World Events: 2008Q1
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
Indexes Money Business Finance Government Organization Violence Science Activism Spiritual Entertainment Date World Event
            w         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.)
r   e m               2-Jan-08 New York, NY - U.S. - Crude oil futures hit a record $100/barrel (MarketWatch, 2-Jan-07; Bloomberg, 3-Jan-07).
l     m                 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).
            w           Baghdad - Iraq - Suicide bomber kills at least 32 people (Al Jazeera-Agencies).
        g             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.)
            w           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.)
l     m               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).
l     m                 Tokyo - Japan - The NIKKEI 225 lost 616.37 points (-4.03%), closing at 14,691.41 (Nikkei; Yahoo! Finance).
  b     g               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).
            w         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.]
        g             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).
  m c a g               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).
l     m                 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).
            w           Diyala - Iraq - U.S. and Iraqi troops kill 60 Sunni insurgents (Washington Post, 15-Jan-08). [8-Jan-08 - 14-Jan-08.]
  m   m g   a         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.)
            w         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.)
            w           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.)
    c                   New Delhi - India - Tata Motors showcases the Nano - the world's cheapest car ($2500) - at the New Delhi Auto Expo (Tata Motors; VOA News).
  m     g               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).
r m     g             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).  
r m     g               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).
    c a                 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.)
l     m                 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).
r     m                 New York, NY - U.S. - Gold futures topped $900/ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange (MarketWatch; Bloomberg; China View-Xinhua, 12-Jan-08).
            w         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).
                p     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).
            w         14-Jan-08 Mohmand - Pakistan - Pakistan military killed 23 Islamic militants, lost 7 troops (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters).
            w           Narathiwat - Thailand - Islamic separatists ambush and kill at least 8 soldiers (VOA News).
            w           Kabul - Afghanistan - Taliban attackers kill at least 6 people, including an American, at a hotel in Kabul (NYT; Los Angeles Times).
r m c                 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).
  m c                   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.)
l     m                 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).
            w           Gaza Strip - Israeli forces mount an incursion into the Gaza Strip and kill at least 17 Palestinians, including 3 civilians (VOA News).
        g     s         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.)
        g   w           Abu Dhabi - UAE - France to establish a military base in the Gulf (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies).
            w           Beirut - Lebanon - Bomb blasts a U.S. embassy car and kills at least 3 Lebanese (Al Jazeera-Agencies).
                p r     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).
            w           Waziristan - Pakistan - Islamic militants capture the Sararogha Fort; more than 20 Pakistani troops are missing (VOA News).
l m c                 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).
l     m                 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).
            w           Khan Bani Saad, Dyala - Iraq - Woman suicide bomber killed 11 people near a Shia mosque (BBC News).
l m c                 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).
g     m                 Tokyo - Japan - The NIKKEI 225 gained 278.94 points (2.07%), closing at 13,783.45 (Nikkei; Yahoo! Finance).
            w           Baquba - Iraq - Suicide bomber kills 8 people close to a Shia mosque (VOA News-AFP-Reuters).
            w           Peshawar - Pakistan - Suicide bomber kills at least 9 people at a Shia mosque (VOA News; BBC News).
            a           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.)
    c         s         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.)
l     m                 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).
  m     g             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).
            w           Basra - Iraq - More than 40 were killed in clashes between Iraqi forces and Shia Soldiers of Heaven (Washington Post).
l   c                   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).
        g             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).
            w           Tal Afar; Kirkuk - Iraq - Attacks killed 9 people (VOA News-AP-Reuters, 20-Jan-08).
            w         20-Jan-08 Anbar - Iraq - Suicide bomber killed 6 people near Fallujah (VOA News-AP-Reuters, 20-Jan-08).
            w           Jerusalem - Israel - Israeli ministers called for the assassination of Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah (VOA News).
l     m               21-Jan-08 Tokyo - Japan - The NIKKEI 225 lost 535.35 points (-3.86%), closing at 13,325.94 (Nikkei; Yahoo! Finance).
l     m                 Hong Kong - China - The Hang Seng lost 1383.01 points (-5.49%), closing at 23,818.86 (Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).
l     m                 Shanghai - China - The Shanghai Composite Index (SSE) lost 266.07 points (-5.14%), closing at 4,914.44 (Yahoo! Finance).
l     m                 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.)
  m c                   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).
        g   w s         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.)
            w           Al-Hajaj - Iraq - A suicide bomber killed 17 people at a funeral near Baiji (AFP; Al Jazeera-Agencies; Washington Post, 22-Jan-08).
l     m               22-Jan-08 Tokyo - Japan - The NIKKEI 225 lost 752.89 points (-5.65%), closing at 12,573.05 (Nikkei; Yahoo! Finance).
l     m                 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).
  b     g               Tokyo - Japan - The Bank of Japan decided to keep the uncollateralized overnight call rate around 0.5% (Bank of Japan).
  b     g               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).