A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K
	HISTORICAL NEXUS: WORLD EVENTS, TOP NEWS AND CATEGORIES: 1-JAN-12 - 10-APR-12
	From	01-Jan-12
	To	10-Apr-12		OK
	Days	101		OK
	News Items	560						Copyright © 2011-2012 by Macroknow Inc. All Rights Reserved.
	Date	News Categories			Authors	Title	X	World Event	Source/Link	Item
	1-Jan-12	GOV	OIL	JUST		Venezuela Ordered to Pay ExxonMobil in Assets Dispute		Venezuela was ordered to pay Exxon Mobil $908 million in a legal dispute regarding the nationalizing of Venezuela's oil assets; Exxon Mobil had sought $7 billion	VOA News-Reuters	1
	2-Jan-12	PRO	LAW		Palko Karasz; Melissa Eddy	Opposition Protests Constitution in Hungary		Hungary: tens of the thousands protest the new “majoritarian” Constitution which gives the government anti democratic control over the news media and over the courts	NYT	2
	2-Jan-12	DEBT	GOLD	JOBS	Niki Kitsantonis	In Greece’s Sour Economy, Some Shops Are Thriving		Greece: pawnshops and gold dealers are thriving while Greece's economy is shrinking, employees are being laid off en masse, and 1-in-4 small businesses are closing; some gold dealers buy gold teeth; some 80% of pawnshops and gold dealers were found guilty of tax evasion	NYT	3
	3-Jan-12	BANK	DEBT	BUS	E. Scott Reckard	Bank of America severing some small-business credit lines		Bank of America is reportedly squeezing, calling or severing loans to small businesses; alternatively, it is reportedly demanding much higher interest rates	Los Angeles Times	4
	3-Jan-12	M&A	ENER			Total expands its position in the USA, entering the Utica Shale formation in Ohio		Total E&P USA, Inc. agreed to enter into a Joint Venture with Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C., a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy Corporation and affiliates of its partner EnerVest Ltd.; Total to acquire a 25% interest in Chesapeake’s and EnerVest’s liquids-rich area of the Utica shale play in the state of Ohio, USA; the transaction is valued at $2.33 billion.	Total	5
	3-Jan-12	JOBS			Dominic Laurie	European Grads Target China Job Market for Employment		European graduates are seeking jobs in China. Jobless rates for 16-25-year-olds by country: UK, 1 in 5; Spain, 2 in 5	VOA News	6
	3-Jan-12	M&A	ENER			Athabasca Exercises its Option to Sell its Interest in the MacKay River Oil Sands Project		Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to sell its 40% interest in the MacKay River oil sands project to Cretaceous Oilsands Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of PetroChina International Investment Limited; the deal is valued at $680 million (Cdn.) in cash	Athabasca Oil Sands Corporation	7
	3-Jan-12	FIN			Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam; Christian Baumgaertel (ed.)	Pimco Total Return Saw $5B in ’11 Withdrawals		Pimco Total Return Fund had $5 billion in client redemptions in 2011 [source: Morningstar Inc.]	Bloomberg	8
	3-Jan-12	REL	GOV	VIO	Edward Wong	Violent Clashes Reported in China Over Mosque Demolition		China: violent clashes between Muslims protecting their mosque and authorities that want to demolish it	NYT	9
	4-Jan-12	BANK	FIN	DEBT	Nicole Bullock	Citigroup raises $2.5bn in bond offering		3-Jan-11: Citigroup sold $2.5 billion of debt;	Financial Times	10
	4-Jan-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		Federal Reserve offers $3 billion in 28-day term deposits through its Term Deposit Facility		Federal Reserve to offer $3 billion in 28-day term deposits through its Term Deposit Facility	Federal Reserve Board	11
	4-Jan-12	AOG	WEATH	FIN		Natural Disasters Make 2011 a Record Year for Insurance Loss		Global economic losses from natural catastrophes: record $380 billion in 2011, up from $220 billion in 2005 [Munich Re]. Death toll from natural catastrophes in 2001: ~27,000 (15,840 caused by Japan's earthquake and tsunami).	ENS	12
	5-Jan-12	BANK	JOBS		Mark Scott	European Banks Prepare More Job Cuts		Planned job cuts: Société Générale, ~880 “voluntary departures” and 700 layoffs; Royal Bank of Scotland, 2,000 jobs; Crédit Agricole, 2,350 jobs; BNP Paribas, 1,400 layoffs; Credit Suisse, 3,500 jobs; UBS, 3,500 jobs	NYT-DealBook	13
	5-Jan-12	M&A	AUTO		Mark Scott	Fiat Increases Stake in Chrysler		Fiat acquired an additional 5% of Chrysler, increasing its stake from 53.5% to 58.5%	NYT-DealBook	14
	5-Jan-12	REL	VIO			Series of blasts leaves scores dead in Iraq: At least 70 killed and more than 100 wounded in the latest attacks in mainly Shia areas across the country		Iraq: a series of bomb attacks targeting Shia pilgrims killed ≥70 people	Al Jazeera-Agencies	15
	5-Jan-12	ECON	OIL	MIL		Iran blasts West's embargo as 'economic war': Ban would stop Tehran's exports to Europe, but official says it could "very easily replace these customers"		Iran: the European Union announced a preliminary agreement to ban oil imports from Iran (according to Reuters, the EU imports 18% of Iran's oil output); Iran accused the West of waging "economic war" on Iran; Iran threatened in Dec-2011 to shut the Strait of Hormuz	Al Jazeera-Agencies	16
	5-Jan-12	PRO	OIL	VIO		Nigeria police crack down on fuel protests: About 300 people wounded and 19 others arrested and later released by police in the northern city of Kano		Nigeria: police cracked down on protesters demonstrating against soaring fuel prices; ~300 people were injured	Al Jazeera-Agencies	17
	5-Jan-12	RE	DEBT	MKT	Amy Hoak	30-year fixed-rate mortgage at record low: Housing market showing signs of improvement, economist says		The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages matched a record low of 3.91% for the week ending 5-Jan-12 [source: Freddie Mac]	MarketWatch	18
	5-Jan-12	BANK	DEBT		Bob Lawless	Bankruptcy Filings Down 11.7% in 2011		U.S. bankruptcy filings in 2011: 1,379,000 (down 11.7% YOY) [see also Total Bankruptcy Filings Decrease 12 Percent In 2011, Commercial Filings Fall 19 Percent, American Bankruptcy Institute, 4-Jan-2012, http://www.abiworld.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=64959]	Credit Slips	19
	6-Jan-12	VIO			Erika Solomon. Contributors: Alistair Lyon; Khaled Yacoub Oweis	Suicide bomb kills 25 in Damascus: Syrian TV		Syria: a suicide bomber killed ~25 people in Damascus	Reuters	20
	6-Jan-12	NATO	VIO		Laura King	8 NATO troops killed in 24 hours in southern Afghanistan		NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF): 8 NATO troops were killed in 24 hours	Washington Post: Los Angeles Times	21
	6-Jan-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT	Mark Scott	European Banks Stash Extra Cash With Central Bank		European banks deposited €455 billion ($578 billion) into the European central Bank (ECB) a record high since 1999 implying a significant reduction in short-term bank-to-bank lending	NYT-DealBook	22
	7-Jan-12	MIL	VIO			Kenya: Airstrikes Kill 60 Islamic Militants in Somalia		Kenya: airstrikes killed ≥60 al-Qaeda militants in Somalia; warnings of potential terrorist attacks issued for Kenya	VOA News-AP-AFP	23
	7-Jan-12	M&A	HEAL			Bristol-Myers Squibb to Acquire Inhibitex		Bristol-Myers Squibb to acquire Inhibitex in a transaction valued at ~2.5 billion	Bristol-Myers Squibb	24
	8-Jan-12	TECH			Nick Wingfield	A Tech Show Loses Clout as Industry Shifts		Las Vegas: The International Consumer Electronics Show, 10-13-Jan-2012 [http://www.cesweb.org]	NYT	25
	9-Jan-12	PRO	ECON	OIL		3 Killed in Nigeria Fuel Price Protests		Nigeria: tens of thousands of Nigerians protested soaring fuel prices (fuel prices doubled in 1 day); clashes with police killed at ≥3 people	VOA News	26
	9-Jan-12	SCIE	RES	NUC		Iran Starts Uranium Enrichment Underground		Iran initiated a program to enrich uranium to 20% purity at the underground Fordo complex (nuclear weapons require 90% purity)	VOA News-AFP-Reuters	27
	9-Jan-12	REL	ECON	POL	Pope Benedict XVI	Address to the Diplomatic Corps		Pope Benedict's annual “State of the World” address to the members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See: "Truly the world is dark wherever men and women no longer acknowledge their bond with the Creator and thereby endanger their relation to other creatures and to creation itself. The present moment is sadly marked by a profound disquiet and the various crises – economic, political and social – are a dramatic expression of this. Here I cannot fail to address before all else the grave and disturbing developments of the global economic and financial crisis. The crisis has not only affected families and businesses in the more economically advanced countries where it originated, creating a situation in which many people, especially the young, have felt disoriented and frustrated in their aspirations for a serene future, but it has also had a profound impact on the life of developing countries."	CatholicCulture.org	28
	9-Jan-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT	Jack Ewing	Swiss Central Bank Chief Resigns After Uproar		Philipp M. Hildebrand, head of the Swiss central bank, resigned; Mrs. Hildebrand apologized to the Swiss people and to her husband: “I failed my husband by not considering the perception of a ‘conflict of interest’ created by my purchase of dollars. My husband is a man of the utmost integrity, and I deeply regret that my actions might have led anyone to question this" [Reuters]	NYT	29
	9-Jan-12	Gov	Bank	DEBT		Consumer Credit - G.19		Federal Reserve Statistical Release: consumer credit outstanding surged to $2,477.7 billion (up $20.4 billion MOM; up an annual rate of 10.4%) in Nov-2011	Federal Reserve Board	30
	10-Jan-12	NUC	GOV	POL		Doomsday Clock moves to five minutes to midnight		The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to move the clock hand one minute closer to midnight; reasons include: "failure to act on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty by leaders in the United States, China, Iran, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Israel, and North Korea and on a treaty to cut off production of nuclear weapons material continues to leave the world at risk from continued development of nuclear weapons. The world still has approximately 19,500 nuclear weapons, enough power to destroy the Earth's inhabitants several times over"	Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists	31
	10-Jan-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		Reserve Bank income and expense data and transfers to the Treasury for 2011		The Federal Reserve Board: the Reserve Banks paid ~$76.9 billion of their 2011 net income (estimated at $78.9 billion) to the U.S. Treasury	Federal Reserve Board	32
	10-Jan-12	VIO				Bomb Kills 35 in NW Pakistan		Pakistan: bomb killed ≥35 people near a bus terminal	VOA News-AP-Reuters	33
	10-Jan-12	ECON			Chris Oliver	Chinese trade surplus widens to beat forecast		China: General Administration of Customs: China's trade surplus rose to $16.52 billion in Dec-2011; but dropped to $155.14 billion (down 14.5% YOY) in 2011	MarketWatch	34
	11-Jan-12	VIO	NUC	WWW	Scott Shane. Contributors: Steven Lee Myers; David E. Sanger; Alan Cowell; Rick Gladstone	Adversaries of Iran Said to Be Stepping Up Covert Actions		Iran's adversaries reportedly "accelerating covert campaign of assassinations, bombings, cyberattacks and defections"	NYT	35
	11-Jan-12	REL	LAW			Supreme Court upholds 'ministerial exception' in landmark victory for religious freedom		Catholic World News: "the US Supreme Court ruled that religious bodies should set their own standards for hiring ministers, free from government interference"	CatholicCulture.org-Catholic World News	36
	11-Jan-12	GOV	FIN	DEBT	Deborah Levine	Treasurys gain after record-setting auction		The U.S. Treasury Department sold $21 billion in 10-year notes at a yield of 1.90%, an all-time record low	MarketWatch	37
	11-Jan-12	PRO	VIO			Assad Rallies Syrians; Western Journalist Killed		Syria: thousands of Syrians rally in Damascus in support of President Bashar al-Assad; Assad claimed his government will defeat a "conspiracy" against Syria; the UN estimates the death toll from the uprising at 5,000 people	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	38
	11-Jan-12	VIO	REL		Craig Whitlock	Video appears to show troops urinating on corpses		Video on the Internet "purports to show Marines in combat gear urinating on the corpses of three Taliban insurgents"	Washington Post	39
	11-Jan-12	GOV	POL	VIO	Ralph Nader	Iran: The Neocons Are At It Again		Ralph Nader: "The same neocons who persuaded George W. Bush and crew to, in Ron Paul's inimitable words, "lie their way into invading Iraq" in 2003, are beating the drums of war more loudly these days to attack Iran"	Nader.org	40
	12-Jan-12	BANK	DEBT	RE		Mortgage Rates Continue Trend of Record-Breaking Lows		Freddie Mac: Primary Mortgage Market Survey: mortgage rates easing to all-time record lows in week ending 2-Jan-2012; 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.89% ; 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.76%	Freddie Mac-PR Newswire	41
	12-Jan-12	BANK	FIN	JOBS		RBS group announces strategic and organisational changes in its investment banking/wholesale business		Royal Bank of Scotland to cut ~3,500 over 3 years (in addition to a ~2,000 reduction in staff in RBS Global Banking & Markets (GBM) in 2011H2)	Royal Bank of Scotland	42
	12-Jan-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		12 January 2012 - Monetary policy decisions		ECB to keep the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility unchanged at 1.00%, 1.75%, and 0.25% respectively	European Central Bank	43
	12-Jan-12	VIO	GOV	NUC		IRGC Condemns Assassination of Iranian Scientist		11-Jan-2012: Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, an Iranian university professor and deputy director of Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, was killed in a bombing; the assassination is blamed on the "Zionist regime and its sympathizers in the White House and the West"	FARS News Agency	44
	12-Jan-12	POL	MON		Chris Cillizza; Aaron Blake	President Obama raised $68 million in fourth quarter		Amounts raised by President Obama’s campaign for his 2012 re-election campaign: total of almost $141 million, including $42 million in 2011Q4 ($24 million was also raised for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) during 2011Q4). Governor Mitt Romney raised $24 million in 2011Q4.	Washington Post	45
	12-Jan-12	BUS	MAN	JOBS		Supplier Responsibility at Apple		Apple Supplier Responsibility: 2012 Progress Report: Apple's Supplier Responsibility team conducted 229 audits in 2011 (up 80% YOY): overall practice in compliance statistic: 74% (working hours, 38%; wages and benefits, 69%)	Apple	46
