World Events: 2008Q4

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1-Oct-08

Worldwide - Muslims celebrated Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan (VOA News).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The U.S. Senate approved a $700 billion plan to stabilize the financial industry: The plan authorizes the Treasury to buy troubled assets; the plan also allows the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) to raise its deposit-insurance cap from $100,000 to $250,000 (Library of Congress-THOMAS, 3-Oct-08; MarketWatch).

Fairfield, CT - U.S. - GE to offer at least $12 billion of common stock to the public; GE to sell $3 billion of perpetual preferred stock to Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.; Berkshire Hathaway also to receive warrants to purchase $3 billion of common stock with a strike price of $22.25 per share (GE).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The U.S. Congress approved H.R.7081, a bill permitting civilian nuclear trade between India and the U.S.: U.S. companies to sell nuclear fuel, technology, and reactors to India; India to open up 14 civilian nuclear reactors to international inspection; India's military reactors are excluded from the agreement (Library of Congress-THOMAS; NYT; Los Angeles Times, 2-Oct-08; Washington Post, 2-Oct-08). (See also: U.S. Department of State.)

2-Oct-08

Baghdad - Iraq - 3 attacks killed 26 people (VOA News). (See also: Los Angeles Times, 3-Oct-08; Washington Post, 3-Oct-08.)

3-Oct-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - President Bush Signs H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, and Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008 into law (White House). (See also: Library of Congress-THOMAS.)

6-Oct-08

Charlotte,NC - U.S. - Bank of America Corporation, 2008Q3 financial results: Net income, $1.18 billion (down 68.1%); revenue net of interest expense, $19.90 billion (up 21%). Bank of America to raise capital, targeting an 8% Tier 1 capital ratio; and to sell common stock to raise $10 billion. Kenneth D. Lewis, chairman and CEO: "These are the most difficult times for financial institutions that I have experienced in my 39 years in banking,. . . We believe it is prudent to raise capital to very substantial levels in this uncertain environment." (Bank of America.)

7-Oct-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 508.39 points (-5.11%), closing at 9,447.11 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

8-Oct-08

Washington, DC; New York, NY - U.S. - 2008 SNC review results released by the Federal Reserve and thrift regulators: the volume of Shared National Credits (SNC) increased 22.6% to $2.8 trillion; the volume of criticized credits increased to $373.4 billion, or 13.4% of the SNC portfolio; total outstandings, or drawn amounts, increased 44.6% to $1.2 trillion (the SNC portfolio consists of loan commitments of at least $20 million that are held by at least 3 federally supervised institutions; criticized credits are the total of credits classified substandard, doubtful, loss, and credits rated special mention) (Federal Reserve).

Washington, DC; Ottawa, ON; London; Frankfurt am Main; Stockholm; Zurich; Tokyo - U.S. - The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered its target for the federal funds rate 0.50% to 1.50% (Federal Reserve). The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, Sveriges Riksbank, and the Swiss National Bank also reduced interest rates by 0.50%; the Bank of Japan supported the policy actions (Federal Reserve).

Washington, DC; New York, NY - U.S. - The Federal Reserve Board authorized the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to borrow up to $37.8 billion in securities from the American International Group (AIG) (Federal Reserve).

9-Oct-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 678.91 points (-7.33%), closing at 8,579.19 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

12-Oct-08

Washington, DC; San Francisco, CA; Charlotte, NC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve Board approved the proposal by Wells Fargo & Company to acquire Wachovia Corporation and its subsidiary banks (Federal Reserve).

13-Oct-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 936.42 points (11.08%), closing at 9,387.61 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

14-Oct-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - Joint Statement by Treasury, Federal Reserve, and FDIC: (1) Treasury announces a voluntary capital purchase program (financial institutions can sell preferred shares to the U.S. government); (2) Secretary Paulson signed the systemic risk exception to the FDIC Act (FDIC to temporarily guarantee the senior debt of all FDIC-insured institutions and their holding companies, and deposits in non-interest bearing deposit transaction accounts); (3) the Federal Reserve's Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF) program to fund purchases of commercial paper of 3 month maturity from high-quality issuers starting 27-Oct-08 (Federal Reserve).

15-Oct-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 733.08 points (-7.87%), closing at 8,577.91 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

16-Oct-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 401.35 points (4.68%), closing at 8,979.26 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

20-Oct-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - Federal Reserve to offer $150 billion in 28-day credit through its Term Auction Facility (TAF) (Federal Reserve).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 413.21 points (4.67%), closing at 9,265.43 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

21-Oct-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve Board announced the creation of the Money Market Investor Funding Facility (MMIFF); the MMIFF (1) should facilitate the sales of money market instruments in the secondary market, and (2) should improve the liquidity position of money market investors so as to allow them to satisfy redemption requests and meet portfolio rebalancing needs (Federal Reserve).

22-Oct-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 526.00 points (-5.82%), closing at 8,519.21 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

24-Oct-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - Federal Reserve releases the report "The Enduring Challenge of Concentrated Poverty: Case Studies from Communities Across the U.S." (Federal Reserve).

Washington, DC; Islamabad - U.S.; Pakistan - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a 23-month Stand-By Arrangement of about US$7.6 billion for Pakistan (IMF).

