World Events: 2008Q1

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World Event

1-Jan-08

Nairobi - Kenya - Mob torched a church killing up to 50 people; more than 250 people were killed in 2 days (NYT, 2-Jan-09). (See also: VOA News-AFP-Reuters; CNN International; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies.)

2-Jan-08

New York, NY - U.S. - Crude oil futures hit a record $100/barrel (MarketWatch, 2-Jan-07; Bloomberg, 3-Jan-07).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 220.86 points (-1.67%), closing at 13,043.96 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Baghdad - Iraq - Suicide bomber kills at least 32 people (Al Jazeera-Agencies).

3-Jan-08

IA - U.S. - US presidential campaign: Iowa caucuses' winners: Barack Obama defeated Hillary Clinton; Mike Huckabee defeated Mitt Romney (NYT, 5-Jan-08; WSJ, 5-Jan-08; Los Angeles Times, 5-Jan-08). (See also Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies, 5-Jan-08.)

Diyarbakir - Turkey - Car bomb kills 5 people, including children; authorities blame Kurdish separatists (Christian Science Monitor, 5-Jan-08). (See also: Al Jazeera-Agencies, 4-Jan-08.)

4-Jan-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 256.54 points (-1.96%), closing at 12,800.18 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Tokyo - Japan - The NIKKEI 225 lost 616.37 points (-4.03%), closing at 14,691.41 (Nikkei; Yahoo! Finance).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve will conduct 2 auctions through its Term Auction Facility (TAF): $30 billion on 14-Jan-08; and $30 billion on 28-Jan-08 (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System).

6-Jan-08

Baghdad - Iraq - Violence killed more than 30 people, including 2 leaders of U.S.-backed neighborhood militias (Awakening Councils) (NYT, 8-Jan-08). (See also: CNN International, 8-Jan-08; AP, 8-Jan-08.) [6-Jan-08 - 7-Jan-08.]

8-Jan-08

NH - U.S. - US presidential campaign: New Hampshire primaries: Hillary Clinton defeats Barack Obama; John McCain defeats Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee (TIME; Bloomberg).

Caracas - Venezuela - President Hugo Chávez to nationalize Electricidad de Caracas, controlled by AES, and CANTV, owned in part by Verizon Communications (WSJ, 4-Aug-08).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 238.42 points (-1.86%), closing at 12,589.07 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Diyala - Iraq - U.S. and Iraqi troops kill 60 Sunni insurgents (Washington Post, 15-Jan-08). [8-Jan-08 - 14-Jan-08.]

9-Jan-08

Geneva - Switzerland - The World Economic Forum released Global Risks 2008. Emerging issues in global risk include: Systemic financial risk; food security; supply chain vulnerability; and energy. Top concern: High likelihood (>20%)-high severity (>$1 trillion) of an "asset price collapse." (World Economic Forum-Citigroup-Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC)-Swiss Re-Wharton School Risk Center-Zurich Financial Services.)

10-Jan-08

Baghdad - Iraq - U.S. air force bombs targets south of Baghdad killing 21 Al-Qaeda fighters (AFP, 11-Jan-08). (See also: Washington Post.)

Lahore - Pakistan - Suicide bomber targets the police near the Lahore High Court killing at least 24 people, including 22 policemen (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies). (See also: Washington Post, 11-Jan-08; NYT, 11-Jan-08.)

New Delhi - India - Tata Motors showcases the Nano - the world's cheapest car ($2500) - at the New Delhi Auto Expo (Tata Motors; VOA News).

London - U.K. - The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves unchanged at 5.50% (Bank of England).

11-Jan-08

Beijing - China - People's Bank of China: China's foreign exchange reserve climbed to $1.53 trillion by yearend 2007 (up 461.9 billion, or 43.3%) (China View-Xinhua).

Beijing - China - General Administration of Customs (GAC), Ministry of Commerce, released China's trade surplus statistics for 2007: Total surplus climbed to a record $262.2 billion (up 47.7%); surplus with the US was $163.3 billion (up 19%); surplus with the European Union was $134.3 billion (up 46%) (China View-Xinhua; Al Jazeera-Agencies).

Charlotte, NC - U.S. - Bank of America Corporation to purchase Countrywide Financial Corp. in an all-stock transaction valued at about $4 billion (Bank of America). (See also: Washington Post; WSJ.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 246.79 points (-1.92%), closing at 12,606.30 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

New York, NY - U.S. - Gold futures topped $900/ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange (MarketWatch; Bloomberg; China View-Xinhua, 12-Jan-08).

12-Jan-08

Uruzgan - Afghanistan - Dutch soldiers shoot at and kill by mistake 2 other Dutch soldiers and 2 Afghan soldiers (VOA News-AP, 13-Jan-08).

13-Jan-08

Hong Kong - China - Thousands (20,000 according to organizers) protest Beijing's decision to delay full democracy in Hong Kong (VOA News-AFP-AP).

14-Jan-08

Mohmand - Pakistan - Pakistan military killed 23 Islamic militants, lost 7 troops (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters).

Narathiwat - Thailand - Islamic separatists ambush and kill at least 8 soldiers (VOA News).

Kabul - Afghanistan - Taliban attackers kill at least 6 people, including an American, at a hotel in Kabul (NYT; Los Angeles Times).

15-Jan-08

New York, NY - U.S. - Citigroup reported net income of $3.62 billion in FY2007, after pre-tax write-downs of about $18.1 billion in the 4th quarter; Citigroup raised $12.5 billion via private placement of convertible preferred securities (Citigroup). Investors include Saudi Arabian prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Singapore's government, the state of New Jersey, Sanford Weill, Capital Research Global Investors, Capital World Investors, and Kuwait Investment Authority (MarketWatch).

New York, NY - U.S. - Merrill Lynch to raise $6.6 billion via mandatory convertible preferred stock in private placements to long-term investors, including Korean Investment Corporation, Kuwait Investment Authority, and Mizuho Corporate Bank (Merrill Lynch). (See also: MarketWatch; Al Jazeera-Agencies.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 277.04 points (-2.17%), closing at 12,501.11 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Gaza Strip - Israeli forces mount an incursion into the Gaza Strip and kill at least 17 Palestinians, including 3 civilians (VOA News).

Rockville, MD - U.S. - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concludes that foods from cloned animals are safe: "Meat and milk from clones of cattle, swine, and goats, and the offspring of all clones, are as safe to eat as food from conventionally bred animals"; FDA is not requiring labeling of foods from cloned animals (FDA). (See also: Washington Post; Los Angeles Times.)