	13-Jan-12	RES	GOV	DEBT	Moritz Kraemer; Frank Gill	Standard & Poor's Takes Various Rating Actions On 16 Eurozone Sovereign Governments		Standard & Poor's Ratings Services announced rating actions on 16 members of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU or eurozone): S&P "lowered the long-term ratings on Cyprus, Italy [from A/Watch Neg/A-1 to BBB+/Negative/A-2], Portugal, and Spain [from AA-/Watch Neg/A-1+ to A/Negative/A-1] by two notches; lowered the long-term ratings on Austria, France [from AAA/Watch Neg/A-1+ to AA+/Negative/A-1+], Malta, Slovakia, and Slovenia, by one notch; and affirmed the long-term ratings on Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany [affirmed at AAA/Watch Neg/A-1+], Ireland, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands"	Standard & Poor's	47
	13-Jan-12	BANK	FIN			JPMorgan Chase Reports Fourth-Quarter 2011 Net Income of $3.7 Billion, or $0.90 Per Share, on Revenue of $22.2 Billion; Full-Year 2011 Record Net Income of $19.0 Billion, or $4.48 Per Share, on Revenue of $99.8 Billion		JPMorgan 2011Q4 results: total net revenue, $21,471 billion (down 18% YOY); net income $3,728 billion (down 23% YOY); provision for credit losses, $2,184 billion (down 28%); headcount, 260,157 (up 8% YOY); 2011 results: total net revenue, $97,234 billion (down 5% YOY); net income $18,976 billion (up 9% YOY); provision for credit losses, $7,574 billion (down 54%); headcount, 260,157 (up 8% YOY) [reported basis]	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	48
	13-Jan-12	GOV	BUS		Anjana Pasricha	India Allows Single Brand Retailers to Open Fully Owned Stores		India: the Indian government to allow foreign companies to open 100%-owned single-brand stores	VOA News	49
	13-Jan-12	PRO	VIO			Thousands Rally in Syria as Arab League Chief Warns of Civil War		Syria: ~20,000 demonstrators protested against President Bashar al-Assad; soldiers reportedly killed ≥1 person; a Russian vessel carrying ammunition from Russia to Syria was intercepted	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	50
	13-Jan-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT	Margit Feher	ECB Overnight Deposits Again Hit Record High		12-Jan-2012: Euro-zone: banks' overnight deposits with the European Central Bank (ECB) hit an all-time record of €489.906 billion ($627.77 billion)	European Central Bank	51
	14-Jan-12	ACC				Cruise ship runs aground in Italy		13-Feb-2012: Luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground off Italy's coast: 3 people were killed; 69 were missing	CBC: AP	52
	14-Jan-12	VIO	REL			Blast kills Iraqi Shia pilgrims in Basra		Iraq: a suicide attack killed ≥53 Shia Muslim pilgrims in Basra	Al Jazeera-Agencies	53
	14-Jan-12	ELITE	ECON	FIN	Shaila Dewan; Robert Gebeloff	Among the Wealthiest 1 Percent, Many Variations		U.S.: the top 1% of earners receives almost 20% of America's pretax income, about double their share 30 years ago; they pay just over 25% of all federal taxes [source: Tax Policy Center]; they received 22% of their income from capital gains (vs. 2% for everybody else)	NYT	54
	15-Jan-12	VIO	SEC		Michael S. Schmidt; Duraid Adnan. Contributor: an Iraqi employee of NYT	Police Officers Are Killed in Insurgent Attacks in Iraq		Iraq: car bombs and gunmen targeted a police compound; 9 people, including 5 police officers, were killed	NYT	55
	15-Jan-12	VIO				Pakistani Intelligence: Taliban Leader Believed Killed in US Drone Strike		12-Jan-2012: Pakistan: a bomb killed ≥16 people; a U.S. drone strike may have killed Pakistani Taliban Hakimullah Mehsud	VOA News-AP-FP	56
	15-Jan-12	PRO	REL		Tom Kington	Vatican protesters evicted by police		Rome: demonstrators aiming to set up a protest camp in St Peter's Square were evicted by police	The Guardian	57
	16-Jan-12	WWW				China’s Internet Population Hits 513 Million		China: China Internet Network Information Center: China's Internet population rose to 513 million in 2011 (up 12% YOY)	VOA News	58
	16-Jan-12	M&A	OIL		Will Kennedy (ed.); Stephen Cunningham (ed.)	Pembina Pipeline Buys Canada's Provident for $3.1 Billion		Pembina Pipeline Corporation to acquire Provident Energy Ltd. for $3.1 billion in shares [see also Pembina' news release, http://pembina.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=10336&item=109859]	Bloomberg-Businessweek	59
	16-Jan-12	WWW	SEC		Amy Tiebel. Contributor: Ian Deitch	Hackers disrupt Israel airline, stock market sites		Saudi Arabia: "group-xp," a hacker network in Saudi Arabia, reportedly attacked the websites of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and El Al Israel Airlines	AP	60
	16-Jan-12	VIO	REL			Car Bombs Kill At Least 12 in Iraq		Iraq: car bombings killed ≥12 people, including women and children; many attacks have targeted Shia citizens	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	61
	16-Jan-12	MKT	MON		Julia Werdigier	London Wants to Tap Chinese Currency Market		U.K.: the government plans to create a Chinese currency hub in London; according to George Osborne, the chancellor of the Exchequer, "there is scope for substantial expansion of the renminbi market in the coming years" -- the renminbi's share of the global foreign exchange market in Jun-2011 was 0.9%, China’s share in worldwide trade in 2010 was 11%	NYT-DealBook	62
	16-Jan-12	REL	BANK	FIN		L'Osservatore Romano questions ratings downgrade		L'Osservatore Romano questioned Standard & Poor's decision to downgrade 9 EU countries’ credit-worthiness	Vatican Radio	63
	17-Jan-12	ECON	RE		Keith B. Richburg	National Economy Maintained Steady and Fast Development in the Year of 2011		China’s GDP grew by 9.2% in 2011 (YOY quarterly growth; 2011Q1, 9.7%; 2011Q2, 9.5%; 2011Q3, 9.1%; 2011Q4, 8.9%); total investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) in 2011 grew by 23.8% (a real growth of 16.1%). Other 2011 statistics: total investment in real estate grew by 27.9% (a real growth of 20.0%); the balance of broad money (M2) at yearend 2011 grew by 13.6% YOY; the per capita disposable income of urban households grew by a nominal 14.1% (a real growth of 8.4%)	National Bureau of Statistics of China	64
	17-Jan-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 1 per cent		The Bank of Canada to keep its target for the overnight interest rate unchanged at 1.0%; the Bank Rate and the deposit rate to set set at 1.25% and 0.75%, respectively; Canada's GDP grew by 2.4% in 2011; the Bank of Canada projects it will grow by 2.0% in 2012 and 2.8%t in 2013	Bank of Canada	65
	17-Jan-12	ECON				Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 1 per cent		Canada's GDP grew by 2.4% in 2011; the Bank of Canada projects it will grow by 2.0% in 2012 and 2.8%t in 2013	Bank of Canada	66
	17-Jan-12	PRO			Max Chafkin. Contributors: Alexandra Beggs; Mark Guiducci; Jaime Lalinde; Elizabeth Nicholas; Rebecca Sacks; Kaitlin Sanders	Revolution Number 99: An Oral History of Occupy Wall Street		Feb-2012: Vanity Fair: collection of historical fragments and comments about the genesis of the Occupy Wall Street movement	Vanity Fair	67
	17-Jan-12	M&A	BANK			Acquisition of Aircraft Leasing Business from the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc		Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to acquire the aircraft leasing business of the Royal Bank of Scotland for ~$7.2 billion	Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group	68
	17-Jan-12	BANK	FIN			Citigroup Reports Fourth Quarter 2011 Net Income of $1.2 Billion or $0.38 per Share1, Compared to $1.3 Billion or $0.43 in Fourth Quarter 2010		Citigroup 2011 results: revenues, $78.4 billion; net income, $11.3 billion (up 6% YOY). 2011Q4 results: revenues, $17.2 billion (down 7% YOY); net I\income, $1.2 billion	Citigroup	69
	17-Jan-12	BANK	FIN			Wells Fargo Reports Record Quarterly And Full Year Net Income: Q4 Net Income Of $4.1 Billion; Q4 Revenue Of $20.6 Billion		Wells Fargo 2011Q4 results: revenue, $20.6 billion (up 20% annualized QOQ); record net income, $4.1 billion. 2011 results: revenue, $80.9 billion (down 5% YOY); record net income, $15.9 billion (up 28% YOY)	Wells Fargo	70
	17-Jan-12	BUS	FOOD	JOBS		Kraft Foods Takes Steps To Position Company For Successful Spinoff		Kraft Foods to terminate 1,600 positions in North America throughout 2012	Kraft Foods	71
	18-Jan-12	BANK	FIN			Goldman Sachs Reports Earnings Per Common Share Of $4.51 For 2011		Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. 2011 results: net revenues, $28.81 billion (down 26%); net earnings, $4.44 billion (down 47%). 2011Q4 results: net revenues, $6.05 billion; net earnings, $1.01 billion	Goldman Sachs	72
	18-Jan-12	PRO	BUS	LAW		Major Websites Protest US Anti-Piracy Legislation with Blackout		Major websites, including Wikipedia and Google, protested The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) under consideration in the U.S. Congress; the film and music industry support anti-piracy legislation	VOA News	73
	18-Jan-12	ACC				Desperate Cruise Ship Search Suspended		UPDATE: Official report regarding luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia which capsized after hitting rocks off Italy's coast on 13-Feb-2012: ≥11 people were killed; 20 are still missing	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	74
	18-Jan-12	GOV	BUS	OIL	Laura Payton	Keystone XL pipeline proposal rejected – for now; TransCanada will apply again, CEO says		The U.S. government rejected an application by TransCanada to build the Keystone XL pipeline	CBC News	75
	18-Jan-12	HEAL	VIO		Gilda Sedgh et al.	Long-Term Worldwide Decline In Abortions Has Stalled: Plateau Coincides With Slowdown In What Had Been A Steady Increase In Contraceptive Use		New research from the Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization (WHO): "Between 1995 and 2003, the overall number of abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age (15–44 years) dropped from 35 to 29; . . . the global abortion rate in 2008 was virtually unchanged, at 28 per 1,000" [Gilda Sedgh et al., Induced Abortion: Incidence and Trends Worldwide from 1995 to 2008, The Lancet, 18-Jan-2012]	Guttmacher Institute; WHO	76
	18-Jan-12	POL	MON		Wayne Barrett. Contributors: Jillian Anthony; Irina Ivanova; Clarissa León; Nicole Marsh; Kyle Roerink	Is Gingrich’s Hard Line on Palestine Paid for by Sheldon Adelson?		Wayne Barrett, on the linkage between big money and politics: Newt Gingrich flipped from "moderate" on the Middle East to "saber-rattling hawk" after Sheldon Adelson injected a multi-million dollar donation; concern: "The linkage between campaign contributions and compromised candidates has grown so familiar that it no longer shocks, and indeed rarely even interests, most of us"	The Daily Beast	77
	19-Jan-12	BUS	FIN	LAW		Eastman Kodak Company and Its U.S. Subsidiaries Commence Voluntary Chapter 11 Business Reorganization		Eastman Kodak Company and Its U.S. subsidiaries file for voluntary Chapter 11 business reorganization	Kodak	78
	19-Jan-12	BANk	FIN			Bank of America Reports Fourth-Quarter 2011 Net Income of $2.0 Billion, or $0.15 Per Diluted Share; Full-Year 2011 Net Income of $1.4 Billion, or $0.01 Per Diluted Share		Bank of America 2011 results: total revenue, net of interest expense (FTE basis), $94.426 billion (down 15.2% YOY); net income, $1.446 billion (up from a loss of $2.238 billion in 2010); provision for credit losses, $2.934 (down $5.129 billion in 2010). 2011Q4 results: total revenue, net of interest expense (FTE basis), $25.146 billion (up 10.9% YOY); net income, $1.991 billion (up from a loss of $1.244 billion in 2010)	Bank of America-Business Wire	79
	19-Jan-12	BANK	FIN			Morgan Stanley Reports Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2011		Morgan Stanley 2011 results: net revenues, $32.4 billion (up 3.2% YOY); income, $4.2 billion (down 6.7% YOY)	Morgan Stanley	80
	19-Jan-12	BANK	FIN	DEBT	John Glover; Abigail Moses; Paul Armstrong (ed.)	Banks Flush With ECB Cash Outperform Sovereigns		Banks with an ECB lifeline outperform sovereigns; according to Bloomberg, euro governments are expected to borrow ~$2 trillion in 2012	Bloomberg	81
	19-Jan-12	BANK	DEBT	RE		30-year Fixed-rate Mortgage Averages 3.88 Percent		Freddie Mac: 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.88%, an all-time record low	Freddie Mac-PR Newswire	82
	19-Jan-12	HEAL	RES		David Brown	Government survey finds that 5 percent of Americans suffer from a ‘serious mental illness’		National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH):~20% of American adults suffer some sort of mental illness; ~5% suffer from a serious disorder; ~4% of adults contemplate suicide each year	Washington Post	83
	19-Jan-12	VIO				Suicide Bomber Kills 7 in Southern Afghanistan		Afghanistan: suicide car bomber killed 7 people, including 2 children; NATO vehicles targeted; the Taliban claimed responsibility	VOA News	84
	19-Jan-12	JUST	WWW			Justice Department Charges Leaders of Megaupload with Widespread Online Copyright Infringement		U.S. Justice Department and FBI charged: "Seven individuals and two corporations have been charged in the United States with running an international organized criminal enterprise allegedly responsible for massive worldwide online piracy of numerous types of copyrighted works through Megaupload.com and other related sites, generating more than $175 million in criminal proceeds and causing more than half a billion dollars in harm to copyright owners. . . This case is part of efforts being undertaken by the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property (IP Task Force) to stop the theft of intellectual property"	FBI	85
	19-Jan-12	PRO	JUST	WWW	AnonymousWiki			Anonymous: "Popular file-sharing website megaupload.com gets shutdown by U.S Justice - FBI and charged its founder with violating piracy laws. Four Megaupload members were also arrested. . . We Anonymous are launching our largest attack ever on government and music industry sites. Lulz. The FBI didn't think they would get away with this did they? They should have expected us. . ."; several websites were taken down, including: justice.gov, usdoj.gov, copyright.gov, universalmusic.com	Anonymous	86
	19-Jan-12	BUS	TECH	FIN		IBM Reports 2011 Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year Results		IBM 2011 results: revenue, $106.9 billion (up 7%, up 3% adjusting for currency); net income (GAAP), $15.9 billion (up 7%). 2011Q4 results: revenue, $29.5 billion (up 2%, 1% adjusting for currency YOY); net income (GAAP), $5.5 billion (up 4% YOY)	IBM	87
	19-Jan-12	BUS	TECH	FIN	Patrick Darling	Intel Reports Record Year $54 Billion in Annual Revenue Up 24 Percent, $2.39 in Annual EPS Up 19 Percent		Intel Corporation 2011 GAAP results: record revenue, $54 billion (up 24%); record net income, $12.9 billion (up 13%). 2011Q4 GAAP results: revenue, $13.9 billion (up 21% YOY); net income, $3.4 billion (up 6% YOY)	Intel	88
	19-Jan-12	BUS	TECH	FIN		Microsoft Reports Record Revenue of $20.9 Billion in Second Quarter		Microsoft Q2 (ended 31-Dec-2011) results: revenue, $20.89 billion (up 5% YOY); net income, $6.62 billion $6.63 billion (down 0.15% YOY)	Microsoft	89
	19-Jan-12	BUS	TECH	FIN		Google Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2011 Results		Google 2011 GAAP results: revenues, $37.905 billion (up 29.3%); net income, $9.737 (up 14.5%). 2011Q4 GAAP results: revenues, $10.584 (up 25.4% YOY); net income, $2.705 (up 6.4% YOY)	Google	90