28-Oct-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 889.35 points (10.88%), closing at 9,065.12 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

29-Oct-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - Federal Reserve, Banco Central do Brasil, Banco de Mexico, Bank of Korea, and Monetary Authority of Singapore established temporary reciprocal currency arrangements (swap lines) (Federal Reserve).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to lower its target for the federal funds rate 0.5% to 1% (Federal Reserve).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the creation of the Short-Term Liquidity Facility (SLF) "to establish quick-disbursing financing for countries with strong economic policies that are facing temporary liquidity problems in the global capital markets" (IMF).

30-Oct-08

New York, NY - U.S. - American Express announced "reengineering initiatives" with expected cost benefits of approximately $1.8 billion in 2009; the reengineering includes the elimination of about 7,000 jobs (about 10% of the Company's worldwide workforce) (American Express).

3-Nov-08

Washington, DC; London, U.K. - U.S.; U.K. - Government bailout packages: U.S., $700 billion; U.K., $680 billion; Eurozone, $1,370 billion. Distribution of U.K.'s $680 billion bailout package: Bank debt guarantee, 64.6% ($439.3 billion); Bank of England short-term loans, 25.8% ($175.7 billion); treasury injection, 9.6% ($65 billion) (BBC News).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve to offer $150 billion in 84-day credit through its Term Auction Facility (TAF) (Federal Reserve).

5-Nov-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 486.01 points (-5.05%), closing at 9,139.27 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

6-Nov-08

London - U.K. - The Bank of England’s (BOE) Monetary Policy Committee reduced the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves by 1.5% to 3.0% (BOE).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 443.48 points (-4.85%), closing at 8,695.79 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

10-Nov-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve Board approved the applications by American Express Company and American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. to become bank holding companies (Federal Reserve).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve to offer $150 billion in 17-day credit through its Term Auction Facility (TAF) (Federal Reserve).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The U.S. Treasury to purchase $40 billion of newly issued AIG preferred shares under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP); this will allow the Federal Reserve to reduce from $85 billion to $60 billion the total amount available under the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's credit facility established on 16-Sep-08 (Federal Reserve).

12-Nov-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 411.30 points (-4.73%), closing at 8,282.66 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

13-Nov-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 552.59 points (6.67%), closing at 8,835.25 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

14-Nov-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy (White House, 13-14-Vov-08). [14-Nov-08 - 15-Nov-08.]

17-Nov-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve to offer $150 billion in 28-day credit through its Term Auction Facility (TAF) (Federal Reserve).

19-Nov-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 427.47 points (-5.07%), closing at 7,997.28 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

20-Nov-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 444.99 points (-5.56%), closing at 7,552.29 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

21-Nov-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 494.13 points (6.54%), closing at 8,046.42 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

23-Nov-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - U.S. Treasury to invest $20 billion in Citigroup from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in exchange for preferred stock; Treasury and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to protect approximately $306 billion of Citigroup loans and securities against possible losses (Federal Reserve). (See also: MarketWatch, 24-Nov-08.)

24-Nov-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 396.97 points (4.93%), closing at 8,443.39 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve to offer $150 billion in 13-day credit through its Term Auction Facility (TAF) (Federal Reserve).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a 23-month $7.6 billion stand-by arrangement for Pakistan (IMF).

25-Nov-08

According to Lipper data, mutual funds assets under management tumbled 20.8% -- from a record $12 trillion as at 31-May-08 to $9.5 trillion as at 31-Oct-08 (MarketWatch).

Washington, DC - U.S. - FDIC-insured commercial banks and savings institutions reported 3Q2008 net income of $1.7 billion, down from the $28.7 billion (94%) in 3Q2007; the total assets of problem institutions increased from $78.3 billion to $115.6 billion; provisions for loan losses increased to $50.5 billion, up from $16.8 billion in 3Q2007; during 3Q2008, the FDIC's "problem list" grew from 117 to 171 institutions, a record since the end of 1995 (FDIC, 25-Nov-08, 30-Sep-08).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve Board annouced the creation of the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) (up to $200 billion, via the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY)). The facility "will help market participants meet the credit needs of households and small businesses by supporting the issuance of asset-backed securities (ABS) collateralized by student loans, auto loans, credit card loans, and loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA)" (Federal Reserve).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve to purchase (1) up to $100 billion in direct obligations of housing-related government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks) and (2) up to $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae (Federal Reserve).

Bangkok - Thailand - Thousands of anti-government protesters led by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) shut down the international and domestic airports (VOA News, 27-Nov-08); about 30,000 travelers are stranded per day (VOA News-AP-Reuters, 29-Nov-08). (See also: Washington Post, 26-Nov-08.) [25-Nov-08 - 29-Nov-08.]

Geneva - Switzerland - World Meteorological Organization (WMO): WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin: global concentrations of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane climbed to record levels in 2007 (WMO, 14-Nov-08, 25-Nov-08). (See also: ENS, 26-Nov-08.)

26-Nov-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - Bloomberg estimated the total cost of the U.S. government's economic rescue plan at about $3.17 trillion; the cost could climb to $8.5 trillion (Bloomberg). (See also: Los Angeles Times, 30-Nov-08.)

Beijing - China - China's government unveiled a 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) economic stimulus package (MarketWatch, 26-Nov-08).