Abu Dhabi - UAE - France to establish a military base in the Gulf (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies).

Beirut - Lebanon - Bomb blasts a U.S. embassy car and kills at least 3 Lebanese (Al Jazeera-Agencies).

Rome - Italy - Academics and students at La Sapienza are offended and humiliated by Pope Benedict XVI position on the Inquisition's condemnation of Galileo (Guardian Unlimited-The Guardian, 16-Jan-08; Los Angeles Times, 16-Jan-08; NYT, 16-Jan-08).

Waziristan - Pakistan - Islamic militants capture the Sararogha Fort; more than 20 Pakistani troops are missing (VOA News).

16-Jan-08

New York, NY; London - U.S.; U.K - Merrill Lynch survey corroborates fears of a recession: Investors are moving from equities to cash (Merrill Lynch).

Tokyo - Japan - The NIKKEI 225 lost 468.12 points (-3.35%), closing at 13,504.51 (Nikkei; Yahoo! Finance).

Hong Kong - China - The Hang Seng lost 1386.93 points (-5.37%), closing at 24,450.85 (Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

Khan Bani Saad, Dyala - Iraq - Woman suicide bomber killed 11 people near a Shia mosque (BBC News).

17-Jan-08

New York, NY - U.S. - Merrill Lynch reported a net loss from continuing operations for the full year 2007 of $8.6 billion (Merrill Lynch).

New York, NY - U.S. - The top 5 Wall Street firms, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch & Co., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc,. and Bear Stearns Cos. paid a record $39 billion in bonuses for 2007 (Bloomberg).

Tokyo - Japan - The NIKKEI 225 gained 278.94 points (2.07%), closing at 13,783.45 (Nikkei; Yahoo! Finance).

Baquba - Iraq - Suicide bomber kills 8 people close to a Shia mosque (VOA News-AFP-Reuters).

Peshawar - Pakistan - Suicide bomber kills at least 9 people at a Shia mosque (VOA News; BBC News).

London - U.K. - British Airways Plc jumbo jet (Boeing 777-200ER) crash-landed at Heathrow airport; 18 people were injured (BBC News). (See also: Bloomberg, 18-Jan-08; NYT, 18-Jan-08.)

La Jolla, CA - U.S. - Stemagen Inc. announced it is the first in the world to have created a cloned human embryo using somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) (Stemagen; Stem Cells). (See also: Washington Post; VOA News-AP-Reuters.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 306.95 points (-2.46%), closing at 12,159.21 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

18-Jan-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - President George W. Bush unveiled an "economic growth package" of temporary tax rebates for families and incentives for businesses and called on Congress to make tax relief permanent (White House); the package is worth about 1% of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), or about $145 billion (VOA News; NYT; Los Angeles Times).

Basra - Iraq - More than 40 were killed in clashes between Iraqi forces and Shia Soldiers of Heaven (Washington Post).

New York, NY - U.S. - Fitch Ratings downgraded the rating for bond insurer Ambac Financial Group from AAA to AA (Washington Post, 19-Jan-08; Bloomberg, 19-Jan-08).

19-Jan-08

NV; SC - U.S. - U.S. presidential elections: Nevada caucuses: Hillary Clinton defeated Barack Obama; Mitt Romney defeated John McCain and Ron Paul (VOA News, 20-Jan-08; Washington Post, 20-Jan-08; NYT, 20-Jan-08). South Carolina Republican primary: John McCain defeated Mike Huckabee (VOA News, 20-Jan-08; Washington Post, 20-Jan-08; NYT, 20-Jan-08).

Tal Afar; Kirkuk - Iraq - Attacks killed 9 people (VOA News-AP-Reuters, 20-Jan-08).

20-Jan-08

Anbar - Iraq - Suicide bomber killed 6 people near Fallujah (VOA News-AP-Reuters, 20-Jan-08).

Jerusalem - Israel - Israeli ministers called for the assassination of Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah (VOA News).

21-Jan-08

Tokyo - Japan - The NIKKEI 225 lost 535.35 points (-3.86%), closing at 13,325.94 (Nikkei; Yahoo! Finance).

Hong Kong - China - The Hang Seng lost 1383.01 points (-5.49%), closing at 23,818.86 (Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

Shanghai - China - The Shanghai Composite Index (SSE) lost 266.07 points (-5.14%), closing at 4,914.44 (Yahoo! Finance).

Tokyo; Hong Kong; Seoul; Bombay; London; Paris; Frankfurt; Toronto - Japan; China; Korea; India; U.K.; France; Germany; Canada - Triggered by fears of a U.S. recession, stock markets tumbled in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Bombay, London, Paris, Frankfurt, and Toronto (NYT). (See also: MarketWatch; CNN International; VOA News, 22-Jan-08.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The World Socialist Website reported that, despite record losses in 2007Q4, the five largest Wall Street banks awarded a record $39 billion in bonuses in 2007 (World Socialist Website-Bloomberg).

Ben Gurion Airport; Sriharikota - Israel; India - Israel launched spy satellite TECSAR using India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) (Haaretz, 22-Jan-08; The Times of India, 22-Jan-08). (See also: Israel Aerospace Industries; Indian Space Research Organization; Al Jazeera-Agencies.)

Al-Hajaj - Iraq - A suicide bomber killed 17 people at a funeral near Baiji (AFP; Al Jazeera-Agencies; Washington Post, 22-Jan-08).

22-Jan-08

Tokyo - Japan - The NIKKEI 225 lost 752.89 points (-5.65%), closing at 12,573.05 (Nikkei; Yahoo! Finance).

Hong Kong - China - The Hang Seng lost 2061.23 points (-8.65%), closing at 21,757.63 (Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

Shanghai - China - The Shanghai Composite Index (SSE) lost 354.69 points (-7.22%), closing at 4,559.75 (Yahoo! Finance).

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

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered its target for the federal funds rate 0.75% to 3.5%; the Board of Governors approved a 0.75% decrease in the discount rate to 4.0% (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Center for Public Integrity released "Iraq – The War Card: Orchestrated Deception on the Path to War." Center founder Charles Lewis and researchers at the Fund for Independence in Journalism identified 935 false statements by President George W. Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, Ari Fleisher, and Scott McClellan. Sample false statement made by Paul Wolfowitz: " . . . [W]e see a good deal of evidence — chemical, biological, and even nuclear — that the Iraqis are working both with their indigenous capabilities and acquiring what they can illicitly in the international market" (listed source: Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs), news briefing with Paul Wolfowitz and Peter Pace, November 21, 2001, http://www.defenselink.mil/utility/printitem.aspx?print=http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=2456). (The Center for Public Integrity.)