	19-Jan-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		New York Fed Sells $7.014 Billion in Face Value of ML II LLC Assets		New York Fed to sell $7.014 billion in face value of assets Maiden Lane II LLC [AIG assets] portfolio to Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC	Federal Reserve Bank of New York	91
	19-Jan-12	REL	FREE			Pope to US bishops: Defend the Churches’ place in public square		Pope Benedict's to US bishops: " . . . it is imperative that the entire Catholic community in the United States come to realize the grave threats to the Church’s public moral witness presented by a radical secularism which finds increasing expression in the political and cultural spheres. The seriousness of these threats needs to be clearly appreciated at every level of ecclesial life. Of particular concern are certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion. Many of you have pointed out that concerted efforts have been made to deny the right of conscientious objection on the part of Catholic individuals and institutions with regard to cooperation in intrinsically evil practices. Others have spoken to me of a worrying tendency to reduce religious freedom to mere freedom of worship without guarantees of respect for freedom of conscience."	Vatican Radio	92
	20-Jan-12	BUS	TECH	FIN		GE Reports 4Q’11 Operating EPS of $0.39, Up 11%; Industrial Segment Revenues of $26.8B, Up 10%; Industrial Segment Organic Revenue Up 5%; Infrastructure Orders Up 15%; Largest Infrastructure Backlog in GE History at $200B; Record Industrial CFOA of $5.5B in 4Q; FY‘11 of $12.1B; GE Positioned to Deliver Double-Digit Earnings Growth in 2012		GE 2011 results: revenue, $147.3 billion (down 2%); net earnings attributable to the company, $14.151 billion (up 22%). 2011Q4 results: total revenues, $37.973 billion (down 8%); net earnings attributable to the company, $3.730 billion (down 18%)	General Electric	93
	20-Jan-12	VIO	MIL	EDU	Edward Cody; Kevin Sieff	France halts training after Afghan soldier kills 4 French troops		Afghanistan: an Afghan soldier targeted his trainers and killed 4 French soldiers; France suspended its training operation in Afghanistan	Washington Post	94
	20-Jan-12	ACC	MIL			Afghan helicopter crash kills NATO troops		Afghanistan: a NATO CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter crashed killing 6 American soldiers	Al Jazeera: Agencies	95
	20-Jan-12	BANK	JOBS		Fabio Benedetti-Valentini; Frank Connelly (ed.)	Paris Banking Job Cuts Reflect Wilting Ambitions		France: top 3 corporate-and-investment banking (CIB) units – BNP Paribas SA, Societe Generale, and Credit Agricole – to cut 1,800 jobs at home	Bloomberg	96
	20-Jan-12	PRO	VIO		Nada Bakri	Self-Immolation Is on the Rise in the Arab World		Desperate lives in the Arab world have pushed many to self-immolate: 107 Tunisians attempted to kill themselves by self-immolation in the 6 months since the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a fruit vendor, on 27-Dec-2010 [the trigger of the Arab Spring] [source: BBC]; 5 young men self-immolated in Morocco on 18-Jan-2012; others attempted self-immolation in Tunisia, Jordan, and Bahrain	NYT	97
	20-Jan-12	MEDIA	POL		Rachel Streitfeld; Paul Steinhauser	Gingrich delivers show-stopper at beginning of South Carolina debate		House Speaker Newt Gingrich, responding to CNN Chief National Correspondent John King's question about open marriage: "I think that the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the bews media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people who run foe office, and I am appaled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that. I'm not finished. . . To take an ex-wife and make it two days before the primary a significant question in a presidential campaign is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine"	CNN	98
	21-Jan-12	VIO				At Least 131 Dead in Nigeria Bombings		Nigeria: bombings in Kano killed ≥131 people; Boko Haram claimed responsibility	VOA News	99
	21-Jan-12	MIL	POL		Amir Oren	U.S. Chief of Staff: U.S. and Israel have shared understanding of Mideast security		U.S. Chief of Staff General Martin Dempsey in Israel to “advance a shared understanding of the security situation in the region," including especially Iran	Haaretz	100
	21-Jan-12	GOV				Muslim Brotherhood tops Egyptian poll result: Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party wins 47 per cent of seats, with al-Nour party coming in second, officials say		Egypt: result of the election for the lower house of parliament: the Freedom and Justice Party (Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood) won 47% of all seats; the Islamist Salafi al-Nour party won 24% of all seats; the liberal al-Wafd party won ~7% of the seats; other political parties won 22% of all seats	Al Jazeera-Agencies	101
	21-Jan-12	VIO				Deadly bus explosion hits Syria's Idlib		Syria: bus transporting prisoners exploded killing 14 people; the attack may not have been deliberately targeted	Al Jazeera-Agencies	102
	21-Jan-12	VIO	MIL		Dan Morse. Contributors: Uthman al-Mukhtar; Asaad Majeed	4 Iraqi troops killed in attack in Fallujah		Iraq: gunmen targeted an army checkpoint in Fallujah and killed 4 soldiers	Washington Post	103
	22-Jan-12	PRO	GOV			Libya's No. 2 Leader Resigns After Benghazi Anti-Government Riot		Libya: anti-government riot; the deputy head of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) Abdel Hafiz Ghoga resigned	VOA News-AFP-Reuters	104
	22-Jan-12	VIO	MIL			Somalia Drone Strike Kills al-Qaida Operative		Somalia: drone-fired missiles killed an al-Qaeda operative	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	105
	22-Jan-12	LAW	WWW	MON	Sarah McBride; Lisa Richwine; Jasmin Melvin; Diane Bartz; Jonathan Weber (ed.); Maureen Bavdek (ed.)	Epic Clash: Silicon Valley Blindsides Hollywood on Piracy		U.S.: amounts spent on influencing policy during 1998-2011: technology companies (including computer and Internet companies), $1.2 billion; entertainment companies (including Hollywood movie studios), $906.4 million. Entertainment companies support SOPA and PIPA; technology companies do not.	NYT: Reuters	106
	23-Jan-12	ELITE	ECON	POL	Samantha Tonkin	Majority of Global Experts Now Fear Looming Geopolitical Disruption as World Leaders Head to Davos		Davos-Klosters, Switzerland: World Economic Forum’s 3rd Global Confidence Index: "54% of global experts expect a major geopolitical disruption over the next 12 months, up from 36% last quarter. . . A consistent 60% of respondents said they lacked confidence in the state of global governance, signalling little trust in political leadership to deal with global risks"	World Economic Forum	107
	23-Jan-12	ELITE	POL			The Great Transformation – Shaping New Models		25-29 January 2012: World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2012: "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models"	World Economic Forum	108
	23-Jan-12	M&A	OIL	ENER		Apache to Acquire Cordillera Energy Partners III LLC for $2.85 Billion		Apache to acquire Cordillera Energy Partners III LLC for $2.85 billion	Apache	109
	23-Jan-12	POL	VIO		Philip Weiss	Assassination has been a trusty tool in Zionism’s rightwing movement		Philip Weiss on assassination as a "trusty tool" of radical Zionism. Atlanta Jewish Times publisher Andrew Adler reportedly suggested that the Mossad assassinate Barack Obama; Adler reportedly apologized	Mondoweiss	110
	23-Jan-12	POL	VIO			Atlanta Jewish Times publisher resigns over Obama assassination column		Andrew Adler, the publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times has resigned; according to JTA, in a 13-Jan-2012 column, Adler outlined "possible responses by Israel to Iran's acquiring a nuclear weapon," including "the go-ahead for U.S.-based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel . . ."	JTA	111
	23-Jan-12	GOV	OIL		Hossein Jaseb; Justyna Pawlak. Contributors: Robin Pomeroy; Mitra Amiri in Tehran; David Brunnstrom; Adrian Croft; John Irish; Alexei Anishchuk; Ari Rabinovitch; Jeffrey Heller; Nidhi Verma; Steve Gutterman; Rachelle Younglai; Andrew Quinn; Fredrik Dahl; Alastair Macdonald; Robert Woodward (ed.)	WRAPUP 3-Iran slams EU oil embargo, warns could hit U.S.		EU to embargo Iranian oil effective 1-Jul-2012; response from an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman: "European Union sanctions on Iranian oil is psychological warfare"; options contemplated by Iran include: closing the Strait of Hormuz; curbing oil exports to EU countries	Reuters	112
	23-Jan-12	PRO	LAW			Abortion opponents urged to unite behind eventual GOP nominee at annual ‘March for Life’ rally		Thousands of abortion opponents joined the “March for Life” to mark the 39th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion	Washington Post: AP	113
	23-Jan-12	M&A	GOLD			Pan American To Acquire Minefinders And Create The Leading Geographically-Diversified Silver Producer		Pan American Silver Corporation to acquire the Minefinders Corporation for ~$1.5 billion	Pan American Silver Corporation	114
	23-Jan-12	POL	REL	MON	Nicholas Confessore. Contributor: Jeremy W. Peters	‘Super PAC’ for Gingrich to Get $5 Million Infusion		Sheldon Adelson and his wife Dr. Miriam Adelson reportedly contributed a total of $10 million to the super PAC "Winning Our Future." Sheldon Adelson is in the "gambling/leisure businesses"; he is a billionaire of Jewish provenance; his wife is an an Israeli physician [source: Wikipedia,   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Adelson]. Sheldon Adelson reportedly said at the Taglit Birthright event: “Read the history of those who call themselves Palestinians, and you will hear why [Newt] Gingrich said recently that the Palestinians are an invented people" [source: Revital Blumenfeld, "Sheldon Adelson to Birthright group: Gingrich is right to call Palestinians 'invented people,'" Haaretz, 26-Dec-2011, http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/sheldon-adelson-to-birthright-group-gingrich-is-right-to-call-palestinians-invented-people-1.403671]	NYT	115
	24-Jan-12	GOV	POL	ECON		The 2012 State of the Union: An America Built to Last		President Obama: The 2012 State of the Union	Whitehouse.gov	116
	24-Jan-12	VIO				Baghdad car bombs kill 14, injure dozens		Iraq: a series of car bombings in Baghdad killed 14 people; Iraq death toll to date from violence: ≥170	CBC News: AP	117
	24-Jan-12	POL	MON			Romney Tax Returns Show 2-Year Income of $45 Million		Mitt Romney likely to pay $6.2 million in taxes on $45 million in income over tax years 2010-2011 [effective tax rate of ~13.8%]; Newt Gingrich and his wife paid $994,708 in federal tax on an adjusted gross income of $3,162,424 in 2010 [effective tax rate of ~31.7%]	NYT	118
	24-Jan-12	GOV	ECON			World Economic Outlook Update: Global Recovery Stalls, Downside Risks Intensify		IMF: World Economic Outlook Update: "The global recovery is threatened by intensifying strains in the euro area and fragilities elsewhere. Financial conditions have deteriorated, growth prospects have dimmed, and downside risks have escalated. Global output is projected to expand by 3¼ percent in 2012 . . . —a downward revision of about ¾ percentage point relative to the September 2011 World Economic Outlook (WEO)."	IMF	119
	24-Jan-12	M&A	BUS			SPX Announces Definitive Agreement to Sell its Service Solutions Business to Robert Bosch GmbH for $1.15 Billion		SPX Corporation to sell its Service Solutions business to Robert Bosch GmbH for $1.15 billion in cash	SPX Corporation	120
	24-Jan-12	GOV	ECON		Michael Kitchen	Japan posts first annual trade deficit since 1980		Japan posted its 1st annual trade deficit since 1980; causes include a strong yen, natural disasters, and increased energy imports	MarketWatch	121
	24-Jan-12	VIO	SEC		Peter Heinlein	Nigeria Police Investigating Kano Attacks		20-Jan-2012: Nigeria: bomb attacks targeting the police in Kano killed 185 people; Boko Haram fighters suspected	VOA News	122
	24-Jan-12	BUS	TECH	FIN		Apple Reports First Quarter Results: Highest Quarterly Revenue and Earnings Ever		Apple 2012Q1 results: revenue, $46.33 billion (up 73.3% YOY); net profit, $13.06 billion (up 117.6% YOY)	Apple	123
	25-Jan-12	FIN	POL	MKT	Alan Greenspan	Meddle with the market at your peril		In an opinion piece in the Financial Times, Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the federal Reserve, defended "free-market capitalism"	Financial Times-Opinion	124
	25-Jan-12	BANK	FIN	MON	Mark Scott	European Banks Push to Meet Capital Goals		European financial institutions raised ≥€40.7 billion ($52.8 billion) in new capital in 2011Q4 (estimates by Citigroup)	NYT-DealBook	125
	25-Jan-12	PRO			David D. Kirkpatrick. Contributor: Mayy El Sheikh	Egyptians Gather on First Anniversary of Revolt		Egypt: ~100,000 Egyptians demonstrated in Tahrir Square to mark the first anniversary of the Egyptian revolution	NYT	126
	25-Jan-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement of longer-run goals and policy strategy		Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), on principles regarding its longer-run goals and monetary policy strategy: "inflation at the rate of 2 percent . . . is most consistent over the longer run with the Federal Reserve's statutory mandate. . . FOMC participants' estimates of the longer-run normal rate of unemployment had a central tendency of 5.2 percent to 6.0 percent . ."	Federal Reserve Board	127
	25-Jan-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement		FOMC to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0%-0.25% and currently anticipates economic conditions are" likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014"	Federal Reserve Board	128
	25-Jan-12	MKT	GOLD		Myra P. Saefong	Gold ends atop $1,700, first time in over 6 weeks		NYMEX-Comex: gold for Feb-2012 delivery settled at $1,700.10/oz. (up 2.1%)	MarketWatch	129
	25-Jan-12	ELITE	FIN		Adrian Monck	To Serve Society Better, Capitalism Needs a Redesign		World Economic Forum’s 42nd Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters: leaders agreed "Capitalism needs to serve society better"	World Economic Forum	130
	26-Jan-12	WWW	FREE	POL		Tweets still must flow		Twitter: "Starting today, we give ourselves the ability to reactively withhold content from users in a specific country — while keeping it available in the rest of the world. We have also built in a way to communicate transparently to users when content is withheld, and why. . . if and when we are required to withhold a Tweet in a specific country, we will attempt to let the user know, and we will clearly mark when the content has been withheld"	Twitter Blog	131
	26-Jan-12	BUS	TEL	FIN		Best-Ever Mobile Broadband Sales and Strong Cash Flows Highlight AT&T's Fourth-Quarter Results; Stock Buyback Begins on Previous 300 Million Share Authorization		AT&T 2011Q4 results: revenues, $32.5 billion (up 3.6% YOY); net loss attributable to AT&T, $6.7 billion. Full year 2011: revenues, $126.7 billion (up 2.0% YOY); net income attributable to AT&T, $3.9 billion (down 80.4% YOY)	AT&T	132