Afghanistan - Coalition forces killed 25 militants; gunmen killed 5 police officers, 5 other officers are missing (VOA News-AFP-Reuters).

Mumbai - India - Synchronized terrorist attack targeting the Taj Mahal Palace, the Trident-Oberoi Hotel, a Hasidic Jewish Chabad-Lubavitch center, and other venues in Mumbai, India's financial and cultural capital, killed nearly 200 people (VOA news, 29-Nov-08; Washington Post, 29-Nov-08; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies, 29-Nov-08). According to the chief minister of Maharashtra, the attackers planned to kill 5,000 people (Washington Post, 29-Nov-08). (See also: NYT, 28-Nov-08; Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center, 28-Nov-08.) [26-Nov-08 - 28-Nov-08.]

Brussels - Belgium; U.S. - The European Union Commission is calling on its members to back a nearly $256 billion stimulus package (VOA News).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve approved the proposal by Bank of America to acquire Merrill Lynch (Federal Reserve). (See also: Bank of America.)

U.S. - The number of Americans on food stamps in Nov-08 is expected to exceed 30 million for the first time (Washington Post).

Beijing - China - The People's Bank of China (PBOC) cut the one-year yuan lending rate by 1.08%, from 6.66% to 5.58%, and the one-year yuan deposit rate from 3.60% to 2.52%; PBOC also reduced the reserve requirement for China's 6 largest banks by 1%, and for smaller banks by 2% (MarketWatch).

Paris - France - Amount of claims on foreign governments held by the Paris Club, as of 1-Sep-08: Total, $330.2 billion, including about $31 billion (~10%) owed by heavily indebted poor countries and about $100 billion (~33%) owed by emerging market countries that are members of the G20. The 19 Paris Club permanent members are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States. (Paris Club.)

27-Nov-08

Kabul - Afghanistan - A suicide car bomb attack near the U.S. Embassy killed at least 4 people (VOA News).

U.S. - The price of oil plummetted below $55 per barrel (VOA News).

28-Nov-08

U.S. - 30 California state senators and Assembly members could potentially have conflicts of interest because they vote on legislation that can impact their income (Los Angeles Times).

Musayyib, Babil - Iraq - A suicide bomber killed at least 12 people at a Shiite mosque (Washington Post, 29-Nov-08).

U.S. - Black Friday (NYT).

Jos - Nigeria - Hundreds of people were reportedly killed in Christian-Muslim fighting following local elections (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies, 29-Nov-08). (See also: VOA News, 29-Nov-08.)

U.S. - President George W. Bush wants to be remembered “as a person who, first and foremost, did not sell his soul in order to accommodate the political process. . . as somebody who liberated 50 million people and helped achieve peace" (NYT).

29-Nov-08

Karachi - Pakistan - 17 people were killed in clashes between members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Pashtun members of the Awami National Party (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters). [29-Nov-08 - 30-Nov-08.]

Kandahar; Helmand - Afghanistan - NATO and Afghan forces killed 45 Taliban militants (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters).

30-Nov-08

Zimbabwe - Cholera killed at least 425 people since Aug-2008 (Sunday Mail; VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters).

1-Dec-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 679.95 points (-7.70%), closing at 8,149.09 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

2-Dec-08

Cambridge, MA - U.S. - Harvard University "financial update": Harvard's endowment stood at $36.9 billion on 30-Jun-08; by 31-Oct-08, Harvard's endowment lost a record 22%; Harvard's worst one-year loss was 12.2% in 1974 (letter from Drew G. Faust and Edward C. Forst to Harvard's Council of Deans, Harvard, 2-Dec-08). Yale Univesity appears to have survived the economic meltdown (The Independent, 4-Dec-08). (See also: NYT, 3-Dec-08 and 7-Dec-08.)

Brussels - Belgium - Meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers (NATO, 3-Dec-08). (See also: VOA New, 2-Dec-08.) [2-Dec-08 - 3-Dec-08.]

New York, NY - U.S. - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon message for the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery: "Despite centuries of prohibition against slavery, traditional forms still exist. We have also seen a disturbing emergence of contemporary forms of slavery, such as the sale of children, debt bondage and human trafficking. . . The global economic crisis could exacerbate this already alarming situation. Poor people are likely to be driven further into poverty, making them more vulnerable to slavery-like practices. . . There are now an estimated 27 million victims of this atrocity . . . We need to change laws, and we need to alter attitudes and customs." (UN Secretary-General; UN News Service.)

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism releases WORLD AT RISK. Former Sen. Bob Graham, chairman of the Commission: "The Commission believes that unless the world community acts decisively and with great urgency, it is likely that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013" (Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism).

New York, NY - U.S. - The U.S. government's rescue plan for American International Group Inc. (AIG) has ballooned to about $152 billion (NYT-Reuters). (See also: AIG.)

Tokyo - Japan - The Bank of Japan to maintain the uncollateralized overnight call rate at around 0.3% (Bank of Japan, 27-Jan-09).

3-Dec-08

Vatican City - Vatican - Pope Benedict XVI, to a group of Italian Bankers: “This period of difficulty for so many families gives me the opportunity to highlight one of the primary objectives of banking institutes, that is solidarity towards societies weakest and support for small companies” (Vatican Radio).