Hunan; Hubei - China - Accidents caused by snowstorms killed at least 25 people (China View-Xinhua, 29-Jan-08; BBC News, 29-Jan-08). (See also: China View-Xinhua, 28-Jan-08; NYT, 29-Jan-08.) [22-Jan-08 - 29-Jan-08.]

23-Jan-08

New York, NY - U.S. - New York State insurance regulators want America's biggest financial institutions to inject as much as $15billion into monoline bond insurers including MBIA Inc. and Ambac Financial Group Inc. (Financial Times, 24-Jan-08; Bloomberg, 24-Jan-08). (See also: NYT, 24-Jan-08; BBC News, 24-Jan-08.)

Davos - Switzerland - World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2008: The Power of Collaborative Innovation (World Economic Forum). Cost of attending Davos for a corporate executive: About $39,000 per invitation plus about $20,000 to attend the conference; about $230,000 per year to be invited to attend private sessions; about $412,000 for strategic sponsorship (NYT DealBook, 23-Jan-08). [23-Jan-08 - 27-Jan-08.]

Waziristan - Pakistan - Security forces killed 40 militants; 8 soldiers were killed (BBC News, 24-Jan-08; Al Jazeera-Agencies, 24-Jan-08). (See also: VOA News-AP.) [23-Jan-08 - 24-Jan-08.]

Mosul - Iraq - Explosion killed 34 people and injured more than 200 (VOA News, 24-Jan-08). (See also: VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters, Al Jazeera-Agencies.)

Tokyo - Japan - The NIKKEI 225 gained 256.01 points (2.04%), closing at 12,829.06 (Nikkei; Yahoo! Finance).

Hong Kong - China - The Hang Seng gained 2332.54 points (10.72%), closing at 24,090.17 (Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

Shanghai - China - The Shanghai Composite Index (SSE) gained 143.30 points (3.14%), closing at 4,703.05 (Yahoo! Finance).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 298.98 points (2.50%), closing at 12,270.17 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

24-Jan-08

Beijing - China - China's economy registered a 13-year record growth rate of 11.4% (VOA News).

Paris - France - Societe Generale SA uncovered an alleged case of "exceptional fraud" amounting to a loss of $7.1 billion (CNN Money-Dow Jones Newswires). (See also: BBC News; Bloomberg.)

Baghdad; Baquba - Iraq - At least 100 members of Awakening Council or Concerned Local Citizens have been killed in Dec-07 for cooperating with U.S. forces (NYT).

Mosul - Iraq - Suicide bomber killed a top police chief and 2 police officers (VOA News).

Davos - Switzerland - Bill Gates, World Economic Forum: "The challenge here is to design a system where market incentives, including profits and recognition, drive those principles to do more for the poor. I like to call this idea creative capitalism, an approach where governments, businesses, and nonprofits work together to stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or gain recognition, doing work that eases the world's inequities. . . " (Microsoft). (See also: CNET; Seattle Post Intelligencer; Los Angeles Times, 31-Jan-08.)

Tokyo - Japan - The NIKKEI 225 gained 263.72 points (2.06%), closing at 13,092.78 (Nikkei; Yahoo! Finance).

Washington, DC - U.S. - Dr. Paul Wolfowitz is appointed as Chairman of the Secretary of State’s International Security Advisory Board (ISAB) (U.S. Department of State). (See also: NYT; BBC News, 25-Jan-08.)

25-Jan-08

Nakuru - Kenya - Ethnic clashes killed at least 45 people; about 800 people have been killed since the presidential election on 27-Dec-08 (VOA News).

Pakistan - Pakistan successfully tested the Shaheen-1 (Haft IV) missile, a nuclear capable ballistic missile (VOA News-AFP-Reuters; BBC News).

Hong Kong - China - The Hang Seng gained 1583.10 points (6.73%), closing at 25,122.37 (Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

Tokyo - Japan - The NIKKEI 225 gained 536.38 points (4.10%), closing at 13,629.16 (Nikkei; Yahoo! Finance).

26-Jan-08

SC - U.S. - Barack Obama wins the South Carolina primary (Washington Post, 27-Jan-08; NYT, 27-Jan-07; CNN International, 27-Jan-08).

Rift Valley - Kenya - Ethnic clashes killed at least 20 people (VOA News-AFP-AP). (See also: NYT, 27-Jan-08; Washington Post, 27-Jan-08.)

27-Jan-08

London - U.K.; Iraq - Opinion Research Business (ORB) survey result: Approximately 1.03 million people died as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 (AFP, 31-Jan-08; Al Jazeera-Agencies, 1-Feb-08).

28-Jan-08

Phillip Swagel, Treasury Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy, U.S. Department of the Treasury: "[S]ince the end of October 2007, total equity market capitalization has fallen about $3 trillion . . . Overall, about 1.3 percent of all mortgages serviced in the Mortgage Bankers survey were more than 90 days delinquent in 2007Q3, amounting to nearly 575,000 loans. Foreclosures are expected to rise further as an estimated 1.8 million U.S. owner-occupied subprime mortgages face interest rate resets in 2008 and 2009" (U.S. Department of the Treasury).

Hong Kong - China - The Hang Seng lost 1068.76 points (-4.25%), closing at 24,053.61 (Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance)

Tokyo - Japan - The NIKKEI 225 lost 541.25 points (-3.97%), closing at 13,087.91 (Nikkei; Yahoo! Finance).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 176.72 points (1.45%), closing at 12,383.89 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Washington, DC - U.S. - President George W. Bush delivers State of the Union 2008 address (White House).

29-Jan-08

China - Severe snowstorms killed more than 50 people since 10-Jan-08 and affect about 80 million people (BBC News). (See also: China View-Xinhua, 28-29-Jan-08.)

Washington, DC - U.S. - The U.S. House of Representatives passed bill H.R.5140: To provide economic stimulus through recovery rebates to individuals, incentives for business investment, and an increase in conforming and FHA loan limits (U.S. House of Representatives).

FL - U.S. - Senator John McCain and Senator Hillary Clinton won, respectively, the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries in Florida (VOA News, 30-Jan-08).