	26-Jan-12	M&A	BUS			Amgen to Acquire Micromet		Amgen to acquire Micromet (a biotechnology company) for $1.16 billion	Amgen	133
	26-Jan-12	ELITE	FIN	HEAL		Foundation Commits $750 Million to Global Fund		The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gave $750 million through a promissory note to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria (annoucement made at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland)	Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation	134
	26-Jan-12	VIO	REL			New church attacks in northern Nigeria; thousands of Christians flee		22-Jan-2012: Nigeria: bomb attacks targeted 2 churches; up to 35,000 Christians have reportedly fled the Muslim area following a Boko Haram ultimatum	CatholicCulture.org	135
	26-Jan-12	VIO	MIL		Sayed Salahuddin	Bomber targets NATO convoy in Afghanistan; 3 killed		Afghanistan: a suicide bomber targeted a NATO convoy; 3 civilians were killed	Washington Post	136
	26-Jan-12	VIO			Dan Morse and Asaad Majeed	Bombs kill 2 policemen and their families south of Baghdad		Iraq: 3 bombs targeting the homes of 2 policemen killed 9 people, including 2 babies	Washington Post	137
	27-Jan-12	VIO	REL		Dan Morse; Aziz Alwan	Bomb kills dozens in Baghdad Shiite district		Iraq: a suicide bomber killed at least 31 people in a Shia neighborhood	Washington Post	138
	27-Jan-12	PRO	VIO		Alice Fordham; Colum Lynch. Contributor: Leila Fadel	Violence surges in Syria as U.N. Security Council meets		26-Jan-2012: Syria: shelling by government increased; 62 people were reportedly killed across Syria	Washington Post	139
	27-Jan-12	BUS	AUTO	FIN		Ford Posts 2011 Pre-Tax Operating Profit Of $8.8 Billion; One-Time Special Items Contribute To $20.2 Billion Net Income		Ford 2011Q4 results: revenues, $34.6 billion (up 6.5% YOY); net income after tax, $13.615 billion (up from $190 million in 2010Q4). Full year 2011: revenues, $136.3 (up 12.7% YOY); net income after tax, $20.213 (up 208% YOY)	Ford	140
	27-Jan-12	M&A	CHEM			Eastman to Acquire Solutia; Raises Outlook for 2013 EPS to Greater Than $6		Eastman Chemical Company to acquire Solutia Inc. for a total transaction value of ~$4.7 billion, including the assumption of Solutia’s debt	Eastman Chemical Company	141
	27-Jan-12	PRO	MIL			Egyptians Participate in 'Second Day of Anger'		26-27-Jan-2012: Egypt: demonstrators protest demanding the army transfer power to civilians	VOA News	142
	27-Jan-12	ECON				Gross Domestic Product: Fourth Quarter And Annual 2011 (Advance Estimate)		BEA: annual rates of increase of U,S, real GDP: 2.8% QOQ in 2011Q4; and 1.7% YOY in 2011	Bureau of Economic Analysis	143
	27-Jan-12	M&A	FIN		Seonjin Cha; Taejin Park; Chitra Somayaji (ed.)	Hana Financial Wins Approval to Buy Lone Star Stake in Korea Exchange Bank		26-Jan-2012: Korea: The Financial Services Commission (Korea) approved Hana Financial Group Inc.'s acquisition of a 51% stake in Lone Star Funds' Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) in a transaction valued at 3.9 trillion won ($3.5 billion)	Bloomberg	144
	28-Jan-12	VIO	REL		David Kerr	Military archbishop: US invasion led to fewer Iraqi Christians		According to U.S. Military Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, one of the legacies of America's invasion of Iraq in 2003 is the substantial decrease in the Catholic population of Iraq -- from over 800,000, to less than 150,000; Catholics were protected under Saddam Hussein -- they no longer are	Catholic News Agency	145
	28-Jan-12	VIO	REL		Mary Abdelmassih	Over 3000 Muslims Attack Christian Homes and Shops in Egypt, 3 Injured		Egypt: >3000 Muslims attacked Copts in a village; Coptic homes and shops were looted then torched	Assyrian International News Agency	146
	29-Jan-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT	Peter Eavis	U.S. Banks Tally Their Exposure to Europe’s Debt Maelstrom		Exposure of 5 large American banks to Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Greece: >$80 billion; ~$50 billion after adjusting for financial insurance against default (using credit-default swaps) and other credit protection	NYT-DealBook	147
	29-Jan-12	M&A	OIL			Exxon Mobil to Sell Its Japanese Arm for $3.9 Billion		TonenGeneral Sekiyu to acquire ExxonMobil’s shares in ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha for ~$3.9 billion	Exxon Mobil-Business Wire	148
	29-Jan-12	VIO	OIL		Kareem Fahim; Ellen Barry. Contributors: Huwaida Saad; Alan Cowell	Syria Targets Rebels Based in Suburbs of Damascus		Syria: Syrian forces clashed with rebel forces; Syrian authorities said a “terrorist group” blew up a gas pipeline	NYT	149
	29-Jan-12	PRO	VIO			Police Kill 4 in Bangladeshi Protests		Bangladesh: Bangladesh Nationalist Party activists demonstrated for the reinstatement of a caretaker voting system; police fired at protesters killing ≥4 people	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	150
	30-Jan-12	PRO				More than 400 arrests as Occupy protest resurfaces in Oakland, breaking lull		29-Jan-12: Occupy Oakland protesters clashed with police; police arrested more than 400 people; protesters accused the police of using illegal tactics	Washington Post-AP	151
	30-Jan-12	PRO	VIO			Is Syria descending into civil war?		26-27-Jan-12: Syria: violent anti-government protests: ~120 people were reportedly killed	Al Jazeera	152
	30-Jan-12	GOV	DEBT		Deborah Levine	U.S. 5-year yields hit record low on Europe woes		U.S. yields on 5-year notes fell to an all-time record low of 0.71%; investors are concerned, among other things, about delays of a bailout deal for Greece	MarketWatch	153
	30-Jan-12	WEATH				Cold Weather Kills 36 Across Europe		Cold weather killed 36 people in Eastern Europe; many of rhe dead were homeless	VOA News-AP-AFP	154
	30-Jan-12	M&A	TECH			ABB to acquire Thomas & Betts for $3.9 billion to become major player in North American low-voltage products market		ABB to acquire Thomas & Betts for $3.9 Billion	ABB	155
	31-Jan-12	JUST	POL		Charlie Sullivan	Why are so many Americans in prison?		U.S.; the incarceration rate is 743 per 100,000 Americans (a world record); 40% of the prison population is African-American (blacks make up only 12% of America's population)	Al Jazeera	156
	31-Jan-12	SEX			Dwight Garner	When to Quote Poetry or Moan Like a Moorhen		New translation by A. N. D. Haksar of Vatsyayana's Kama Sutra	NYT	157
	31-Jan-12	BUS	FIN	WWW		Amazon.com Announces Fourth Quarter Sales up 35% to $17.43 Billion; Kindle Device Sales Nearly Triple During the Holidays		Amazon.com 2011Q4 results: net sales, $17.43 billion (up 35% YOY); net income, $177 million (down 58% YOY). Full year 2011: net sales, $48.08 billion (up 41% YOY); net income, $631 million (down 45% YOY)	Amazon.com	158
	31-Jan-12	M&A	BUS			ThyssenKrupp and Outokumpu to combine their stainless steel businesses to create a new global leader		ThyssenKrupp to sell its Inoxum unit to Outokumpu (Finland); Inoxum is valued at ~€2.7 billion; ThyssenKrupp will obtain a 29.9% stake in the new company	ThyssenKrupp	159
	31-Jan-12	BANK	FIN			Santander Financial Report: January-December 2011		Santander 2011Q4 results: gross income, €11.008 (up 3.7% YOY); attributable profit to the Group, €47 million (down 98% YOY). Full year 2011 results: gross income, €44.262 billion (up 5.3% YOY); attributable profit to the Group, €5.351 (down 34.6% YOY)	Banco Santander	160
	31-Jan-12	GOV	DEBT			The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022		Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projection: U.S. federal budget deficit to reach $1.1 trillion in FY2012, if current laws remain unchanged (7% of GDP)	Congressional Budget Office	161
	31-Jan-12	MKT	RE			Home Prices Continued to Decline in November 2011 According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices		S&P/Case-Shiller1 Home Price Indices: 10- and 20-City Composites (non-seasonally adjusted) for Nov-2011: both down 1.3% MOM; down 3.6% and 3.7% YOY, respectively	S&P/Case-Shiller	162
	31-Jan-12	BUS	OIL	FIN		Exxon Mobil Corporation Announces Estimated Fourth Quarter 2011 Results		ExxonMobil 2011Q4 results: total revenues and other income, $121.609 billion (up 15.6% YOY); net income attributable to ExxonMobil (GAAP), $9.4 billion (up 1.6% YOY). Full year 2011:  total revenues and other income, $486.429 billion (up 26.9% YOY); net income attributable to ExxonMobil (GAAP), $41.060 billion (up 34.8% YOY)	Exxon Mobil-Business Wire	163
	31-Jan-12	MKT	RE			2012 Home Prices Off to a Rocky Start According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices		S&P/Case-Shiller1 Home Price Indices: "As of January 2012, average home prices across the United States are back to the levels where they were nearly a decade ago – in early 2003." The indices peaked in Jun/Jul-2006. The peak-to-current (Jun/July 2006 to Jan-2012) decline in the indices is 34.4%. 10- and 20-City Composites (non-seasonally adjusted) for Jan-2012: both down 0.8% MOM; down 3.9% and 3.8% YOY, respectively.	S&P/Case-Shiller	164
	1-Feb-12	BUS	WWW	FIN	Evelyn M. Rusli	Facebook Files for an I.P.O.		Facebook filed for an I.P.O.; the company wants to raise $5 billion; it's value is estimated at $75 billion-$100 billion	NYT	165
	1-Feb-12	VIO				Scores killed in Egypt football violence		Egypt: football violence; ≥73 people were killed	Al Jazeera-Agencies	166
	1-Feb-12	PRO	VIO			Syria toll mounts amid Russian veto threat		Syria: violent clashes leave ≥68 people dead according to the Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC)	Al Jazeera-Agencies	167
	1-Feb-12	BUS	JET	JOBS	David Koenig	American Airlines aims to cut 13,000 jobs		American Airlines to cut ~13,000 jobs (15% of its workforce)	Fox News: AP	168
	1-Feb-12	BUS	TECH	JOBS	Steven D. Jones	Microsoft Cuts 200 Marketing Jobs		Microsoft cut ~200 marketing jobs; Microsoft reportedly has ~6,000 marketing employees	WSJ	169
	1-Feb-12	M&A	MKT	LAW		Mergers: Commission blocks proposed merger between Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext		The European Commission blocked the proposed merger between Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext; together th2 exchange would control >90% of global trade in European financial derivatives -- "a quasi-monopoly"	Eurpean Commission	170
	1-Feb-12	POL	MON		Evan Carmi; Matthew Ericson; David Nolen; Kevin Quealy; Michael Strickland; Jeremy White; Derek Willis	Election 2012: The 2012 Money Race: Compare the Candidates		U.S. presidential campaigns: amounts raised to date: all candidates, $186 million; Barack Obama, $139,526,311; Mitt Romney, $57,112,767; Ron Paul, $26,104,721; Newt Gingrich, $12,733,254	NYT	171
	1-Feb-12	LAW	RES		David S. Law; Mila Versteeg	The Declining Influence of the United States Constitution (February 1, 2012) [New York University Law Review, Vol. 87, No. 3, June 2012; Washington University in St. Louis Legal Studies Research Paper No. 11-09-01; Virginia Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper No. 2011-39]		David S. Law and Mila Versteeg on The Declining Influence of the United States Constitution: "In this Article, we show empirically that other countries have, in recent decades, become increasingly unlikely to model either the rights-related provisions or the basic structural provisions of their own constitutions upon those found in the U.S. Constitution. . . We find some support in the data for the notion that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has influenced constitution-making in other countries."	Social Science Research Network	172
	2-Feb-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT	Chairman Ben S. Bernanke	The Economic Outlook and the Federal Budget Situation: Before the Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.		Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, on the economic outlook and the federal B\budget: " . . . risks remain that developments in Europe or elsewhere may unfold unfavorably and could worsen economic prospects here at home. . . The Committee (FOMC) now anticipates that economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate at least through late 2014. . . The federal budget deficit widened appreciably with the onset of the recent recession, and it has averaged around 9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) over the past three fiscal years. . . As we have seen in a number of countries recently, interest rates can soar quickly if investors lose confidence in the ability of a government to manage its fiscal policy. Although historical experience and economic theory do not indicate the exact threshold at which the perceived risks associated with the U.S. public debt would increase markedly, we can be sure that, without corrective action, our fiscal trajectory will move the nation ever closer to that point. . . "	Federal Reserve Board	173
	2-Feb-12	BANK	FIN			Deutsche Bank reported net income of EUR 4.3 billion for the full year 2011		Deutsche Bank 2011Q4 results: group revenues, €6.9 billion (down 7% YOY); net income, €186 million (down 69% YOY). Full year 2011 results: group revenues, €33.2 billion (up 16% YOY); net income, €4.3 billion (up 87% YOY)	Deutsche Bank	174
	2-Feb-12	BUS	FIN	MON	Isabella Steger	Venture Capitalists Flock to China, Leave Europe Behind		Dow Jones VentureSource: venture capital equity financing received by companies in 2011: globally, $49 billion; U.S., $32,6 billion (up 10% YOY); China, $6 billion (up 8% YOY); Europe, $6.1 billion; UK, $1.7 billion (down 32% YOY)	WSJ	175
	2-Feb-12	PRO	UN			Palestinian Protesters Throw Shoes at UN Chief		Gaza strip: Palestinian protesters throw shoes at United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his convoy	VOA News-AFP-Reuters	176
	2-Feb-12	ACC				Scores missing in Papua New Guinea sinking		A ferry, MV Rabaul Queen, sank off Papua New Guinea's coast with ~350 people on board; 238 survivors have been recovered	Al Jazeera: Agencies	177
	2-Feb-12	PRO	VIO		David D. Kirkpatrick. Contributor: Mayy El Sheikh	Clashes in Egypt as Mourners Unleash Fury Over Soccer Melee		Egypt: thousands of protesters in several cities demand the military cede power, following football violence; violent clashes with police were reported	NYT	178
	2-Feb-12	PRO	VIO		William Ide	Self-Immolations in China's Tibetan Areas Mark Shift in Tibet Movement		Tibet: since Mar-2011, ≥16 Tibetans, mostly monks and nuns, have self-immolated in protest of Chinese government policies	VOA News	179
	2-Feb-12	GOV	BUS	FIN	Damian Paletta	With Tax Break, Corporate Rate Is Lowest in Decades		The ratio of total corporate federal taxes paid to profits earned from activities in the U.S. in FY2011 fell to 12.1% -- down from 25.6% for the time period from 1987 to 2008	WSJ	180