San Jose, CA - U.S. - The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education releases Measuring Up 2008: The National Report Card on Higher Education. Percent growth rates in current dollar price during the time period from 1982-84 through 2006: college tuition and fees, 439%; medical care, 251%; median familiy income, 147%; consumer price index (CPI), 106%. The number of undergraduate borrowers in the U.S. has increased from 4.1 million in 1997-98 to 6.111 million in 2006-07. Student borrowing increased from $41 billion in 1997-98 to $85 billion in 2007-08 (constant 2007 dollars). (The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.) (See also: Washington Post.)

4-Dec-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) increased temporarily the basic limit on federal deposit insurance coverage from at least $100,000 to at least $250,000 per depositor; the basic FDIC insurance limit will return to $100,000 on January 1, 2010 (FDIC).

Dallas, TX - U.S. - AT&T to cut 12,000 jobs (about 4% of total workforce) (AT&T). (See also: Washington Post, 5-Dec-08.)

Washington, DC - U.S. - Automotive sector bailout: General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler executives asked congress for $34 billion in loans (NYT, 5-Dec-08; MarketWatch, 4-Dec-08). The executives agreed to strong oversight from Washington (MarketWatch, 4-Dec-08). According to Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com, the auto companies would need from $75 billion to $125 billion over 2 years to avoid bankruptcy (MarketWatch, 4-Dec-08). (See also: VOA News, 3-Dec-08.) [4-Dec-08 - 5-Dec-08.]

Chicago, IL - U.S. - Challenger, Gray & Christmas, re job loss statistics in 2008: total layoffs, more than 1.05 million; financial services industry, 120,742; automotive sector, 220,506; retail, 63,838 (Washington Post). (See also: Challenger, Gray & Christmas.)

Zurich - Switzerland - Credit Suisse to cut 5,300 jobs (11% of its workforce) (Credit Suisse). (See also: NYT.)

New York, NY - U.S. - Crude-oil futures for January 2009 delivery fell 6.7% to $43.67 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) (MarketWatch).

Wilmington, DE - U.S. - DuPont to cut 2,500 jobs (DuPont, 5-Dec-08). (See also: Washington Post, 5-Dec-08.)

Ottawa, ON - Canada - Faced with a no-confidence vote from the Liberal-New Democrat coalition, Prime Minister Stephen Harper “prorogues” Parliament (suspends the legislature) until 26-Jan-09 (NYT; BBC News). (See also: AlertNet-Reuters, 1-Dec-08; Toronto Star, 5-Dec-08.)

Washington, DC - U.S. - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, in a speech at the Federal Reserve System Conference on Housing and Mortgage Markets: "policy initiatives to reduce the number of preventable foreclosures should be high on the agenda" (Federal Reserve). Bernanke quoted the following statistics: the percentage of borrowers "under water" on their mortgages is estimated at 15%-20%; about 4.25% of all first-lien mortgages are more than 90 days past due or in foreclosure; 1-in-10 near-prime mortgages in alt-A pools and more than 1-in-5 subprime mortgages are seriously delinquent; the number of foreclosures initiated by lenders is expected to hit 2.25 million, up from less than 1 million during the pre-meltdown period; losses on defaulted subprime mortgages averaged around 50% to 60% of the loan balance (for the references, see Federal Reserve).

Hong Kong - China - Hong Kong Monetary Authority: "The HKMA has, up to 4 December 2008, received 19,196 complaints concerning Lehman-Brothers-related products. Apart from the 207 cases referred to the SFC (Securities and Futures Commission) so far, the HKMA has formally opened investigations on 3,095 complaints and is currently seeking further information on 9,157 complaints" (HKMA, 5-Dec-08).

Washington, DC - U.S. - In just over one month, the U.S. Department of Treasury disbursed an estimated $151 billion to 52 institutions (US Department of the Treasury).

London - U.K. - The Bank of England’s (BOE) Monetary Policy Committee reduced the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves by 1.0% to 2.0% (BOE); this is the lowest BOE bank rate since 1939 (MarketWatch).

Belgium - Brussels - The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to decrease the interest rate on the main refinancing operations of the Eurosystem by 0.75% to 2.50% (ECB); this is is the largest ECB cut in 10 years (MarketWatch).

5-Dec-08

Peshawar; Tribal Area - Pakistan - A car bombing killed at least 20 people; a suspected U.S. drone killed at least 3 people (VOA News-AFP-Reuters).

Moscow - Russia - Alexei II, Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, died at the age of 79 (VOA News).

Peshawar - Pakistan - Car bomb near a Shiite shrine killed at least 27 people (VOA News).

Washington, DC - U.S. - Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) National Delinquency Survey (NDS): The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on 1-to-4-unit residential properties climbed to a record 6.99% of all loans outstanding at the end of 2008Q3 (seasonally adjusted) (up 1.4% YOY); about 575,000 foreclosure actions were started in 2008Q3; the seasonally adjusted delinquency rate increased to 4.34% for prime loans (up 0.41%), and to 20.03% for subprime loans (up 1.36%) (MBA). (See also: Bloomberg; MarketWatch.)

New Delhi - India - Russia and India signed 10 agreements, including agreements to build 4 civilian nuclear reactors in India and to launch a manned Indian spacecraft in 2015 (VOA news).