Tokyo - Japan - The NIKKEI 225 gained 390.95 points (2.99%), closing at 13,478.86 (Nikkei; Yahoo! Finance).

30-Jan-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered its target for the federal funds rate 0.5% to 3.0%; the Board of Governors approved a 0.5% decrease in the discount rate to 3.5% (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System).

Zurich; Basel - Switzerland - UBS to write off $14 billion in losses and report a net loss of CHF 4.4 billion for 2007; the losses are related to the US sub-prime mortgage market and positions related to the US residential mortgage market (UBS). (See also: NYT.)

Washington, DC - U.S. - The House approved a $146 billion economic stimulus package (Washington Post).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened criminal inquiries into 14 companies regarding subprime mortgage fraud (NYT). (See also: FBI, 31-Jan-08.)

New York, NY - U.S. - Standard & Poor's (S&P) took action on U.S. subprime residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) ratings and CDO ratings (S&P, 30-31-Jan-08). Losses may exceed $265 billion (Bloomberg, 31-Jan-08). [30-Jan-08 - 31-Jan-08.]

31-Jan-08

Worldwide - Subprime asset writedowns and credit losses since the beginning of 2007 are estimated at $146 billion (Bloomberg).

Waziristan - Pakistan - CIA missile killed Abu Laith al-Libi, a top al-Qaeda commanders (CNN International). (See also: Los Angeles Times.)

Royal Dutch Shell reported a profit for 2007 of $31.33 billion (Royal Dutch Shell). (See also: NYT, 1-Feb-08).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 207.53 points (1.67%), closing at 12,650.36 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

1-Feb-08

Baghdad - Iraq - Two female suicide bombers killed 99 people (BBC News, 2-Feb-07). (See also: VOA News-AP-Reuters; NYT, 2-Feb-08; Al Jazeera-Agencies.)

Redmond, WA; Sunnyvale, CA - U.S. - Threatened by Google's dominance of the Web, Microsoft proposes to acquire Yahoo! for $44.6 billion (Microsoft; Yahoo!). (See also: Bloomberg; NYT.)

Irving, TX; San Ramon, CA - U.S. - Oil profits for 2007: Exxon Mobil, $40.61 billion (an all time record) (Exxon-Mobil); Chevron, $18.69 billion (Chevron), (See also: NYT; Houston Chronicle.)

2-Feb-08

Dambulla - Sri Lanka - Bomb attack kills at least 20 people; the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelan (LTTE) rebels are blamed (China View-Xinhua). (See also: Washington Post-Reuters; The Hindu.)

3-Feb-08

Rwanda ; Democratic Republic of Congo - Earthquake killed at least 39 people (VOA news-AFP-AP).

Colombo - Sri Lanka - Female suicide bomber killed at least 11 people (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters).

4-Feb-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - President Bush unveils the FY 2009 budget: A record $3.1 trillion, including $515.4 billion for the Pentagon, and a $150 billion economic stimulus package; Bush also requested an extra $70 billion for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (VOA News, 4-5-Feb-08). (See also: The White House; Washington Post, 5-Feb-08.)

Tokyo - Japan - The NIKKEI 225 gained 362.54 points (2.69%), closing at 13,859.70 (Nikkei; Yahoo! Finance).

Hong Kong - China - The Hang Seng gained 908.50 points (3.77%), closing at 25,032.08 (Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

5-Feb-08

Iran - Iran launches the Explorer-1 rocket (IRNA, 6-Feb-08; VOA News). (See also DefenseNews.com-AFP, 6-Feb-08.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The U.S. service sector contracted trigerring recession fears (Yahoo! Finance-AP).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 370.03 points (-2.93%), closing at 12,265.13 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance). NASDAQ lost 73.28 points (-3.08%), closing at 2,309.57 (NADAQ; Yahoo! Finance).

U.S. - Super Tuesday's Democratic winners: Barack Obama (13 states); Hillary Clinton (9 states); Republican winners: John McCain (9 states); Mitt Romney (7 states); Mike Huckabee (5 states). (See CNN-Election Center 2008; NYT-Election Guide 2008.). (See also: VOA News, 6-Feb-08; Washington Post, 6-Feb-08.)

AL; MS; AR; TN; KY - U.S. - Tornadoes killed at least 55 people (NYT). (See also: VOA News, 6-Feb-08).

Gaza - Following a suicide bombing that killed one woman in Israel, Israeli forces attacked two targets in Gaza, including a Hamas police station, and killed 9 people (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters).

6-Feb-08

Tokyo - Japan - The NIKKEI 225 lost 646.26 points (-4.70%), closing at 13,099.24 (Nikkei; Yahoo! Finance).

Hong Kong - China - The Hang Seng lost 1339.24 points (-5.40%), closing at 23,469.46 (Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

Waziristan - Pakistan - Military helicopter crashed killing 8 officers, including a top military commander (VOA News).

7-Feb-08

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 5.25% (Bank of England).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The U.S. Senate approved a $168 billion economic stimulus package (NYT). Key characteristics of the package: It is temporary, broad-based, and will inject money into the U.S. economy quickly (U.S. Department of the Treasury). See H.R. 5140: Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008 -- a bill to provide economic stimulus through recovery rebates to individuals, incentives for business investment, and an increase in conforming and FHA loan limits (Library of Congress-THOMAS). (See also: VOA News.)

Beit Hanoun - Gaza - Israeli troops killed at least 7 Palestinians, including a school teacher (VOA News).

Port Wentworth, GA - U.S. - Explosion and fire at an Imperial Sugar plant killed 3 people and injured at least 62; 3 people are missing (CNN, 8-Feb-08). (See also: NYT, 8-Feb-08).

Iraq - U.S. forces killed 8 suspected terrorists (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters). [7-Feb-08 - 8-Feb-08.]

8-Feb-08

Caracas - U.S.; U.K.; Netherlands; Caribbean; Venezuela - Exxon Mobil won a $12 billion injunction against Venezuela over breach of contracts (Bloomberg; CNN Money-Investor's Business Daily, 9-Feb-08; MarketWatch, 9-Feb-08; Los Angeles Times-Reuters, 9-Feb-08). Venezuela vows to fight back accusing Exxon of "judicial terrorism" (Bloomberg). The U.K. injunction was secured on 24-Jan-08 (Bloomberg).

Washington, DC - U.S. - Federal Reserve to offer $30 billion in 28-day credit through its Term Auction Facility (TAF) on 11-Feb-08 (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System).