	3-Feb-12	BANK	FRAUD	LAW	Edward Wyatt	S.E.C. Is Avoiding Tough Sanctions for Large Banks		An analysis by The New York Times of S.E.C. investigations indicates that "the agency has repeatedly allowed the biggest firms to avoid punishments specifically meant to apply to fraud cases"; the S.E.C. has not been using its enforcement powers -- large financial institutions were granted beneficial waivers after these settled fraud cases	NYT	181
	3-Feb-12	VIO			CNN Wire Staff	Iran's leader: War would be detrimental to U.S.		Israel agitating for possible airstrikes against Iranian nuclear sites; Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: "The war itself will be 10 times as detrimental to the U.S."	CNN	182
	3-Feb-12	PRO	VIO			Deadly clashes in Egypt over football riots		2-Feb-12: Egypt: thousands protested demanding retribution for the deaths of 72 people killed in football violence; 5 were killed in violent clashes with authorities	Al Jazeera-Agencies	183
	3-Feb-12	PRO	SEC		Scott Shane. Contributors: Somini Sengupta; Nicole Perlroth	F.B.I. Admits Hacker Group’s Eavesdropping		Anonymous posted a recording of a conference call between the FBI, Scotland Yard and other police agencies about their investigation of Anonymous, Lulzsec, Antisec, and other groups [see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6DfI0GBbjE]; other hacking activities reported	NYT	184
	3-Feb-12	GOV	RES	SPACE		Iran to Set up Base for Satellite Launch		Iran's Space Agency (ISA) to set up a base for launching satellites	FARS News Agency	185
	4-Feb-12	PRO	MIL	VIO	Anthony Shadid. Contributors: Nada Bakri; Hwaida Saad; David D. Kirkpatrick	Death Toll Is Said to Rise in Syrian City of Homs		Syria: military forces assaulted Homs; the death toll is reportedly 260	NYT	186
	4-Feb-12	PRO	GOV		Alexander Kolyandr; Gregory L. White. Contributors: Anna Masterova; Olga Padorina; Nonna Fomenko	Thousands Rally Against Putin		Moscow, Russia: >100,000 protested against election fraud and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin; also, tens of thousands of pro-Putin Russians protested against "lackeys of America"	WSJ	187
	4-Feb-12	UN			Margaret Besheer	Russia, China Veto UN Resolution on Syria		U.N.: Russia and China vetoed a draft resolution backing an Arab League call for Syrian President Bashar Assad to resign	VOA News	188
	4-Feb-12	PRO	VIO			Riots in Egypt Continue: At Least 12 Dead, 2,500 Injured		Egypt: protesters and police clashed; ≥12 people were killed	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	189
	4-Feb-12	PRO	GOV		James Brooke	Pro- and Anti-Putin Rallies Draw Mass Turnouts in Moscow		Moscow, Russia: pro-Putin and anti-Putin rallies draw 138,000 and 100,000, respectively	VOA News	190
	4-Feb-12	PRO	SEC		Annie Gowen. Contributors: Michael Bolden; Carol Morello; Martin Weil; Clarence Williams	Occupy D.C. camp raided by police		Washington, DC: the police raided the Occupy D.C. camp in McPherson Square; Occupy protesters are part of a movement demonstrating against "economic inequality"	Washington Post	191
	4-Feb-12	MIL	MAN			Iran Starts Mass-Production of Naval Cruise Missile		Iran to mass-produce a naval cruise missile (Zafar)	FARS News Agency	192
	4-Feb-12	PRO	GOV	WWW	Peter Andrews	Department of Homeland Security website hacked by Anonymous		Homeland Security Department’s website, DHS.gov was reportedly taken down by Anonymous hacktivists	RT: Reuters	193
	5-Feb-12	VIO				Karzai Condemns Deadly Car Bombing in Southern Afghanistan		Afghanistan: a suicide car bombing at a police station in Kandahar killed 9 people; according to a U.N. report, >3,000 civilians were killed in Afghanistan in 2011 (up 8% from 2010)	VOA News	194
	5-Feb-12	VIO	OIL			Oil Pipeline in Niger Delta Attacked by Militants		4-Feb-2012: Niger Delta, Nigeria: The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) attacked an Italian-owned pipeline	VOA News	195
	5-Feb-12	HEAL			CNN Wire Staff. Contributor: Dave Alsup	Nearly 500 on 2 cruise ships stricken by Norovirus		FL, U.S.: 499 cases of Norovirus were reported on 2 Princess Cruises ships	CNN	196
	5-Feb-12	PRO	GOV			Protesters attack 7 Syrian embassies around world in wake of bloody crackdown		Protesters attacked 7 Syrian embassies around the world	Fox News: AP	197
	6-Feb-12	AOG	QUAK			43 Killed in 6.8-Magnitude Philippines Earthquake		Philippines: 6.8-magnitude quake killed ≥43 people	VOA News-AFP-Reuters	198
	6-Feb-12	ACC				Pakistan: Nine die as Lahore factory collapses		Lahore, Pakistan: a factory collapsed killing ≥9 people	BBC News	199
	6-Feb-12	GOV				Diamond Jubilee: Queen celebrating 60-year reign		U.K.: the Queen marks the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne	BBC News	200
	6-Feb-12	GOV	DEBT	JOBS	Niki Kitsantonis; David Jolly	Greece to Eliminate 15,000 Government Jobs		Greece to cut 15,000 government jobs in 2012; Greece needs €130 billion ($170.5 billion) in new bailout funds to avoid default in Mar-2012	NYT	201
	6-Feb-12	GOV			Scott Stearns	US Closes Syria Embassy, Says UN Veto Emboldens Assad		The U.S. closed its embassy in Syria	VOA News	202
	6-Feb-12	BANK	BUS	DEBT	Mark Scott	Europe’s Banks Reluctant to Lend to Companies in Need of Cash		European credit crunch: banks are reluctant to lend to cash starved companies. Jonathan Loynes: “There’s a lack of business confidence across Europe”; insolvency is expected to increase by 12% in 2012 in the Eurozone	NYT-DealBook	203
	6-Feb-12	BANK	MON	LAW	Giles Broom; Frank Connelly (ed,)	Baer Slides as Swiss Bank Expects U.S. Fine on Taxes: Zurich Mover		U.S.: 11 Swiss financial institutions are being investigated for alledgedly helping Americans hide money from the IRS	Bloomberg	204
	6-Feb-12	ELITE	MON		Maria Di Mento; Caroline Preston. Contributor: Caroline Bermudez	Most-Generous Donors Gave More in 2011 but Still Lag Their Pre-Recession Pace		The Chronicle of Philanthropy: the top 50 wealthy donors in America gave a total of $10.4-billion in 2011 (up from $3.3-billion in 2010); the median gift from donors was $61 million (down from $74.7 million in 2007). The top 5 donors in 2011 and the total amounts they committed are: 1. Margaret A. Cargill, $6 billion; 2. William S. Dietrich II, $5 billion; 3. Paul G. Allen, $372.6 million; 4. George Soros, $335 million; 5. Michael R. Bloomberg, $311.276 million.	The Chronicle of Philanthropy	205
	7-Feb-12	PRO	GOV	DEBT		Greek Police Clash with Austerity Protesters		Greece: thousands of workers protested the latest austerity measures imposed by creditors (EU, ECB, and IMF)	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	206
	7-Feb-12	M&A	BUS		Mark Scott	Glencore to Buy Remaining Stake in Xstrata for $41 Billion		Glencore International to acquire the remaining stake in Xstrata it does not own for $41 billion	NYT-DealBook	207
	7-Feb-12	M&A	BANK	LAW	Steven M. Davidoff	Goldman, on Both Sides of a Deal, Is Now in Court		El Paso shareholders have sued Goldman Sachs regarding a potential conflict of interest in a 2-sided transaction involving Kinder Morgan and El Paso – a combination and a potential spinoff	NYT-DealBook	208
	8-Feb-12	GOV	ENER	EDU		Harper's 'strategic partner' China yields investment deal		China: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao reached agreements in a range of sectors, including energy and education	CBC News-The Canadian Press	209
	8-Feb-12	M&A	GOV	BANK		New York Fed Sells $6.2 Billion in Face Amount of Maiden Lane II LLC Assets; New York Fed Loan to be repaid in full		The Federal Reserve Bank of New York sold assets with a current face value of $6.2 billion from its Maiden Lane II LLC (ML II) portfolio through a competitive process to Goldman Sachs & Co. The remaining outstanding balance of the loan from the New York Fed to ML II to be repaid in full.	Federal Reserve Bank of New York	210
	8-Feb-12	GOV	MIL		Nirmala George	India Upgrades Military to Match China		India has acquired a nuclear-powered submarine from Russia; India has decided to buy 126 fighter jets from France and to get a retrofitted Soviet-built aircraft carrier	Time: AP	211
	9-Feb-12	BUS	TECH	FIN		Lenovo Reports Third Quarter 2011/2012 Results		Lenovo Group 2011/2012 Q3 results: sales, $8.4 billion (up 44% YOY); profit attributable to equity holders, $153 million; worldwide market share, 14.0%; market share in China, 35.3%	Lenovo Group	212
	9-Feb-12	BANK	FIN			Credit Suisse Group reports 2011 net income attributable to shareholders of CHF 1,953 million, Core Results pre-tax income of CHF 2,749 million, return on equity of 6.0%, underlying* return on equity of 7.3%		Credit Suisse 2011Q4 results: net revenues, CHF 4,473 million (down 35.7% YOY); net loss attributable to shareholders of CHF 637 million (down from a profit of CHF 841 million in 2010Q4). Full-year 2011 results: net revenues, CHF 25,429 million (down 17% YOY); net income attributable to shareholders of CHF 1,953 million (down 62% YOY)	Credit Suisse	213
	9-Feb-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		Bank of England maintains Bank Rate at 0.5% and increases size of Asset Purchase Programme by £50 billion to £325 billion		The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee to keep the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5%; and to increase the size of its asset purchase programme, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, by £50 billion (15.4%) to £325 billion	Bank of England	214
	9-Feb-12	M&A	BUS	TECH		Oracle Buys Taleo: Adds Leading Talent Management Cloud Offering to the Oracle Public Cloud		Oracle to acquire Taleo Corporation (provider of cloud-based talent management) for ~$1.9 billion, net of Taleo’s cash and debt	Oracle	215
	9-Feb-12	GOV	LAW		Joseph I. Sen Lieberman (sponsor)	Bill Text: 112th Congress (2011-2012) S.2038.ES		U.S.: The House of Representatives approved Bill S.2038: `Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012' or the `STOCK Act' (417-2, 14 not voting); the bill seeks "To prohibit Members of Congress and employees of Congress from using nonpublic information derived from their official positions for personal benefit, and for other purposes"	The Library of Congress-THOMAS	216
	9-Feb-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		Federal Reserve Board announces agreement in principle with five banking organizations regarding the issuance of monetary sanctions		The Federal Reserve Board reached an agreement in principle with 5 banking organizations regarding the issuance of monetary sanctions totaling $766.5 million "for unsafe and unsound processes and practices in residential mortgage loans servicing and foreclosure processing." Total amounts of the monetary sanctions: Bank of America, 175.5 million; Wells Fargo, $87 million; JPMorgan Chase, $275 million; Citigroup, $22 million; Ally Financial, $207 million.	Federal Reserve Board	217
	9-Feb-12	PRO	MIL	VIO		Scores killed' in shelling of Syria's Homs		Syria: government forces shelled Homs for the 6th day in a row; according to the Local Co-ordination Committees 110 people were killed in Homs	Al Jazeera-Agencies	218
	9-Feb-12	PRO	GOV	JOBS		General strike enters second day in Israel		8-9-Feb-2012: Israel: general strike involving ~500,000 people to force the government to hire workers and provide good working conditions	Al Jazeera: Agencies	219
	9-Feb-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		Greece Reaches Accord on Austerity Demands		Greece reached an accord on international creditors' austerity demands; to avoid default in Mar-2012, Greece needs a $172-billion bailout from the European Union, the ECB and the IMF	VOA News	220
	9-Feb-12	GOV	BANk	DEBT		9 February 2012 - Monetary policy decisions		The Governing Council of the ECB decided to keep the interest rate on the main refinancing operations, the interest rates on the marginal lending facility, and the deposit facility unchanged at 1.00%, 1.75%, and 0.25%, respectively	European Central Bank	221
	9-Feb-12	JUST	BANK	FRAUD		Federal Government and State Attorneys General Reach $25 Billion Agreement with Five Largest Mortgage Servicers to Address Mortgage Loan Servicing and Foreclosure Abuses – $25 Billion Agreement Provides Homeowner Relief & New Protections, Stops Abuses		U.S.: the federal government and state attorneys general reach $25 billion agreement with the 5 largest mortgage servicers to address mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure abuses; the 5 largest mortgage servicers include: Bank of America Corporation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Company, Citigroup Inc. and Ally Financial Inc. (formerly GMAC). [See Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, http://www.stopfraud.gov/.]	U.S. Department of Justice	222
	10-Feb-12	PRO	VIO	DEBT		Athens clashes over Greece eurozone austerity deal		Greece: protesters clashed with police in Athens over austerity measures imposed by eurozone ministers; austerity measures include: cut of 15,000 public-sector jobs, weakening of labor laws, decreasing the minimum wage by 20%; Greece's unemployment rate is >20%.	BBC News	223
	10-Feb-12	PRO	VIO			Blasts in Aleppo as 'tanks mass outside Homs'		Syria: explosions in Aleppo killed 28 people	Al Jazeera-Agencies	224
	10-Feb-12	JUST	REL		Nirmala Carvalho	Gujarat massacre: government to rebuild more than 500 places of worship		India: Gujarat High Court ruling regarding >500 places of worship destroyed during the 2002 riots (>1,000 people were killed): the government of Gujarat will have to compensate and rebuild the destroyed properties	AsiaNews.it	225
	10-Feb-12	RES	BANK	DEBT		Italian Banks Downgraded; S.&P. Cites Lending Risk		Standard & Poor’s (S&P) downgraded 34 Italian financial firms, including UniCredit, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena	NYT: Bloomberg	226
	11-Feb-12	PRO	LAW	WWW	Dave Lee	Acta protests: Thousands take to streets across Europe		Europe: thousands of people protested against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).	BBC News	227
	11-Feb-12	PRO	LAW	WWW		Stop ACTA		Open Rights Group, London, UK: "The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is an international agreement, negotiated in secret. It is supposed to tackle large-scale counterfeiting. But its overly broad definitions, harsh punitive measures and lack of democratic validity make it a danger to how our Internet is governed and to freedom of expression and privacy online." According to ORG: "ACTA has no democratic credibility"; "ACTA threatens your privacy and freedom of speech"; "ACTA would be a hindrance to innovation"; "ACTA could hurt developing countries."	Open Rights Group	228
	11-Feb-12	VIO				A Terrorist Group Assassinates Brigadier General Dr.  Issa al-Kholi in Damascus		Syria: an armed terrorist group is targeting Syrian intellectuals and medical and technical cadres; the group assassinated Director of Hamish Hospital in Damascus, Brigadier General, Dr. Issa al-Kholi; others assassinated include a professor at al-Baath University,an engineer and nuclear specialist, the head of Thoracic Surgery Department at Homs National Hospital, a teacher at the National Center for Excelled Students in Homs . . . [SANA]	Syrian Arab News Agency	229