Hong Kong - China - Sandy Flockhart, chief executive of HSBC’s Asian operations called for the governments in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore to abolish their guarantees of bank deposits as soon as possible; Asian households are moving their money to Asian bank accounts covered by Asian government bank guarantees; the guarantees extend through 2010 (NYT)

6-Dec-08

Mecca - Saudi Arabia - Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca (VOA News, 7-Deco-08); at least 2.5 million Muslims pilgrims are expected (VOA News-AFP-AP, 5-Dec-08. (See also: Moonsighting.com.) [6-Dec-08 - 8-Dec-08.]

Washington, DC - U.S. - President-elect Barack Obama: “We will create millions of jobs by making the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s”; up to 40,000 jobs can be created per $1 billion spent (NYT).

Athens - Greece - Protests and riots spread throughout Greece (NYT, 7-Dec-08); attacks targeted police departments and banks (Independent Media Center, 8-Dec-08). According to an article by Nikos Raptis, the demonstrations were triggered by (1) "students protesting the attempt of the rightist government to downgrade the state-supported public universities" and (2) farmers "protesting the policies of the government that have turned them into heavily debt-ridden paupers" (ZNet, 12-Dec-08). (See also: CNN, 12-Dec-08; Al Jazeera-Agencies, 12-Dec-08; NYT, 18-Dec-08.) [6-Dec-08 - 18-Dec-08.]

New York, NY - U.S. - Top credit-rating agencies, Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch Ratings, are being criticised by investors who relied on their ratings for having underestimated the risk of mortgage debt (NYT).

7-Dec-08

Peshawar - Pakistan - Taliban militants destroyed 160 trucks and military vehicles and torched 50 shipping containers destined for NATO and U.S troops in Afghanistan (VOA News, 7-8-Dec-08). (See also: NYT, 7-Dec-08.) [7-Dec-08 - 8-Dec-08.]

8-Dec-08

London - U.K. - According to The International Council on Security and Development (ICOS), the Taliban "has a permanent presence in 72% of the country [Afghanistan]. . . up from 54% in November 2007. . . The total number of international troops integrated to ISAF urgently needs to be doubled to a minimum of 80,000 troops" (ICOS).

Midland, MI - U.S. - The Dow Chemical Company to eliminate approximately 5,000 full-time jobs (about 11% of Dow’s global workforce), close 20 facilities, and divest several non-strategic businesses; Dow to also temporarily idle approximately 180 plants and reduce its contractor workforce by nearly 6,000 (Dow Chemical).

Chicago, IL; Delaware, MD - U.S. - Tribune Company, publisher of The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, to restructure its debt obligations under the protection of Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (Tribune). The Tribune's debt load is nearly $12 billion (MarketWatch).

IL - U.S. - Governor Rod R. Blagojevich announced that every Illinois state agency has been ordered to suspend doing business with the Bank of America (YouTube, 10-Dec-08). [See 29-Jan-09.]

10-Dec-08

Qalat, Zabul - Afghanistan - "Mistaken fire" incident: U.S. troops killed 6 Afghan policemen and one civilian (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies; NYT; Washington Post, 11-Dec-08).

London - U.K. - Rio Tinto to cut 14,000 jobs and to reduce net debt by $10 billion by yearend 2009 (Rio Tinti).

Montreal, QC - Canada - The $50 billion leveraged buyout of BCE was terminated; according to BCE's auditor, the solvency condition would not be satisfied (NYT). (See also: BCE, 11-Dec-08; OTPP, 11-Dec-08.)

11-Dec-08

Charlotte, NC - U.S. - Bank of America to cut from 30,000 to 35,000 jobs over 3 years (Bank of America). (See also: MarketWatch; CNN Money.)

New York, NY - U.S. - Bernard L. Madoff was arrested for being allegedly behind a $50 billion Ponzi scheme (OpenSecrets.org, 15-Dec-08).

Lawrence, NY - U.S. - Lawrence Kulak's "The Appropriate Response To Islamic Terror": "The retaliation that is undertaken should strike hard at the training bases, madrassa schools, and homes of all the properly identified terrorist commanders and fellow terrorists . . . in a series of sustained surprise attacks over a period of time that is aimed at total eradication of the entire network that coordinated this attack. Any and all collateral damage in the form of casualties to friends, relatives, or anyone connected to the lives of these terrorists should be swiftly ignored. Public opinion and what is written in the newspapers should also be ignored by nations seeking to avenge the death of its innocent civilians" (5 Towns Jewish Times-cashe in Google, 11-Dec-08). Mark Glenn's response, "US Media Ignores Call by Mainstream Jewish Newspaper To Murder Innocent Muslims" (American Free Press, 17-Dec-08).

New York, NY; Tronto, ON - U.S.; Canada - Nortel Networks Corp. stock price tumbled 97% in 2008 to less than $1; Nortel risks being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) (Bloomberg).

Tokyo - Japan - Sony to eliminate 6,000 jobs (NYT, 12-Dec-08).

Kirkuk - Iraq - Suicide bomber killed at least 55 people (VOA News). (See also: Los Angeles Times, 12-Dec-08.)