9-Feb-08

Charsadda - Pakistan - Suicide bomb attack killed at least 16 people (VOA News).

Tokyo - Japan - G7 finance ministers meeting (VOA News-AFP).

KS; LA; NE; WA - U.S. - U.S. presidential election caucuses results: Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton in Nebraska, Washington, and Louisiana; Mike Huckabee beat John McCain in Kansas (NYT; MarketWatch; Al Jazeera-Agencies, 10-Feb-08).

Frankfurt - Germany - WestLB is bailed out with a $7.2 billion injection (NYT).

10-Feb-08

North Waziristan - Pakistan - Pre-election suicide bomb attack killed at least 25 people (China View-Xinhua; AFP, 11-Feb-08).

11-Feb-08

Baghdad - Iraq - Two car bomb attacks killed at least 15 people (VOA News-AFP-Reuters).

12-Feb-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - Six of the largest financial institutions, representing 50% of the mortgage market, announce Project Lifeline. Project Lifeline is part of the HOPE NOW alliance; according to Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr., it is "an important new initiative, targeted to reach not only subprime borrowers, but all 90-day delinquent homeowners nationwide" (U.S. Department of the Treasury).

New York, NY - U.S. - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway unveiled a proposal to reinsure $800 billion of municipal bonds guaranteed by Ambac Financial Group, MBIA Inc., and FGIC Corp.; the plan does not cover collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) (MarketWatch). (See also: Washington Post, 16-Feb-08.)

Damascus - Syria - Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh is assassinated; Sheikh Nasrallah blamed Israel for the assassination and declared "open war" on Israel; Israel denied involvement (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters, 14-Feb-08; BBC News, 15-Feb-08; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies, 15-Feb-08).

13-Feb-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - President Bush Signs H.R. 5140, the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 (White House).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 178.83 points (1.45%), closing at 12,552.24 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

14-Feb-08

DeKalb, IL - U.S. - A "revered" graduate of Northern Illinois University killed 6 students, including himself (Northern Star; NYT, 16-Feb-08; Los Angeles Times, 16-Feb-08).

15-Feb-08

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

16-Feb-08

Parachinar - Pakistan - Suicide bomber killed at least 37 people following an election rally (VOA News; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies).

17-Feb-08

Arghandab - Afghanistan - Suicide bomber killed 80 people (VOA News; Washington Post-AP), including an anti-Taliban commander (Washington Post-AP).

Pristina - Kosovo - Kosovo declares its independence from Serbia (VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters); both Russia and Serbia oppose the secession (VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters, 16-Feb-08).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The CIA reportedly shut down 10 out of 12 front companies it set up to spy on terrorists and unconventional weapons proliferators (Washington Post).

Cairo - Egypt - Failed experiments with Arabism, socialism, and nationalism, under uncaring corrupt Arab governments, are being replaced with Islamic religiosity and fundamentalism (NYT).

London - U.K. - The U.K. government to nationalize temporarily Northern Rock PLC, one of the U.K.'s largest mortgage lenders (BBC News; Bloomberg; MarketWatch).

China - In China, a college degree no longer puts you in "elite circles"; according to a study by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences published in Jan-08, only about 75% of students that graduated in June found jobs by year-end (Los Angeles Times).

Chino, CA - U.S. - 143 million pounds of ground meat were recalled at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company (ENS; HSUS, 18-Feb-08); the recall, ordered by the USDA, was in response to HSUS investigation providing evidence of cruelty to downed animals (HSUS; USDA).

18-Feb-08

Spin Boldak, Kandahar - Afghanistan - Bomb attack targeting Canadian troops killed at least 37 people (CBC News-AP). (See also: BBC News; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies).

Guyana - Gunmen attacked a police station and killed 12 people (Al Jazeera-Agencies).

Big Spring, TX - U.S. - Explosion at Alon USA Energy refinery; Alon USA Energy's majority shareholder is Alon Israel Oil Company Ltd. (Alon USA Energy, 19-Feb-08). (See also: CNN Money-Thomson Financial, 19-Feb-08.)

Havana - Cuba - Fidel Castro resigned as Cuba's president; Fidel Castro Ruz:"I am saying that I will neither aspire to nor accept, I repeat, I will neither aspire to nor accept the positions of President of the State Council and Commander in Chief" (Granma, 19-Feb-08). (See also: VOA News, 19-Feb-08.)

19-Feb-08

Pakistan - Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Pakistani Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) defeated the Pakistan Muslim League's (PML-Q) pro-Musharraf party (BBC News). (See also: VOA News; Bloomberg; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies.)

New York, NY - U.S. - Crude Oil futures closed above $100 per barrel (NYT-AP; Washington Post, 20-Feb-08; Al Jazeera-Agencies, 20-Feb-08).

Bentonville, AR - U.S. - Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. net sales for FY2008 were $374.526 billion, up 8.6% over FY2007; income from continuing operations for FY2008 increased 5.8% to $12.884 billion (Wal-Mart).

20-Feb-08

Simeulue - Indonesia - Magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit the island of Simeulue, Indonesia (USGS).

Washington, DC; Pacific Ocean - U.S. - The U.S. military intercepted and destroyed a decaying spy satellite managed by the National Reconnaissance Office; a single tactical Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) fired from the USS Lake Erie (CG-70) was used (U.S. Department of Defense, 20-21-Feb-08). (See also: NYT, 21-Feb-08; Washington Post, 21-Feb-08.)

Eglin Air Force Base, FL; Gulf of Mexico - U.S. - Two F-15C Eagles from Eglin Air Force Base, FL, collided; one pilot died (Air Force Link-AFPN, 21-Feb-08; CNN International; Bloomberg, 21-Feb-08).

21-Feb-08

Belgrade - Serbia - Rioters attacked the U.S. and other embassies in Belgrade; about 150,000 people protrested against Kosovo's independence (VOA News; VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters, 22-Feb-08).

Turkey; Iraq - Turkish military incursion into Iraq: More than 100 PKK rebels and 15 Turkish soldiers killed; one helicopter downed (VOA News, 24-Feb-08). [21-Feb-08 - 23-Feb-08.]

Merida - Venezuela - A Santa Barbara Airlines ATR 42-300 plane crashed killing all 46 people on board (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters, 22-Feb-08; Bloomberg, 22-Feb-08; China Daily-Agencies, 22-Feb-08).

22-Feb-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - Federal Reserve to offer $30 billion in 28-day credit through its Term Auction Facility (TAF) on 25-Feb-08 (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System).