	11-Feb-12	GOV	FIN	DEBT	Harry Papachristou; Matt Robinson; Michael Roddy (ed.)	It's bailout or chaos, PM Papademos tells Greece		Greece: Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, to Greek lawmakers: back the financial bailout or condemn Greece to "uncontrolled economic chaos and social explosion"	Reuters	230
	11-Feb-12	PRO	GOV	DEBT	Andrei Khalip	Lisbon Protests: More Than 100,000 Rally Against Austerity In Portugal		Lisbon, Portugal: >100,000 protesters (300,000, according to organisers) rallied against austerity measures	Huffington Post: Reuters	231
	12-Feb-12	GOV	NUC		Christopher Leake; Damien Gayle	Have they now got nukes? New Iran fear as it warns West: We've made a major breakthrough		11-Feb-2012: Iran: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at a rally of tens of thousands of Iranians in Tehran: ‘Within  the next few days the world will witness the inauguration of several big new achievements in the nuclear field"	Daily Mail	232
	12-Feb-12	PRO	VIO	DEBT	Niki Kitsantonis; Rachel Donadio. Contributors: Julie Creswell; Elisabetta Povoledo	Greek Parliament Passes Austerity Plan After Riots Rage		Greece: financial bailout: the Greek Parliament approved harsh austerity measures imposed by creditors (European Commission, ECB, IMF); more than 80,000 people demonstrated against financial capitulation; violent riots were reported in many cities	NYT	233
	12-Feb-12	PRO	GOV	REL		Al-Qaida Leader Voices Support for Syrian Uprising		11-Feb-2012: Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri urged Muslims to support anti-government rebels in Syria and "called on Syrians not to rely on the West or Arab governments"	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	234
	12-Feb-12	PRO	GOV	POL	Robert Berger	Palestinian Hunger Striker Stirs Emotions		Protesters support Khader Adnan, a Palestinian prisoner from Islamic Jihad who has been on a hunger strike for 58 days!	VOA News	235
	13-Feb-12	BANK	JOBS			ANZ announces changes in Australia to respond to emerging business environment		ANZ to reduce employment in Australia by ~1,000 permanent employees (ANZ employs ~24,000 staff in Australia and 49,000 world-wide). ANZ CEO Australia Philip Chronican: “A different and very difficult environment is now emerging for banks globally. . . we are also having to adapt our business to the new conditions and become leaner, more agile and more customer-focused so we ensure the bank remains strong and can grow and invest for the future. At the same time, we know we have to keep working hard to become a better bank. . ."	Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited	236
	13-Feb-12	VIO	POL			Israeli envoys targeted in India and Georgia		Israel's embassies on high alert: Israeli diplomats have been targeted by car bombs in India and Georgia	Al Jazeera-Agencies	237
	13-Feb-12	RES	GOV	DEBT		Rating Action: Moody's adjusts ratings of 9 European sovereigns to capture downside risks		Moody's Investors Service downgraded the sovereign debt ratings of 9 EU countries, including Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain; the ratings for Austria, France, and the U.K. were changed to negative	Moody's Investors Service	238
	13-Feb-12	GOV	FIN		Greg Robb	Obama sends $3.8 trillion budget to Congress; GOP: Obama breaks 2009 pledge to halve deficit by end of first term		President Barack Obama's budget request for FY2013 is $3.8 trillion (23% of the U.S.’s GDP) [see http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/183755.pdf]	MarketWatch	239
	13-Feb-12	PRO	VIO	DEBT	Niki Kitsantonis; Rachel Donadio. Contributors: Dimitris Bounias; Stephen Castle; Melissa Eddy	Athens Shaken by Riots After Vote for Austerity		Greece: austerity measures imposed on Greece by creditors triggered massive protests (80,000 demonstrators), riots, vandalism, and looting; ~150 stores were vandalized and looted, and ~45 buildings, including banks, were torched	NYT	240
	13-Feb-12	BUS	BANK	RES	Kevin Roose	Wall Street’s Reputation Still Falling		Harris Interactive: The 2012 Harris Poll Annual RQ Study: key survey findings: the financial sector is the 3rd lowest ranked sector by reputation (the 2 lowest ranked sectors are government and tobacco); the reputations quotients (RQ) of Bank of America, Berkshire Hathaway, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs fell significantly	NYT-DealBook	241
	14-Feb-12	M&A	BUS	RE	Stefan Nicola; Nicholas Comfort; Reed Landberg (ed.)	Patrizia Immobilien Shares Gain $1.89 Billion LBBW Deal: Frankfurt Mover		A group led by Patrizia Immobilien AG to acquire LBBW Immobilien GmbH (Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg’s real estate unit) for €1.44 billion ($1.89 billion)	Bloomberg	242
	14-Feb-12	GOV	WWW	LAW		Online surveillance bill tabled in House		Canada: proposed "protecting children from internet predators act" was tabled by Stephen Harper's Conservative government; the bill would permit police and intelligence agencies to access Canadians' electronic communications without a warrant	CBC News	243
	14-Feb-12	BUS	JOBS			MetLife Says Derivatives Lifted Its Quarterly Profit		MetLife to shut and eliminate most of the 4,300 jobs in its mortgage origination business	NYT: Bloomberg News	244
	15-Feb-12	PRO	MKT	WWW	Lee J	NASDAQ website taken offline by hackers		Hackers using the handle L0NGwave99 have reportedly taken down NASDAQ's website	Cyber War News	245
	15-Feb-12	M&A	BUS	FOOD		Kellogg Company Announces Agreement to Acquire Procter & Gamble's Pringles Business		Kellogg to acquire Procter & Gamble‘s Pringles business for $2.695 billion	Kellogg-PRNewswire	246
	15-Feb-12	BANK	FIN			Fourth Quarter 2011 Results		BNP Paribas 2011Q4 results: revenues, €9.686 billion (down 6.1% YOY); net income attributable to equity holders, €765 million (down 50.6% YOY). Full year 2011: €42.384 billion (down 3.4% YOY); net income attributable to equity holders, €6.050 billion (down 22.9% YOY).	BNP Paribas	247
	15-Feb-12	BUS	FIN			MetLife Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2011 Results		MetLife 2011Q4 results: total operating revenues, $16.405 billion (up 19% YOY); net income, $1.125 billion (up from $51 million in 2010Q4). Full year 2011: total operating revenues, $65.384 billion (up 27% YOY); net income, $6.713 billion (up from $2.668 billion in 2010Q4).	MetLife	248
	15-Feb-12	ACC				Prison fire in Honduras leaves at least 300 dead, official says		Honduras: prison fire killed ≥300 inmates	Los Angeles Times: AP	249
	15-Feb-12	VIO	REL			Sharqia: Church and homes set on fire by some 2,000 Muslim extremists		Egypt: ~2,000 extremists, mainly Salafists, set fire to the Church of St Mary and St Abram in a village north-east of Cairo; peace was mediated by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party	AsiaNews.it	250
	15-Feb-12	SCIE	NUC			Iran Touts Uranium Enrichment Advances		Iran unveiled a new generation of centrifuges to speed up uranium enrichment and Iran-produced fuel rods	FARS News Agency	251
	15-Feb-12	RES	BANK	DEBT		Rating Action: Moody's Reviews Ratings for European Banks		Moody's Investors Service announced rating actions affecting 114 financial institutions in 16 European countries: the following were placed on review for downgrade: (i) the standalone credit assessments for 99 financial institutions; (ii) the long-term debt and deposit ratings for 109 institutions; (iii) the short-term ratings for 66 institutions. The distribution of the headquarters of the financial institutions affected by this announcement, by country and rank, is as follows: Italy (24), Spain (21), France (10), UK (9), Austria (8), Denmark (8), Germany (7), Netherlands (6), Portugal (6), Sweden (5), Slovenia (4), Switzerland (2), Belgium (1), Finland (1), Luxembourg (1), Norway (1).	Moody's Investors Service, Inc.,	252
	15-Feb-12	RES	Bank	DEBT		Announcement: Moody's Reviews Ratings for Banks and Securities Firms with Global Capital Markets Operations		Moody's Investors Service announced a review of 17 banks and securities firms with global capital markets operations; the long-term ratings and standalone credit assessments  for Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Royal Bank of Canada were placed under review.	Moody's Investors Service, Inc.,	253
	15-Feb-12	GOV	ECON	LAW	Paul Kane	Negotiators reach deal; vote expected soon on $150B economic package		U.S.: Comgressional negotiators approval a $150-billion economic package extending a payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits	Washington Post	254
	15-Feb-12	ELITE	BANK	VIO	Margaret Kimberley	Freedom Rider: Greece: Your Money or Your Life		Margaret Kimberley: "Greece’s plight proves the Lords of Capital have no more use for democratic facades. The Greeks will be forced to surrender to “the free movement of capital” and take no actions that would “influence the management or control of companies.” For the people’s purposes, the Greek state has ceased to exist. “The sad truth is that citizens of supposedly democratic countries live in dictatorships of, for, and by the rich.""	Black Agenda Report	255
	16-Feb-12	REL	FIN	MEDIA		Pope Warns Against The Power Of Finance And Of The Media		15-Feb-2012: Pope Benedict XVI, on the force of evil: "two great powers which are good and useful in themselves but easily open to abuse: the power of finance and the power of the media. Both are necessary, both are useful, but so subject to misuse that they often go against their true goals. . . we see how the world of finance can dominate mankind. Possession and appearance dominate and enslave the world. . . Finance is no longer a tool to promote well being and to support the life of man, but a force that oppresses him, one which almost has to be worshipped. . . Be non conformists. What counts is not possession but existence. . . we have a great need of information, knowledge about the truth of the world; but there is a power of appearance which in the end counts even more than reality itself. . . Man no longer pursues the truth but wants above all to appear . . . there is a Christian non conformism. . .  We want not appearance but truth, and this will give us true freedom."	Vatican Information Service	256
	16-Feb-12	GOV	FIN	DEBT	Ylan Q. Mui	Consumer agency wants oversight of debt collectors, credit bureaus		The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed to oversee debt collectors, credit bureaus, and credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion)	Washington Post	257
	16-Feb-12	BUS	AUTO	FIN		GM Reports 2011 Net Income of $7.6 Billion		GM 2011Q4 results: revenue, $38.0 billion (up 3% YOY); net income attributable to common stockholders, $0.5 billion (up 0% YOY). Full year 2011: revenue, $150.3 billion (up 10.8% YOY); net income attributable to common stockholders, $7.6 billion (up 61.7% YOY)	General Motors	258
	16-Feb-12	BANK	FIN			2011 Activities and Results; Regularity Information		Societe Generale 2011Q4 results: net banking income, €6.010 billion (down 12.4% YOY); group net income, €100 million (down 88.6% YOY). Full-year 2011: net banking income, €25.636 billion (down 3.0% YOY); group net income, €3.385 billion (down 39.1% YOY)	Societe Generale	259
	17-Feb-12	M&A	OIL			Encana and Mitsubishi enter into partnership for development of Cutbank Ridge undeveloped lands in British Columbia		Encana-Mitsubishi partnership: Mitsubishi to acquire a 40% interest in the partnership for C$2.9 billion; the partnership to hold ~409,000 net acres of Encana's undeveloped natural gas lands in the Cutbank Ridge in British Columbia	Encana-Business Wire	260
	17-Feb-12	GOV	ECON		Paul Kane; Ben Pershing	Congress passes extension of payroll tax cut		U.S.: Congress passed a $150 billion economic package extending a payroll-tax cut and unemployment benefits through the end of 2012	Washington Post	261
	17-Feb-12	VIO	SEC		Carol Cratty	Police: Suicide attack on U.S. Capitol foiled		U.S.: alleged suicide attack on U.S. Capitol foiled	CNN	262
	17-Feb-12	M&A	BUS	FIN	Steven Crabill (ed.); Christian Baumgaertel (ed.); Josh Friedman (ed.)	Goldman Sachs, Advent to Acquire TransUnion for $3 Billion		Advent International Corp. and GS Capital Partners (a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. private equity unit) to acquire TransUnion Corp. (credit bureau) for $3 billion	Bloomberg-Businessweek	263
	17-Feb-12	MKT	OIL			Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) Futures		CME Group: NYMEX: light sweet crude oil futures, Mar-2012 delivery: $103.24 (up 0.9%)	CME Group	264
	17-Feb-12	VIO	REL		Ali Afzaal. Contributors: Saud Mehsud; Jibran Ahmad; Qasim Nauman; Sanjeev Miglani (ed.)	Suicide bomber kills 26 in NW Pakistan, ignites protest		Pakistan: a suicide bomber targeted a Shia mosque and killed ≥26 people	Reuters	265
	17-Feb-12	PRO	GOV	LAW	Quinn Norton	Anonymous Promises Regularly Scheduled Friday Attacks		In protest against ACTA, the Antisec wing of Anonymous attacked a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) webserver (business.ftc.gov, consumer.gov and ncpw.gov); Anonymous also plans to attack government and corporate sites under the theme of #FFF (Fuck the FBI Friday)	WIRED	266
	17-Feb-12	ELITE	ECON	JOBS	Edward Cody	Spain faces unemployment pain after embracing austerity in European crisis		Spain: a consequence of austerity measures imposed by creditors on Spain: unemployment rates in 2012: total, 21.6%; 24 or younder, 46.4% [source: Eurostat]	Washington Post	267
	17-Feb-12	BUS	TECH	SEC	Nick Wingfield; Somini Sengupta	Drones Set Sights on U.S. Skies		U.S.: new federal law allows use of drones for commercial purposes, including policing, reconnaissance, monitoring, and surveillance; the market for drones is estimated at $5.9 billion	NYT	268
	17-Feb-12	PRO	GOV			Palestinians rally in support of hunger strike prisoner		Gaza and the West Bank: thousands rallied in support of Khader Adnan on the 62nd day of a hunger strike; Adnan is protesting his detention by Israel	BBC News	269
	18-Feb-12	REL				Composition Of The College Of Cardinals		Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the 4th ordinary public consistory of his pontificate, and created 22 new cardinals; the College of Cardinals has now 213 members, distributed as follows: Europe 119, North America (U.S.A. and Canada) 21, Latin America 32, Africa 17, Asia 20 and Oceania 4	Vatican Information Service	270
	19-Feb-12	GOV	ECON	OIL	Najmeh Bozorgmehr	Tehran halts oil sales to UK and France		Iran stopped oil sales to France and UK – this is a retaliatory strike against the EU's oil embargo on oil purchases from Iran	Financial Times	271
	19-Feb-12	VIO			CNN Wire Staff. Contributors: Rey Rodriguez; Victor Badillo	38 killed in Mexican prison riot		Mexico: prison riot killed ≥38 people	CNN	272
	19-Feb-12	VIO				Deadly suicide bomb attack in Baghdad		Iraq: suicide car bomb attack killed ≥15 people in Baghdad	Al Jazeera-Agencies	273