12-Dec-08

Tokyo - Japan - Japan increased its economic rescue package by 23 trillion yen ($255 billion) (BBC News). The package supplements a 26.9 trillion yen ($300 billion) stimulus unveiled in October (AFP). According to an OECD estimate, Japan's debt exceeded 180% of GDP (WSJ). (See also: Bloomberg.)

EU - The European Union agreed to a $260 billion economic stimulus package (average country investment of 1.5% of GDP) (Al Jazeera-Agencies). (See also: Reuters-UK.)

Washington, DC - U.S. - The U.S. Senate rejected a $14 billion bailout deal approved by the House on 10-Dec-08 for GM, Ford, and Chrysler (MarketWatch; Bloomberg; NYT). (See also: General Motors, 2-Dec-08; H.R. 7321, Library of Congress-THOMAS, 11-Dec-08.)

16-Dec-08

New York, NY - U.S. - The Bernard Madoff alleged scam was "sotto voce" at the United Jewish Appeal (UJA)-Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York’s Wall Street Dinner (NYT, 17-Dec-08).

Durham, NC - U.S. - The Center for Responsible Lending issued 2 reports by Joshua M. Frank: "Priceless or Just Expensive? The Use of Penalty Rates in the Credit Card Industry" and "What's Draining Your Wallet? The Real Cost of Credit Card Cash Advances", detailing "widespread practices that deceive and abuse consumers"; practises include the use of penalty repricing (increase of the cardholder's APR for late payment) and unfair allocation of payments forcing borrowers to pay the highest prices (up to 7% higher) (Center for Responsible Lending).

New York, Ny - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 359.61 points (4.20%), closing at 8,924.14 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

17-Dec-08

New York, NY - U.S. - Bernard L. Madoff has reportedly confessed to a $50 billion Ponzi scheme (NYT). Madoff clients include: Ascot Partners (run by Jacob Ezra Merkin, GMAC’s chairman); Banco Santander, Optimal Investment Services; Bank Medici; BNP Paribas; Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity; HSBC Holdings; Royal Bank of Canada; Royal Bank of Scotland; Technion-Israel Institute of Technology; Union Bancaire Privee; Yeshiva University (NYT); Madoff clients also include Rothschild & Cie Gestion, part of the Rothschild group, via the Elite fund (Bloomberg, 13-Dec-08). Madoff and others at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (BMIS) gave $372,100 in campaign contributions since 1991 (89% to Democrats); BMIS spent $590,000 on lobbying over 11 years (OpenSecrets.org, 15-Dec-08). (On Ponzi schemes, see NYT, 26-Dec-08.)

Detroit, MI - U.S. - Chrysler to close all 30 of its factories for at least one month (NYT).

New York, NY - U.S. - Morgan Stanley 2008 results: Net revenues, $24.7 Billion (down 12%); income from continuing operations, $1.707 billion (down 46.8%). 2008Q4 results: Net revenues, $1.8 billion; loss, $2.36 billion. (Morgan Stanley.) (See also: NYT.)

Oran - Algeria - OPEC "to cut 4.2 million barrels a day from the actual September 2008 OPEC-11 production of 29.045 mb/d, with effect from 1 January 2009" (OPEC). (See also: NYT, 18-Dec-08.)

18-Dec-08

New York, NY - U.S. - Crude-oil futures tumbled ending under $37 per barrel (MarketWatch). (See also: NYT.)

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve Board, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the National Credit Union Administration to protect credit card users with new rules effective 1-Jul-2010; the new rules prohibit credit card issuers from engaging in such practices as: increases in the interest rate during the first year after account opening and increases in the rate charged on pre-existing credit card balances; and "two-cycle" billing (Federal Reserve). (See also: ABA; MarketWatch.)

19-Dec-08

Tokyo - Japan - The Bank of Japan to reduce the uncollateralized overnight call rate by 0.2% to around 0.1% (Bank of Japan, 27-Jan-09).

22-Dec-08

Paris - France - The Paris Club to cancel $7.8 billion (the last 20%) of Iraq's debt from the Saddam Hussein era (Paris Club; UN News Service, 24-Dec-08).

Japan; Thailan; Taiwan; China - Nov-2008 exports plunged across Asia: Japan, down a record 27%; Thailand, down about 9% (17-year record low); Taiwan, down 23%; China, steepest decline in 7 years (Washington Post, 23-Dec-08).

23-Dec-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - American Express Co. to receive $3.39 billion and CIT Group $2.33 billion under the U.S. government's financial bailout program (U.S. Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)) (NYT-Reuters).

New York, NY - U.S. - Cerberus Capital Management LLC limited investor withdrawals from one of its hedge funds; the hedge fund lost 16% during Jan-Nov-08; Cerberus was founded by Stephen Feinberg, a former Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. banker (Bloomberg).

Worldwide - Reactions to the Madoff scandal: Jews feel embarassed, disgraced, and betrayed; Jews are concerned about their public image (NYT; AP, 25-Dec-08). According to the Anti Defamation League (ADL), the number of Internet anti-semitic comments and anti-Jewish, anti-Zionist conspiracy theories has surged (ADL, 2/31-Oct-08). (See also: Tacitus, "Histories.")

