt - Building collapses killing 35 people (VOA News-AFP-AP).

25-Dec-07

Baiji; Baqouba - Iraq - Suicide bombings kill at least 33 people; coalition forces killed 13 terrorists (VOA News). (See also: Los Angeles Times, 26-Dec-07.)

Lagos - Nigeria - Pipeline explosion kills at least 40 people (VOA News-AFP-Reuters, 26-Dec-07). (See also: Al Jazeera-Agencies, 26-Dec-07.)

26-Dec-07

Java - Indonesia - Landslides and floods kill at least 81 people (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters).

U.S. - The Case-Shiller price index released by Standard & Poor's indicates that home prices in 20 U.S. cities fell 6.1% since Oct-06 (MarketWatch).

27-Dec-07

Rawalpindi - Pakistan - Benazir Bhutto, former Pakistani prime minister, is assassinated; suicide bomber kills at least 20 people (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters). The assassination triggered riots (VOA News). (See also: Washington Post; CNN; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies.)

U.S. - Investment banks are being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the New York attorney general's office regarding the banks' role in the mortgage meltdown debacle (Washington Post).

Munich; Zurich - Germany; Switzerland - Munich Re: Natural catastrophes in 2007 led to 15,000 deaths, $75 billion in economic damages, and insured losses of about $30 billion; the damages in 2005 and 2006 are estimated at $220 billion and $50 billion, respectively (Munich Re Group). Swiss Re: Natural and man-made catastrophes led to more than 20 000 deaths, $61 billion in damages, and insured losses of about $25 billion (Swiss Re, 18-Dec-07). (See also: Bloomberg; MarketWatch).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 192.08 points (-1.42%), closing at 13,359.61 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

28-Dec-07

London - U.K. - The 2007 International Privacy Ranking: "2007 rankings indicate an overall worsening of privacy protection across the world, reflecting an increase in surveillance and a declining performance o privacy safeguards"; Endemic Surveillance societies include the U.S., the U.K., Malaysia, Russia, and China (Privacy International).

29-Dec-07

Internet - Osama bin Laden's audiotape: "We will not recognize even one inch for Jews in the land of Palestine as other Muslim leaders have" (Bloomberg; Al Jazeera-Agencies); "Our duty is to foil these dangerous schemes, which try to prevent the establishment of an Islamic state in Iraq, which would be a wall of resistance against American schemes to divide Iraq" (The Press Association). (See also: AFP; VOA News-AP-Reuters, 30-Dec-07.)

Cairo - Egypt - French President Nicolas Sarkozy: France would support Egypt develop civilian nuclear power plants (VOA News-AFP-Reuters).

30-Dec-07

Nairobi - Kenya - Mwai Kibaki is declared winner of Kenya's presidential race; election fraud is alleged; riots errupt and spread throughout the country; more than 100 people are killed (NYT, 31-dec-07). (See also: VOA News; Washington Post; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies, 29-30-Dec-07.) [30-Dec-07 - 31-Dec-07.]

Naudero - Pakistan - The Pakistan Peoples Party selected Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Benazir Bhutto's 19-year-old son, and Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's husband, to succeed her as co-chair (VOA News; NYT, 31-Dec-07). (see also: Dawn.)

Mogadishu - Somalia - Fighting between anti-government elements and Ethiopian forces kills at least 8 people, including children (China View-Xinhua, 31-Dec-07). (See also: Al Jazeera-Agencies).

Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka's security forces killed at least 33 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters; LTTE fighters killed killed at least 20 soldiers (Al Jazeera-Agencies). Ethinc conflict tally: 5,400 since Dec-05; more than 60,000 since 1972 (AHN, 1-Jan-08). (See also: The Hindu, 1-Jan-08; China View-Xinhua, 1-Jan-08.)

31-Dec-07

Tarmiyah - Iraq - Suicide truck bomb kills 12 people (China View-Xinhua). (See also: VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters.)

WE7Q4/6-Apr-08