	19-Feb-12	PRO	GOV	DEBT		Greeks rally against austerity steps		Greece: hundreds of protesters protested deep budget cuts imposed by creditors, including a 22% cut in the minimum wage and a 12% cut in pensions of more than $1,700/month	Al Jazeera: Agencies	274
	19-Feb-12	VIO				Syrian Forces Clamp Down on Damascus		Syria: Syrian forces deployed forces in a Damascus neighborhood; activists reported 14 people were killed throughout Syria; SANA repoted 12 security personnel were also killed	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	275
	20-Feb-12	UN				Darfur Rebels Kidnap 50 UN Peacekeepers		The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) abducted ~50 UN peacekeepers	VOA News-AFP-Reuters	276
	20-Feb-12	M&A	BUS	OIL		URS to Acquire Flint Energy Services for C$1.25 Billion; Will Significantly Expand URS Presence in Fast-Growing Segments of North American Oil and Gas Industry, Particularly in Unconventional Oil and Gas Extraction		URS to acquire Flint Energy Services for $1.25 billion, and assume ~$225 million in Flint debt	URS	277
	21-Feb-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT	David Mchugh. Contributors: Derek Gatopoulos; Elena Becatoros; Sarah di Lorenzo; Don Melvin; Paul Wiseman	Greece bailout wards off Europe meltdown		European ministers agreed to an extra €130 billion ($172 billion) bailout package for Greece funded by the EU and the IMF; Greece's first bailout package in 2010 was for €110 billion ($146 billion); the total bailout per capita is ~€22,000 ($29,000); private bondholders' losses on Greek bonds are estimated at >70%	AP	278
	21-Feb-12	M&A	BUS	ENER		Fortis Inc. To Acquire Ch Energy Group, Inc. For Us$1.5 Billion		Fortis Inc. to acquire Ch Energy Group, Inc. for $1.5 billion, including the assumption of ~$500 million of debt	Fortis	279
	21-Feb-12	REL				US apologises for Afghan 'Quran incident'		Afghanistan: hundreds of Afghans protested against US forces burning copies of the Quran	Al Jazeera-Agencies	280
	21-Feb-12	FIN	MON		Mark Scott	BC Partners Raises $8.6 Billion Fund		London, U.K.: BC Partners raised €6.5 billion ($8.6 billion);	NYT-DealBook	281
	21-Feb-12	MKT	OIL			Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) Futures		CME Group: NYMEX: light sweet crude oil futures, Mar-2012 delivery: $105.84/barrel (up 2.5%)	CME Group	282
	21-Feb-12	PRO	VIO		Edward Yeranian	Activists: Syrian Forces Kill 63 as Red Cross Seeks Daily Truce		Syria: Syrian security forces reportedly killed 63 people in Homs and northern villages; the distribution of civilian deaths since Mar-2011 is as follows: Homs 2,400; Daraa 715; Idlib 603; Damascus 551; Hama 460; Deir Ezzor 169; Latakia 156; Aleppo 49; Banias 13; Tartous 6 [source: Syrian Observatory for Human Rights]	VOA News	283
	21-Feb-12	BANK	MON		David Enrich	Top Banks in EU Rush for Safety		WSJ: as of 31-Dec-2011, the top 8 European banks held ~$816 billion (up 50% YOY) in cash and deposits at central banks	WSJ	284
	21-Feb-12	BUS	FIN			Walmart reports Q4 EPS from continuing operations of $1.51; Walmart U.S. delivers positive traffic and positive comp sales in Q4		Walmart 2012Q4 results: net sales, $122.3 billion (up 5.8% YOY); income from continuing operations attributable to Walmart, $5.194 billion (up 3.4% YOY). Full-year 2012 results: consolidated net sales, $443.9 billion (up 5.9% YOY); income from continuing operations attributable to Walmart, $15.766 billion (up 2.7% YOY)	Walmart	285
	21-Feb-12	GOV	SEC		Alexis Madrigal	Who Do You Trust Less: the NSA or Anonymous?		Alexis Madrigal: "Intelligence officials seem to be polishing up their case to take on Anonymous like a 'stateless' terrorist group"	The Atlantic	286
	21-Feb-12	PRO	GOV		A Guest	Anonymous message to the United States. Game Over		Message from Anonymous to the United States government: "We now see that you have publicly labeled Anonymous as leaderless terrorist organization that poses as a high threat to national security. . . On 12.21.2012 we seek to put and end to corruption world wide. A time to end censorship. A time to end tyranny. A time to leak it all."	Pastebin	287
	21-Feb-12	EDU	FREE	WWW	Al Baker; Kate Taylor. Contributors: William K. Rashbaum	Bloomberg Defends Police’s Monitoring of Muslim Students on Web		NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg defends the monitoring by police of Muslam students on the web; by contrast, Yale University’s president, Richard C. Levin, said in an e-mail: “I am writing to state, in the strongest possible terms, that police surveillance based on religion, nationality or peacefully expressed political opinion is antithetical to the values of Yale, the academic community and the United States.”	NYT	288
	21-Feb-12	M&A	BANK	ENER		Wells Fargo Agrees to Acquire the North American Reserved-Based and Related Diversified Energy Lending Business of BNP Paribas		Wells Fargo Bank to acquire the North American reserve-based and related diversified energy lending business of BNP Paribas; the BNP energy business has ~$9.5 billion of loan commitments, and ~$3.9 billion in loans outstanding	Wells Fargo	289
	22-Feb-12	RES	GOV	DEBT	Paul Rawkins (Primary Analyst); Chris Pryce (Secondary Analyst); David Riley (Committee Chairperson)	Fitch Downgrades Greece to 'C' from 'CCC'		Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece's Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) from 'CCC' to 'C'	Fitch Ratings	290
	22-Feb-12	M&A	BUS	OIL	Mark Scott	Shell to Buy Cove Energy for $1.6 Billion		Royal Dutch Shell to acquire Cove Energy (oil exploration company) for £992 million ($1.6 billion)	NYT-DealBook	291
	22-Feb-12	PRO	GOV	BANK	Contributors: Derek Gatopoulos; Elena Becatoros; Geir Moulson	Greek Lawmakers Rush to Clear Promised Austerity		Greece: >6,000 people protested against measures imposed by creditors (Eurozone and IMF) on Greeks	NYT: AP	292
	22-Feb-12	ACC				Argentina train crash kills 49, injures hundreds		Argentina: train crash in Buenos Aires killed 49 people and injured ≥550	CBC News: AP	293
	22-Feb-12	PRO	MIl	VIO		Syria Shelling Kills 19, Including 2 Western Journalists		Syria: shelling of Homs killed ≥19 people, including 2 Western journalists	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	294
	22-Feb-12	LAW	BUS		Jackie Calmes; John H. Cushman Jr. Contributor: John Harwood	Obama Unveils Proposal to Cut Corporate Tax Rate		White House: President Obama asked Congress to reduce the top corporate tax rate from 35% to 28% (25% for manufacturers)	NYT	295
	22-Feb-12	BUS	TECH	FIN		HP Reports First Quarter 2012 Results		HP 2012Q1 resuts: GAAP net revenue, $30 billion (down 7% YOY); GAAP net earnings, $1.5 billion (down 44% YOY)	Hewlett-Packard Development Company-Martketwire via Comtex	296
	22-Feb-12	MKT	GOLD			Gold Futures		CME Group: NYMEX: settlement for gold futures, Apr-2012 delivery: $1771.30/oz. (up 0.7%)	CME Group	297
	22-Feb-12	PRO	FIN	DEBT	Alain Badiou; Jean-Christophe Bailly; Étienne Balibar; Claire Denis; Jean-Luc Nancy; Jacques Ranciere; Avital Ronell	Alain Badiou. Save the Greeks from their Saviors! [Translation into English by Anastazia Golemi and Drew S. Burk]		Alain Badiou et al: "At a time when one Greek youth out of two is unemployed. Where 25,000 homeless wander the streets of Athens. Where 30% of the population has fallen under the poverty line and where millions of families are forced to place their children in the care of someone else in order for them not to die of hunger or cold, where refugees and the new poor compete for trashcans at the public dump, the “saviors” of Greece, under the pretext that “Greece is not trying hard enough”, impose a new aid plan that doubles the lethal administered dose. A plan that abolishes the right to work and reduces the poor to the most extreme misery, at the same time as it makes the middle class disappear. The goal is not about “saving” Greece. All economists worthy of this name agree on this point. It’s about gaining time in order to save the creditors at the same time it leads the country into deferred collapse. Above all it’s about making a laboratory of social change out of Greece that, in a second generation, will spread throughout all of Europe..."	The European Graduate School	298
	23-Feb-12	LAW	FIN		Ben Proress	Regulators Adopt New Derivatives Rules		The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to adopt new rules for the biggest players in the derivatives industry (swap dealers include big banks, brokerages, energy-trading firms, hedge funds, etc.); the size of the derivatives industry is estimated at $600 trillion	NYT-DealBook	299
	23-Feb-12	VIO			Asaad Alazawi; Ernesto Londoño. Contributor: Aziz Alwan	Scores killed in wave of al-Qaeda bombings across Iraq		Iraq: bombings across Iraq targeted security forces and killed 55 people; the Islamic State of Iraq, a branch of al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility	Washington Post	300
	23-Feb-12	GOV	ECON	FIN		Treasury Announces $3.6 Billion in New Markets Tax Credit Awards to Revitalize Low-Income and Distressed Communities		The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced $3.6 Billion in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) awards "to revitalize low-income and distressed communities"	U.S. Department of the Treasury	301
	23-Feb-12	M&A	BANK			Citigroup Successfully Executes Sale of 9.85% Interest in HDFC Ltd.		Citigroup Inc. sold its 9.85% interest in Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (HDFC) in a transaction valued at ~$1.9 billion	Citigroup	302
	23-Feb-12	HEAL	REL	VIO	Alberto Giubilini; Francesca Minerva	After-birth abortion: why should the baby live? [J Med Ethics doi:10.1136/medethics-2011-100411]		Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva argue that "what we call ‘after-birth abortion’ (killing a newborn) should be permissible in all the cases where abortion is, including cases where the newborn is not disabled," because: "(1) both fetuses and newborns do not have the same moral status as actual persons, (2) the fact that both are potential persons is morally irrelevant and (3) adoption is not always in the best interest of actual people"	Journal of Medical Ethics	303
	24-Feb-12	GOV	DEBT		Howard Schneider	Greece posts debt offer to investors on Web site		Greece: the Finance Ministry made a bond exchange offer to investors: current Greek bonds can be swapped for (1) a 30-year note worth 31.5% of the bonds' face value, and (2) a short-term security worth another 15% backed by the euro zone	Washington Post	304
	24-Feb-12	FIN	DEBT	GOV	Kevin Roose	A.I.G. Buys $2 Billion in Maiden Lane Bonds		AIG acquired almost $2 billion in bonds held in Maiden Lane II, a vehicle financed by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as part of the financial bailout in 2008	NYT-DealBook	305
	24-Feb-12	BUS	FIN	AUTO		Volkswagen presents 2011 preliminary consolidated financial statements		Volkswagen AG 2011 preliminary results: sales revenue, €159.337 billion (up 25.6% YOY); profit attributable to shareholders of Volkswagen AG, €15.409 billion (up 125.4% YOY)	Volkswagen	306
	24-Feb-12	PRO	BUS	JUST	A Guest	Geo Group Prison Industry Hacked & Defaced By Anonymous On #Fuckfbifriday Umad??		Anonymous hacked The Geo Group website: "As part of our ongoing efforts to dismantle the prison industrial complex, we attacked one of the largest private prison corporations in the US – Geo Group. Despite the well documented history of corruption, scandal, and atrocities that companies like GEO perpetuate each and every minute our friends are locked behind their prison walls, the private prison industry is still booming" [hashtags: #anonymous, #antisec, #fuckfbifriday, #occupywallstreet, #freeanons] [source: Pastbin]. The Geo Group 2011 results: revenue, $1.6 billion; net profit, $77.5 million [source: AFP, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gBwPi3Q43wMi5Ab1AFaNymZ2-6sw].	Pastebin	307
	24-Feb-12	PRO	VIO	REL		Fresh Anti-US Protests Erupt in Afghanistan		21-24-Feb-2012: Afghanistan: thousands protest against burning of Qurans; ≥22 people, including 2 Americans, were killed	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	308
	24-Feb-12	VIO	MIL			7 al-Shabab Militants Killed in Somalia Airstrike		Somalia: an airstrike killed 7 al-Shabab members; al-Shabab is linked to al-Qaida	VOA News	309
	24-Feb-12	BANK	GOLD	DEBT		IMF Executive Board Approves Distribution of US$1.1 Billion Gold Sales Profits to Facilitate Contributions to Support Concessional Lending to Low-Income Countries		The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the distribution of SDR 700 million (~$1.1 billion) in reserves attributed to profits from IMF gold sales for IMF members to voluntarily support concessional lending to low-income countries (LICs) [2009-2010 gold sales: total proceeds, SDR 9.54 billion (~$14.8 billion); profit, SDR 6.85 billion ($10.6 billion)]	IMF	310
	24-Feb-12	M&A	BUS	OIL		El Paso to Sell Exploration and Production Company		Consortium led by Apollo Global Management to acquire EP Energy Corporation, an exploration and production unit of El Paso Corp., for ~$7.15 billion	El Paso Corporation	311
	25-Feb-12	ELITE	BANK	JOBS	Mark Scott	Lloyds Posts $4.4 Billion Loss for 2011		Lloyds Banking Group (largest bank in Britain; 41%-owned by taxpayers): lost £2.8 billion ($4.4 billion) in 2011 (down from a £320 million loss in 2010); paid £375 million in bonuses; and plans to terminate 15,000 jobs by 2014 (including 3,700 jobs terminated in 2010)	NYT-DealBook	312
	25-Feb-12	VIO	REL			At Least 17 Killed In Nigeria Violence		Nigeria: bombings and shootings killed 17 people, including 5 worshipers	VOA News-AP-AFP	313
	25-Feb-12	VIO			Edward Yeranian	Car Bomb Detonates, Kills 26 as Yemen Swears in President		Yemen: suicide car-bombing at the presidential compound killed ≥26 people	VOA News	314
	25-Feb-12	GOV	POL	ELITE	Noam Chomsky	The imperial way: US decline in perspective		Noam Chomsky on the decline of the U.S.: "In the years of conscious, self-inflicted decline at home, "losses" continued to mount elsewhere. In the past decade, for the first time in 500 years, South America has taken successful steps to free itself from western domination, another serious loss. The region has moved towards integration, and has begun to address some of the terrible internal problems of societies ruled by mostly Europeanised elites, tiny islands of extreme wealth in a sea of misery. They have also rid themselves of all US military bases and of IMF controls. A newly formed organisation, CELAC, includes all countries of the hemisphere apart from the US and Canada. If it actually functions, that would be another step in US decline . . . The Arab Spring, another development of historic importance, might portend at least a partial "loss" of MENA. . ."	Al Jazeera	315
	25-Feb-12	BUS	FIN		Andrew Frye; Noah Buhayar; Dan Kraut (ed.)	Berkshire Profit Drops 30% on Smaller Gains From Buffett’s Derivative Bets		Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 2011Q4 results: net income, $3.05 billion (down 30% YOY); cash, $37.3 billion on 31-Dec-2011 (up 7% QOQ)	Bloomberg	316