New York, NY - U.S. - Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet, a co-founder of Access International Advisors, apparently committed suicide; his hedge fund reportedly lost about $1.4 billion in Bernard L. Madoff's alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme (La Tribune; NYT-DealBook). A post by WhistleBlower in the New York Time's DealBook asks: "Suicide . . . or Black Ops operation to keep his mouth shut and send a message to others, their families, and the judiciary? (NYT-DealBook). (See also: Bloomberg, 13-Dec-08.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The United Nations Security Council extended its protection for Iraq's assets against international lawsuits until 31-Dec-09 (VOA News).

U.K.; Yemen; Spain; U.S. - Matthew Levitt and Michael Jacobson of the Stein Program on Counter-terrorism and Intelligence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy recommend that the Obama administration target terrorists' financing. The estimated costs of terrorist attacks are low: attack on U.S. destroyer Cole in Yemen in 2000, $10,000; train attacks in Madrid in 2004, $10,000; London Jul-05, $15,000; 9/11 attacks, less than $500,000. But the annual budget of a militant group can be significant: about $30 million for al-Qaeda before 9/11 (Los Angeles Times).

24-Dec-08

New York, NY - U.S. - American International Group, Inc. (AIG) announced that Maiden Lane III LLC (MLIII) has purchased an additional $16 billion multi-sector collateralized debt obligations (multi-sector CDOs); the associated credit default swap contracts and similar instruments (CDS) written by AIG Financial Products Corp. (AIGFP) have therefore been terminated. ML III was created by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) and AIG. As of 24-Dec-08, ML III has purchased about $62.1 billion in par amount of CDOs; the associated notional amounts of AIGFP CDS transactions have therefore been terminated. (AIG.) (See also: Washington Post-Bloomberg News, 25-Dec-08.)

New York, NY - U.S. - Crude oil fell to $35.35 a barrel -- down nearly 76% from a record high of $147.27 in Jul-08 (Los Angeles Time, 25-Dec-08). (See also: MarketWatch.)

McLean, VA - U.S. - Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS): 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.14% for the week ending 24-Dec-08 -- a record low since 1971 (Freddie Mac). National Association of Realtors: "Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – fell 8.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate¹ of 4.49 million units in November from a downwardly revised level of 4.91 million in October, and are 10.6 percent below the 5.02 million-unit pace in November 2007"; the U.S. median existing-home price for all housing types fell 13.2%, from $208,800 in November 2007 to $181,300 in November 2008 (National Association of Realtors, 23-Dec-08). (See also: MarketWatch.)

London - U.K. - Harold Pinter, an English playwright, poet, actor, author, and political activist of Jewish provenance, died from cancer at the age of 78; Pinter was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005. Sample "Pinteresque" quotes: "I believe that [the United States] will [attack Iraq] not only to take control of Iraqi oil, but also because the American administration is now a bloodthirsty wild animal. Bombs are its only vocabulary" [University of Turin, 27-Nov-02]; "United States is a monster out of control. Unless we challenge it with absolute determination American barbarism will destroy the world. The country is run by a bunch of criminal lunatics, with Blair as their hired Christian thug. The planned attack on Iraq is an act of premeditated mass murder" [Speech at Hyde Park, 15-Feb-03] (Wikipedia, 28-Dec-08). (See also: Nobelprize.org, 13-Oct-05.)

U.S. - Herbert Sandler is the founder of the Center for Responsible Lending. He and his wife Marion Sandler pioneered the option adjustable rate mortgage (the option ARM mortgage, named “Pick-A-Pay” by World Savings). Pick-A-Pay allows homeowners to make monthly mortgage payments that are smaller than even the interest component of the monthly payment in a traditional mortgage -- this trick of course increases the total principal owed. About 2 million homeowners are saddled with option adjustable rate mortgages. The Sandlers sold World Savings to the Wachovia Corporation for about $2.3 billion in shares and cash in 2006. Option ARM delinquencies are expected to increase sharply. (NYT.) The Sandlers are reportedly Jewish (Jewlicious, 11-Oct-08). (See also: Herb Sandler in Wikipedia, 26-Dec-08; Michelle Malkin, 7-Oct-08.)

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve Board announced it approved the application by GMAC LLC and IB Finance Holding Company, LLC to become bank holding companies (Federal Reserve; GMAC Financial Services). The Fed's approval expands GMAC's "opportunities for funding and access to capital"; General Motors Corp. shares increased more than 19% on 26-Dec-08 (MarketWatch, 26-Dec-08). (See also: Washington Post, 25-Dec-08.)

U.S. - Statistics on payday lenders and lending in the U.S.: Americans pay annually about $8 billion to borrow at least $50 billion from payday lenders (about 1000% the level in 1998, according to the California Department of Corporations); the number of payday outlets surged from 0 in 1990 to about 25,000; Check Into Cash, the "granddaddy of modern payday lenders" earned annualized interest rates of 459% (Los Angeles Times).

U.S. - According to an article by Duke Helfand, the Madoff scandal "connects to two deeply felt emotions: reverence for Jewish charity and anxiety about what the rest of the world thinks of Jews" (Los Angeles Times). (For anti-Jewish reactions, see: ADL, 2/31-Oct-08.)

25-Dec-08

Faradje - Democratic Republic of Congo - Rebels in Uganda reportedly massacred 400 civilians on Christmas day and torched 120 homes (CNN, 30-Dec-08). (See also: U.N. News service; Bloomberg.)