Indianapolis, IN - U.S. - Dow AgroSciences detected extremely low levels of a plant-incorporated protectant (PIP) (Event 32) in 3 of its genetically engineered (GE) hybrid corn seed lines; the detected PIP is an unregistered GE pesticide product (Dow AgroSciences; U.S. Department of Agriculture).

23-Feb-08

Andersen Air Force Base - Guam - A $1.2 billion B-2 stealth bomber crashed; the 2 pilots are safe (BBC News; CNN).

24-Feb-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - Ralph Nader launched an independent campaign for the White House (MSNBC-Meet the Press; VoteNader.org). (See also: Bloomberg; Los Angeles Times, 25-Feb-08; NYT, 25-Feb-08.)

Havana - Cuba - Cuba's National Assembly of People’s Power elected Raúl Castro Ruz as president of Cuba's councils of State and Ministers (Granma). (See also: CNN; Bloomberg; NYT, 25-Feb-08.)

Iskandariya - Iraq - A suicide bomber targeted Shiite pilgrims on their way to Karbala and kiled at least 40 people (Los Angeles Times, 25-Feb-08; NYT, 25-Feb-08; Al Jazeera-Agencies).

25-Feb-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 189.20 points (1.53%), closing at 12,570.22 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

26-Feb-08

FL - U.S. - Two nuclear reactors at Florida Power & Light's Turkey Point station shut down (CNN Money-Dow Jones Newswires). The blackout saffected about one million households and businesses (NYT, 27-Feb-08). (See also: Bloomberg, 27-Feb-08.)

Armonk, NY - U.S. - IBM board of directors authorizes $15 billion for stock repurchase (IBM).

Paktika - Afghanistan - Two roadside bombs killed 8 people, including a child (VOA News-Reuters-AFP).

27-Feb-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - Michael McConnell, U.S. Director of National Intelligence: Afghan government controls only 30% of Afghanistan (VOA News).

Turkey; Iraq - Turkish military incursion into Iraq, launched 21-Feb-08: 230 PKK killed; 81 Turkish troops killed (PKK claim) (Al Jazeera-Aljazeera-Agencies). (See also: VOA News.)

Gaza City; Khan Younis - Gaza Strip - Israeli aircraft fired missile at the office of Gaza's Hamas premier, killed a baby, and injured more than 30 people (FOX News-AP; BBC News, 28-Feb-08). Israeli airsrikes killed at least 12 Palestinians; Hamas fired 40 rockets and killed one Israeli (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies). (See also: VOA News-AP-Reuters).

Stamford, CT - U.S. - Conservative William F. Buckley died at 82 (NRO;NYT; BBC News, 28-Feb-08; Yale Daily News, 28-Feb-08). (See also: World Socialist Web Site, 5-Mar-08.)

28-Feb-08

New York, NY - U.S. - American International Group, Inc. (AIG) reported a net loss of $5.29 billion for 2007Q4, but a net income for 2007 of $6.20 billion; the 2007 net income includes charges of approximately $11.47 billion pretax ($7.46 billion after tax) for "a net unrealized market valuation loss related to the AIG Financial Products Corp. (AIGFP) super senior credit default swap portfolio" (AIG). The largest financial institutions reported asset writedowns and credit losses of at least $163 billion in connection with the subprime mortgage market meltdown (Bloomberg). (See also: MarketWatch.)

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Pew Center on the States: More than 1% of adults in the U.S. were incarcerated; one in 9 black men in the 20-34 age group was incarcerated; incarcerations cost U.S. states more than $49 billion in 2007. According to the Pew Center report "One in 100: Behind Bars in America 2008," "At the start of the new year, the American penal system held more than 2.3 million adults. China was second, with 1.5 million people behind bars, and Russia was a distant third with 890,000 inmates . . ." (The Pew Center on the States). (See also: Washington Post.)

Kalosha, South Waziristan - Pakistan - Missile strike killed 13 people; U.S. involvement suspected (VOA News).

29-Feb-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 315.79 points (-2.51%), closing at 12,266.39 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve Term Auction Facility (TAF): $30 billion on 10-Mar-08; and $30 billion on 24-Mar-08. (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.)

Washington, DC; Los Angeles, CA; Amsterdam - U.S.; The Netherlands - The U.S. Air Force announced the selection of Northrop Grumman as the winner of the KC-X competition for development and procurement of up to 179 tanker aircraft for approximately $35 billion (Air Force Link-AFPN). The Northrop Grumman KC-30 Tanker is based on EADS’ A330 MRTT (Multi Role Tanker Transport) (Northrop Grumman; EADS). (See also: Boeing, 4-Mar-08.)

1-Mar-08

Yerevan - Armenia - Protest against vote-rigging in the presidential election on 19-Feb-07 turned to rioting and looting (NYT, 2-Mar-08; Deutshe Welle, 3-Mar-08); at least 8 people were killed (Deutshe Welle, 3-Mar-08). (See also: BBC News.)

2-Mar-08

Russia - Russian First Vice Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev wins Russia's presidential election by a landslide (Itar-Tass, 3-Mar-08). (See also: Washington Post, 3-Mar-08; BBC News, 3-Mar-08.)

Darra Adamkhel - Pakistan - Suicide bomb attack killed 43 people (AFP). (See also: Dawn; Bloomberg, 3-Mar-08.)

3-Mar-08

Gaza - Gaza Strip - Israel launched a military assault on Gaza and killed, since 26-Feb-07, about 112 Palestinians, including at least 37 children (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies); according to the NYT, the IDF killed 126 Palestinians (NYT, 6-Mar-08). (See also: Washington Post, 2-Mar-07; Washington Times, 3-Mar-08; BBC News, 3-Mar-08.)

London - U.K. - HSBC Holdings reported net income for 2007 of $19.133 billion (up 21%), despite loan impairment charges and other credit risk provisions of $17.242 billion; return on average invested capital was 15.3% (HSBC). (See also: MarketWatch.)

Washington, DC - U.S. - Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr., U.S. Housing and Mortgage Market Update, before the National Association of Business Economists: "[M]any financial institutions have been floating proposals for a major government intervention in the housing market, with U.S. taxpayers assuming the costs of the riskiest mortgages. . . Most of the proposals I've seen would do more harm than good -- bailing out investors, lenders or speculators who, instead of getting a free-pass, should be accountable for the risks they took. Let me be clear: I oppose any bailout. I believe our efforts are best focused on helping homeowners who want to stay in their homes." (U.S. Department of Treasury).