Tokyo - Japan - The Bank of Japan to maintain the uncollateralized overnight call rate at around 0.3 percent (Bank of Japan).

Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe cholera outbreak, as of 25-Dec-08: total cases, 26 497; death toll, 1 518 (WHO, 26-Dec-08).

26-Dec-08

Ramadi - Iraq - 13 people were killed, including 6 police officers, in a prison riot; militants escaped (Los Angeles Times, 27-Dec-08).

Islamabad - Pakistan - Pakistan placed its air force on high alert and deployed troops toward its border with India (VOA News; Los Angeles Times). (See also: NYT.)

27-Dec-08

Baghdad - Iraq - 2 bombs killed at least 28 people (Reuters UK). (See also: VOA News.)

New York, NY - U.S. - Berkley Books, a Penguin Group company, canceled the publishing of Herman Rosenblat's “Angel at the Fence”; Rosenblat's book, a memoir of the Holocaust, has been shown to be a hoax; several memoirs of the Holocaust and Nazi concentration camps have been shown to be fabricated (NYT, 28-Dec-08). (See also: The New Republic, 25/29-Dec-08.)

Gaza - Palestine - Israeli airstrikes killed 464 Palestinians and wounded more than 2,000 (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies, 4-Jan-09). The attack was a retaliation for Hamas rocket and mortar attacks (VOA News, 27-Dec-08) [the Hamas attacks were retaliations for Israel's food, medicine, and fuel blockade of Gaza]. (See also: NYT, 27-Dec-08; Los Angeles Times, 28-Dec-08; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies, 28-Dec-08; VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters, 28-Dec-08; NYT, 28-Dec-08; Christian Science Monitor, 31-Dec-08; Al Jazeera, 30-Dec-08; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies, 1-Jan-09; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies, 2-Jan-09; BBC News, 3-Jan-09.) [27-Dec-08 - 4-Jan-09.]

Tokyo - Japan - The Bank of Japan will encourage the uncollateralized overnight call rate to be at around 0.3% (Bank of Japan).

U.S. - The size of the student loan market in the U.S. is about $85-billion; the average student debt is estimated at $20,000; many students, victims of predatory lending, have private loans with variable interest rates that can exceed 15%, before fees (Los Angles Times).

28-Dec-08

Khost - Afghanistan - A suicide bomber killed at least 7 people (VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters).

Egypt; Iraq; Jordan; Lebanon; Syria; Yemen - People demonstrated throughout the Middle East against Israel's massacre of Palestinians (Los Angeles Times).

Buner - Pakistan - Suicide car bombing killed at least 30 people; Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack (VOA News).

Rome - Italy - The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) requested governments provide $5.2 billion to feed 100 million hungry people in 2009; without such funds, "millions of people in Haiti, the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya and other hunger hot spots will run out of food assistance by the end of March"; Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the World Food Programme: “We are at a critical juncture where we risk watching hunger spiral out of control as the world’s population is set to climb toward 9 billion mid-century” (UN WFP). (See also: VOA News, 28-Dec-08.).

29-Dec-08

New York, Ny - U.S. - Bank robberies in New York City during 2008: 431, up 54% (NYT). (See also: NY Daily News, 10-Sep-08.)

Tehran - Iran - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the United Nations International Criminal Court to sue Israeli leaders for crimes against humanity in Gaza Strip (IRNA; ISNA).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve to offer $150 billion in 83-day credit through its Term Auction Facility (TAF) (Federal Reserve).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The U.S. Department of the Treasury to purchase $5 billion in senior preferred equity with an 8% dividend from GMAC LLC; GMAC to issue warrants (5% of the preferred stock purchase) paying a 9% dividend if exercised; Treasury to lend up to $1 billion to General Motors (U.S. Department of the Treasury). (See also: GMAC.)

30-Dec-08

U.S. - S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index tumbled 18.0% in the 12-month period ending Oct-08; home prices registered a record low since March 2004 (S&P). (See also: MarketWatch; NYT; VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters.)

Bangladesh - Sheik Hasina Wajed, former prime minister and leader of the Awami League party, won a landslide victory in Bangladesh's election (VOA News). Khaleda Zia, also former prime minister and Chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) disputed the election results (China View-Xinhua, 31-Dec-08).

Tehran - Iran - The chairman of Iran's Jewish community, Rahmatollah Rafi, in Teheran protesting "Israeli war crimes and the slaughter of the innocent people in Gaza Strip": "We are here to express our support and sympathy with the Palestinian nation" (Jerusalem Post-IRNA).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index for December 2008 tumbled to 38.0 (1985=100), an all-time record low (The Conference Board). (See also: NYT; VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters.)

Palestine - Warning from Hamas: "We tell the leaders of the enemy - if you continue with your assault, we will hit with our rockets further than the cities we have hit so far" (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies).

31-Dec-08

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to sell the banking operations of IndyMac Federal Bank, FSB, Pasadena, CA, to a thrift holding company controlled by IMB Management Holdings LP, a limited partnership for approximately $13.9 billion (FDIC, 2-Jan-08). (See also: NYT-AP, 2-Jan-08.)

WE8Q3/7-Mar-09