New York, NY - U.S. - Gold and crude-oil futures hit record highs ─ $991/ounce and $103.51/barrel, respectively (MarketWatch-NYMEX). (See also: Bloomberg.)

Baghdad - Iraq - Two bombings killed at least 25 people (Al Jazeera-Agencies).

Woodinville, WA - U.S. - Five "built green" luxury homes were torched in a Seattle suburb; eco-terrorism is suspected (NYT; The Seattle Times, 4-Mar-08). (See also: Seattle Post-Intelligencer.)

4-Mar-08

U.S.; Gaza Strip - Leaked documents revealed a "U.S. plot against Hamas"; the U.S. denied the plot allegation; Palestinians elected Hamas democratically in Jan-06 (Al Jazeera). According to an article in the Jerusalem Post, "US President George W. Bush is said to have approved a covert initiative to overthrow the Hamas government" (The Jerusalem Post-Vanity Fair).

Lahore - Pakistan - Two suicide bombers targeted the Naval War College in Lahore and killed at least 4 people (Washington Post; Bloomberg). (See also: Al Jazeera- Al Jazeera-Agencies.)

OH; RI; TX, VT - U.S. - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton beat Senator Barack Obama in the Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas primaries, but lost to Obama in Vermont (NYT, 60Mar-08). Senator John McCain won the Republican nomination (Bloomberg, 5-Mar-08).

5-Mar-08

Worldwide - Forbes: The world has are 1,125 billionaires; the billionaires' total net worth of $4.4 trillion, up $900 billion from last year; the world's top 3 billionaires are Warren Buffett ($62 billion), Carlos Slim Helu ($69 billion), and Bill Gates ($58 billion) (Forbes).

6-Mar-08

Baghdad - Iraq - A roadside bomb and a suicide bomber killed at least 68 people (Los Angeles Times, 7-Mar-08). (See also: Al Jazeera-Agencies; VOA News-AFP-Reuters.)

Jerusalem - Israel - A Palestinian gunman killed at least 8 people at the Mercaz Harav seminary in Jerusalem (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters; BBC News, 7-Mar-08); the attack follows the killing by the IDF since 27-Feb-08 of about 130 Palestinians (NYT, 7-Mar-08). (See also: Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies.)

New York, NY - U.S. - A small bomb exploded at a U.S. military recruiting station in Times Square; no injuries were reported (VOA News; NYT, 7-Mar-08).

Mortgage Bankers Association's National Delinquency Survey: 5.82% of all mortgages were delinquent in 2007Q4, on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis, and 2.04% were in the foreclosure process; year-over-year the delinquency rates for prime and subprime loans were up 0.67% and 3.98%, respectively (Mortgage Bankers Association). (See also: Los Angeles Times.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 214.60 points (-1.75%), closing at 12,040.39 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

London - U.K. - The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves unchanged at 5.25% (Bank of England).

Brussels - Belgium - Testimony to the European Parliament Development Committee by Josette Sheeran, Executive Director, UN World Food Programme: "WFP faces a US$500 million shortfall just due to soaring food and fuel costs . . .Global stocks of food are at an historic low and I think, in fact, the supply is at about 50 days now globally. Food prices have been aggressively increasing to historic highs." Identified causes: The rise in oil and energy prices; the economic boom in nations such as India and China; climatic shocks; increased biofuels production diverting agricultural output out of the food chain (UNWFP).

7-Mar-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve announced (1) it will increase the Term Auction Facility (TAF) to $100 billion ($50 billion on 10-Mar-08; and $50 billion on 24-Mar-08); and (2) it will increase the sizes of term repo operations to $100 billion, if warranted (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.)

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

Washington, DC - U.S. - House committee investigated the pay/retirement packages of former/current executives at companies associated with the mortgage crisis, including: Citigroup; Merrill Lynch; Countrywide Financial (NYT, 8-Mar-08).

8-Mar-08

WY - U.S. - Senator Barack Obama won the Wyoming caucuses (VOA News). (See also: NYT-Op-Ed, 9-Mar-08.)

Basra; Khalis, Diyala - Iraq - Thousands of Iraqis protested in Basra against lack of security; Iraqi security forces discovered a mass grave with 100 decomposed bodies (VOA News).

9-Mar-08

Spain - Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero of the Socialist Workers Party was re-elected (VOA News; Los Angeles Times, 10-Mar-08; NYT, 10-Mar-08).

10-Mar-08

Sulaimaniya; Baghdad; Muqdadiya; Diyala - Iraq - Car bomb and suicide bomb attacks killed at least 14 people, including a tribal leader and 5 U.S. soldiers (VOA News); an improvised bomb killed 3 more U.S. soldiers and an interpreter in Dyala (Washington Post, 11-Mar-08; NYT, 11-Mar-08). (See also: Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies).

Albany, NY - U.S. - New York's Gov. Eliot Spitzer has allegedly been identified as "Client 9" of a prostitute associated with Emperors Club VIP (NYT). Spitzer apologized to his family and to the public R975(See also: "The Spitzer Hit List," NYT-DealBook, 1-Mar-08.)

11-Mar-08

Lahore - Pakistan - Two suicide attacks, one targeting the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the other an advertisement agency, killed at least 35 people, including 12 FIA members (The Australian-AP, 12-Mar-08). (See also: NYT, 12-Mar-08; China View-Xinhua; PakTribune-AFP.)

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve, the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, and the Swiss National Bank announced "specific measures designed to address liquidity pressures in funding markets." The Federal Reserve, under a new Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF), "will lend up to $200 billion of Treasury securities to primary dealers secured for a term of 28 days . . . by a pledge of other securities, including federal agency debt, federal agency residential-mortgage-backed securities (MBS), and non-agency AAA/Aaa-rated private-label residential MBS." Also, the Federal Open Market Committee increased its temporary reciprocal currency arrangements (swap lines) with the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to up to $30 billion and $6 billion, respectively. (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.) (See also: WSJ; Bloomberg.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 416.66 points (3.55%), closing at 12,156.81 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Chicago, IL - U.S. - CDC study: "About one in four (26 percent) young women between the ages of 14 and 19 in the United States – or 3.2 million teenage girls – is infected with at least one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases (human papilloma virus (HPV), chlamydia, herpes simplex virus, and trichomoniasis)" (CDC-2008 National STD Prevention Conference). (See also: NYT, 12-Mar-08.)

United Nations warning of global food shortage: About 73 million people in 78 countries depend on the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) (BBC News, 10-11-Mar-08; Al Jazeera, 12-Mar-08).

Beijing - China - National People's Congress: National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Annual Sessions 2008 (China View-Xinhua). [11-Mar-08 - 14-Mar-08.]

Washington, DC - U.S. - The U.S. Department of State released the "2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" (U.S. Department of State-Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor).

12-Mar-08

Albany, NY - U.S. - Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced he will resign effective 17-Mar-08 (New York State-Governor's Website). (See also: NYT; MarketWatch).

13-Mar-08

New York, NY - U.S. - Gold futures hit $1,001.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) (Bloomberg; WSJ; Yahoo!Finance-AP).

Baghdad; Mosul - Iraq - Car bomb attack killed at least 7 people; the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul was found dead (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters).

Kabul - Afghanistan - A suicide attack targeting a US military convoy killed at least 6 people (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies).

Washington, DC; Amsterdam - U.S.; The Netherlands - Carlyle Capital Corporation (CCC), a unit of Carlyle Group, has reportedly defaulted on about $16.6bn of its debt (BBC News, 14-Mar-08). Carlyle Capital's shares fell 87.5% to 35 cents in Amsterdam (Financial Times, 14-Mar-08; Bloomberg, 14-Mar-08; WSJ, 14-Mar-08). Carlyle Capital was highly leveraged, its debt-to-equity ratio was reportedly about 31 (Financial Times, 14-Mar-08; NYT, 14-Mar-08); Carlyle Capital's lenders include Deutsche Bank, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, and JPMorgan Chase (NYT, 14-Mar-08).

Beijing - China - Jia Qinglin was reelected chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) (China View-Xinhua).

Beijing - China - China issued "The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2007" in response to the "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2007" issued by the U.S. Department of State (China View-Xinhua).

14-Mar-08

New York, NY - U.S. - Liquidity at Bear Stearns Cos. "deteriorated significantly" (MarketWatch; WSJ; Bloomberg; BBC News); the Federal Reserve and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. move to bail out Bear Stearns (Bear Stearns; JPMorgan Chase; Federal Reserve Board).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 194.65 points (-1.60%), closing at 11,951.09 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Lhasa - Tibet - Tibetan protest against Chinese rule, started on 10-Mar-08, escalated into violence (Bloomberg; VOA News-AP-Reuters; BBC News). Ten people were killed (Washington Post, 15-Mar-08; Los Angeles Times, 15-Mar-08).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The U.S. House of Representatives approved bill H.R. 3773 "To amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to establish a procedure for authorizing certain acquisitions of foreign intelligence, and for other purposes" by a vote of 213 to 197) (Library of Congress-THOMAS); the bill provides no retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that were implicated in anti-terrorist eavesdropping (VOA News; BBC News, 15-Mar-08).

Iran - Conservatives won overwhelmingly over reformists in Iran's parliamentary elections (BBC News, 16-Mar-08). (See also: Bloomberg, 17-Mar-08.)

15-Mar-08

Tirana - Albania - Massive explosions at an army depot killed at least 9 people, injured hundreds, and destroyed more than 300 houses (Al Jazeera-Agencies, 16-Mar-08). (See also: Guardian; China View-Xinhua; Washington Post-Reuters.)

London; Los Angeles, CA - U.K.; U.S. - Thousands (10,000 according to the police; up to 40,000 according to organizers) protested in London against the war on Iraq (Al Jazeera-Agencies). Anti-war protests were also held in Los Angeles and other cities (VOA News). (See also: The World Against War, 15-22-Mar-08.)

16-Mar-08

Shahnawaz Kot , South Waziristan - Pakistan - Missile strike killed 20 Arabs and Turkmen (Daily Times, 17-Mar-08). (See also: Al Jazeera-Agencies; Washington Post; NYT, 17-Mar-08.)

New York, NY - U.S. - JP Morgan Chase agreed to buy Bear Stearns for just $236 million (a 93% discount) (NYT; Bloomberg; VOA News-AP-Bloomberg, 17-Mar-08). JPMorgan Chase will guarantee the trading obligations of Bear Stearns and its subsidiaries; the Fed agreed to fund up to $30 billion of Bear Stearns' less liquid assets (JP Morgan Chase). Bear Stearns denied market rumors regarding its liquidity on 10-Mar-08 (Bear Stearns, 10-Mar-08); it collapsed on 13-Mar-08 (NYT); a run on the bank drained it of $17 billion in 2 days (Bloomberg).

Washington, DC; New York, NY - U.S. - The Federal Reserve Board: Decreased the primary credit rate from 3.5% to 3.25%, effective immediately; increased the maximum maturity of primary credit loans to 90 days from 30 days; authorized the Federal Reserve Bank of New York "to create a lending facility to improve the ability of primary dealers to provide financing to participants in securitization markets"; and approved the acquisition by JPMorgan Chase & Co. of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. (Federal Reserve Board).

17-Mar-08

Los Angeles, CA - U.S. - Roland Arnall, "one of the godfathers of subprime," died of cancer. Arnall was appointed ambassador to the Netherlands in 2006; a company he founded, Ameriquest Mortgage Co., and affiliated companies agreed to pay $325 million to settle allegations of predatory lending; Ameriquest did not admit wrongdoing. Arnall was of Jewish provenance; he supported the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Forbes Magazine estimated Arnall's net worth at $1.5 billion (Orange County Register; Los Angeles Times, 18-Mar-08; Reuters). (For a sampling of reported consumer complaints about Ameriquest, see Consumer Affairs, 3-Mar-08.) (See also: Los Angeles Business Journal.)

Toronto, ON - Canada - The Ontario Superior Court allowed under bankruptcy protection the sheltering of about $32-billion worth of Asset-Backed Commercial Paper (ABCP) market debt (Globe and Mail; Financial Post, 18-Mar-08). According to an article in the New York Times, the notes "were offered, and guaranteed, by Canada’s five large banks"; however, "a loophole" in Canadian law allowed them to have "discretion" in fulfilling the guarantees (NYT, 18-Mar-08). (See also: CNW Group, 27-Sep-07.)

18-Mar-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered its target for the federal funds rate 0.75% to 2.25%; also, the Board of Governors approved a 0.75% decrease in the discount rate to 2.5%. According to the FOMC: "Financial markets remain under considerable stress . . . uncertainty about the inflation outlook has increased . . . downside risks to growth remain" (F