	26-Feb-12	PRO	VIO	GOV		Syria holds vote on new constitution		Syria: Syrians voted on a new constitution; violence has reportedly killed >7,600 people	Al Jazeera-Agencies	317
	26-Feb-12	PRO			MPOPPEL	WikiLeaks begins publishing 5 million emails from STRATFOR [Via BNO News Wire Service]		MPOPPEL: "WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files – more than five million emails from the Texas-headquartered "global intelligence" company Stratfor. . . Government and diplomatic sources from around the world give Stratfor advance knowledge of global politics and events in exchange for money. The Global Intelligence Files exposes how Stratfor has recruited a global network of informants who are paid via Swiss banks accounts and pre-paid credit cards. Stratfor has a mix of covert and overt informants, which includes government employees, embassy staff and journalists around the world. . ."	Pastebin	318
	26-Feb-12	PRO	BANK	GOV	A Guest	PROJECT MAYHEM 2012 LOLOKAUST: DHS, Y U NO LOL AT #PM2012?		Project Mayhem 2012: "RU READY 4 TEH LOLOKAUST? . . . Imagine the corrupt start to Fear Us. Imagine corrupt Banksters start to Fear Us. Imagine corrupt Governments start to Fear Us. ✔ CHECK. Imagine corrupt Corporations start to Fear Us. . ."	Pastebin	319
	26-Feb-12	ACC				3 Via employees die in Ontario derailment		Burlington, ON: Via Rail train derailment killed 3 Via employees; 32 people were injured	CBC News-The Canadian Press	320
	27-Feb-12	ELITE	POL			Memorandum: From: George Friedman; Date: Sat, 20 Feb 2010 09:41:03 -0600; To: Secure List;  Subject: Insight--for internal use only--On pain of agony; Internal use only. [See also on Twitter, 26-Feb-2012: WikiLeaks: "Kissinger believes that the Israelis are in a panic and will attack Iran" http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/5509401_re-insight-for-internal-use-only-on-pain-of-agony-.html #iran #israel #gifiles.]		George Friedman, Founder and CEO of Stratfor, on the "crisis of the elites": "One sense I'm getting here is that the American elite, along  with Europe's, China's and just about everyone but Russia's [h]is suffering from three problems: First, none are really aware of the political pressures on other elites. Second, they completely misunderstand the alienation of the publics, three, except for Volcker, they think this can be handled by the elites among themselves. We have a crisis of the elites, in my view."	WikiLeaks-The Global Intelligence Files	321
	27-Feb-12	BANK	FIN			HSBC Holdings Plc 2011 Results – Highlights		HSBC 2011 results: net operating income before loan impairment charges and other credit risk provisions, $72.280 billion (up 6% YOY)); profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company, $16.797 billion (up 27.6% YOY)	HSBC	322
	27-Feb-12	BANK	JOBS		Julia Werdigier	HSBC Profit Rises on Demand From Emerging Markets		HSBC plans to cut cost by yearend 2013, in part by terminating 30,000 jobs	NYT-DealBook	323
	27-Feb-12	GOV	FIN	DEBT	Heiner Kiesel / mll; Ben Knight (ed.)	Big majority for unpopular Greek rescue		Germany: the Bundestag agreed to 2nd Greek rescue package worth ~€130 billion ($97 billion)	Deutsche-Welle	324
	27-Feb-12	VIO	GOV	LAW		Scores reported dead in Syria violence		Syria: violence throughout Syria killed reportedly >125 people, including ≥64 in Homs; despite the violence, 89.4% of voters in a referendum voted for a new constitution allowing for a multiparty system (57.4% of eligible voters voted)	Al Jazeera-Agencies	325
	27-Feb-12	PRO	VIO		Brian Padden	Suicide Attack Kills 9 Amid Protests in Afghanistan		Afghanistan: suicide car bombing killed ≥9 people; a series of attacks were triggered by the accidental burning of Qurans by U.S. soldiers	VOA News	326
	27-Feb-12	VIO	REL		Anne Look	Christian Youths Kill 2 Muslims In Nigeria Church Bombing Revenge		Nigeria: Christians killed 2 Muslims in revenge for a bombing by Islamists of a church in which 3 people were killed and a Christmas day bombing of a Catholic church that killed ≥37 people	VOA News	327
	28-Feb-12	BUS	RES	COMP		IBM Research Advances Device Performance for Quantum Computing		Scientists at IBM Research announced major advances in quantum computing device performance; using 3D superconducting qubits (research initiated at Yale University), IBM scientists were able to "extend the amount of time that the qubits retain their quantum states up to 100 microseconds," thus enabling "effective error correction schemes" and suggesting "broader engineering aspects for scalability"	IBM	328
	28-Feb-12	VIO	REL			Gunmen Kill 18 Shi'ites in NW Pakistan		Pakistan: gunmen ambushed a bus and killed 18 of it's Shia passangers	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	329
	28-Feb-12	PRO	GOV			St Paul's protest: Occupy London camp evicted		London, UK: police and bailiffs evicted anti-capitalist protesters and removed tents from the Occupy London camp at St Paul's Cathedral	BBC News	330
	28-Feb-12	VIO	EDU		Sabrina Tavernise; Jennifer Preston. Contributor: Jess Bidgood	Third Student Dies After Shooting at High School in Ohio		27-Feb-12: shooting rampage at a high school in Ohio killed 3 students	NYT	331
	28-Feb-12	MKT	RE			Home Prices Continued to Decline in December 2011 According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices		S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices: respective 10- and 20-City Composites (non-seasonally adjusted) for Dec-2011: down 1.08% and 1.11% MOM; down 3.99% and 4% YOY; drop from peak values, 33.76% and 33.80%. The 10- and 20-City Composites peaked in Jun-2006 and Jul-2006, respecively.	S&P/Case-Shiller	332
	28-Feb-12	GOV	BANK	FIN		FDIC-Insured Institutions Earned $26.3 Billion in the Fourth Quarter of 2011; Full-Year Net Income of $119.5 Billion Is Highest Since 2006		FDIC insured institutions 2011Q4 results: net income, $26.34 billion (up 23.1% YOY); loss provisions, $19.548 billion (down 40.1% YOY). Full-year 2011 results: net income, $119.5 billion (up 39.8% YOY); loss provisions, $76.93 (down 51.3% YOY)	FDIC	333
	28-Feb-12	MKT			Christine Hauser	Dow Closes Above 13,000; First Time Since 2008		The Dow Jones industrial average (DJIA) climbed above 13,000 for the first time since 19-May-2008	NYT	334
	28-Feb-12	MKT	GOLD			Gold Futures		CME Group: NYMEX: settlement for gold futures, Apr-2012 delivery: $1788.40/oz. (up 0.76%)	CME Group	335
	28-Feb-12	PRO	MIL	VIO	Liz Sly	13 Syrians die attempting to rescue foreign journalists from Homs		Syria: security forces ambushed opposition activists who were trying to smuggle foreign journalists out of Homs; 13 activists were killed; violence reportedly killed a total of 102 people across Syria	Washington Post	336
	28-Feb-12	PRO	SEC	WWW		Hackers reportedly linked to ‘Anonymous’ group targeted in global operation supported by INTERPOL		Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Spain: 25 suspected members of Anonymous were arrested in an operation supported by INTERPOL	INTERPOL	337
	28-Feb-12	M&A	GOV	BANK		New York Fed Sells Remainder of Maiden Lane II LLC Securities; Approximately $2.8 Billion Net Gain Generated for U.S. Public from the Portfolio		The Federal Reserve Bank of New York to sell the remaining securities in the Maiden Lane II LLC (ML II) portfolio; the transaction will fully repay the $19.5 billion loan extended by the New York Fed to ML II and will generate a profit for the benefit of the public of ~$2.8 billion	Federal Reserve Bank of New York	338
	29-Feb-12	PRO	GOV	DEBT	Raf Casert	Unions protest on eve of EU summit		Belgium, Spain, Greece: unions protest against unfair austerity measures imposed by creditors	AJC: AP	339
	29-Feb-12	ECON				Gross Domestic Product: Fourth Quarter And Annual 2011 (Second Estimate)		U.S.: real GDP increased at an annual rate of 3.0% (QOQ) in 2011Q4; and 1.7% (YOY) in 2011 (compared with an increase of 3.0% YOY in 2010)	Bureau of Economic Analysis	340
	29-Feb-12	GOV	NUC	FOOD		US says N. Korea Agrees to Missile, Uranium Enrichment Moratorium		North Korea "agreed to a moratorium on long-range missile launches, nuclear testing and uranium enrichment activities" in exchange for "food aid"	VOA News	341
	29-Feb-12	M&A				CVC Capital Partners agrees acquisition of Ahlsell		Funds advised by CVC Capital Partners to acquire Ahlsell (technical products wholesaler) from Cinven and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners for €1.8 billion	CVC Capital Partners	342
	29-Feb-12	MKT	GOLD		Myra P. Saefong; Sarah Turner. Contributor: Barbara Kollmeyer	Gold drops over $77, posts monthly loss; Prices settle at lowest since late January; silver dives nearly 7%		CME Group: NYMEX: settlement for gold futures, Apr-2012 delivery: $1,711.30/oz. (down 4.3%)	MarketWatch	343
	29-Feb-12	VIO			Lisa Schlein	More Than 1,000 Chadian Migrants Flee Fighting in Nigeria		Nigeria: according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), >1,000 Chadian migrants have fled from violence	VOA News	344
	29-Feb-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT	Chen Zhi (ed.)	ECB allots a further half a trillion euros to 800 banks		The European Central Bank (ECB) injected >€0.5 trillion into 800 banks as part of its 2nd 3-year longer term refinancing operation (LTRO); the total LTRO amount injected by the ECB into financial institutions is >€1 trillion ($1.3 trillion)	Xinhua	345
	29-Feb-12	VIO				China Accuses Ethnic Separatists in Xinjiang Killings		China accused separatists in the Uighur region of killing ≥20 people; Uighurs accused China of "systematic repression"	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	346
	29-Feb-12	AOG	WEATH		Phil Gast; Mariano Castillo. Contributors: Logan Burruss; Kara Devlin; Joe Sutton; Josh Levs; Michael Martinez	Massive storm system claims at least 12		TN, IL, MO, U.S.: massive storm killed ≥12 people	CNN U.S.	347
	29-Feb-12	FIN	MON		Thomas P. DiNapoli (New York State Comptroller)	Wall Street Bonuses Declined in 2011; Industry Profits Down by Half from Prior Year		New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli: the bonus pool for securities industry employees who worked in New York City in 2011 is estimated at $19.7 billion (down 14% YOY); the average Wall Street bonus is estimated at $121,150 (down 13% YOY); the profits for the broker/dealer operations of New York Stock Exchange member firms fell to ~$13.5 billion in 2011 (down 51% YOY)	Office of the New York State Comptroller	348
	29-Feb-12	M&A	BUS	AUTO		GM and PSA Peugeot Citroën Create Global Alliance		General Motors and PSA Peugeot Citroën to create "a long-term and broad-scale global strategic alliance"; GM to acquire a 7% equity stake in PSA Peugeot Citroën	GM	349
	29-Feb-12	GOV	MEDIA	SCIE		Frozen out: Canada's government should free its scientists to speak to the press, as its US counterpart has [Nature 483,6(01 March 2012)doi:10.1038/483006a]		Nature Editorial: "Since Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative Party won power in 2006, there has been a gradual tightening of media protocols for federal scientists and other government workers. Researchers who once would have felt comfortable responding freely and promptly to journalists are now required to direct inquiries to a media-relations office, which demands written questions in advance, and might not permit scientists to speak. . . Policy directives and e-mails obtained from the government through freedom of information reveal a confused and Byzantine approach to the press, prioritizing message control and showing little understanding of the importance of the free flow of scientific knowledge."	Nature-Editorial	350
	1-Mar-12	PRO	BUS	LAW	Peter Fedynsky	Occupy Movement Turns Anger Towards Individual Corporations		The Occupy Wall Street movement is targeting corporations it alleges are corrupt; also targeted is the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) – an organization corporations are using to allegedly "get state legislators to vote their way on bills"	VOA News	351
	1-Mar-12	ELITE	MON		Mary Alice Salinas. Contributors: Leo Keyen (Hausa Service chief); Ibrahim Abdulaziz; Medina Dauda; Muhammed Salisu Rabiu; Zainab Babaji; Nasiru Batsari	More Nigerians Slip Into Poverty, Particularly in North		Nigeria: The National Bureau of Statistics on poverty in Nigeria: 97.6 million people (61% of Nigerians) earned <$1/day in 2010 (up 10% from 2004)	VOA News	352
	1-Mar-12	MKT	OIL			Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) Futures		CME Group: NYMEX: light sweet crude oil futures, Apr-2012 delivery: $108.84 (up 1.7%)	CME Group	353
	2-Mar-12	GOV	ECON	OIL		African leaders launch 'super port' project		Kenya, South Sudan, and Ethiopia launched a $25 billion project to build a port, oil refinery, and rail network near Lamu	Al Jazeera-Agencies	354
	2-Mar-12	VIO				Nigeria's MEND claims fatal attack on police		Nigeria: Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) claimed responsibility for killing 4 police officers on 1-Mar-12	Al Jazeera: Agencies	355
	3-Mar-12	AOG	WEATH			Tornadoes Kill Over 30 in US		U.S.: tornadoes killed >30 people in midwest states	VOA News	356
	3-Mar-12	ACC	OIL	LAW		BP announces settlement with PSC, subject to final written agreement, to resolve economic loss and medical claims from Deepwater Horizon accident and oil spill		BP reached a ~$7.8 billion settlement with the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee (PSC). Prior to this settlement, BP paid out: >$8.1 billion to individuals, businesses and government entities; ~$14 billion on operational response.	BP	357
	3-Mar-12	ACC				At Least 8 Dead in Poland Train Collision		Poland: head-on train collision killed ≥8 people	NYT: AP	358
	4-Mar-12	GOV	MIL	FIN	Keith B. Richburg. Contributor: Zhang Jie	China military spending to top $100 billion this year		China: military spending to increase to ~$106 billion in 2012 (up 11% YOY). Defense budget as percent of GDP: China, 1.28%; U.S., >2%; UK, >2%.	Washington Post	359
	4-Mar-12	ACC	MIL			Brazzaville munitions dump blasts 'kill scores'		Democratic Republic of Congo: explosions at an arms dump in Brazzaville killed ≥150 people	BBC News	360
	4-Mar-12	GOV			Parisa Hafezi; Hashem Kalantari. Contributors: Mitra Amiri; Hossein Jaseb; Ramin Mostafavi; Parisa Hafezi; Marcus George; Mark Heinrich (ed.)	Khamenei allies trounce Ahmadinejad in Iran election		Iran: Clerical Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei loyalists won >75% of seats in parliamentary elections	Reuters	361
	4-Mar-12	RES	GOV	DEBT		Moody's downgrades Greece after debt swap		2-Mar-2012: Moody's Investors Service cut Greece's local and foreign-currency bond ratings from Ca to C – the lowest possible rating	Ahram Online: Reuters	362
	4-Mar-12	VIO	MIL			Southern Yemen Fighting Kills 35 Soldiers, 20 al-Qaida Militants		Yemen: car bombings and fighting between government troops and al-Qaida members killed ≥35 soldiers and 20 militants	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	363
	4-Mar-12	ELITE	FIN		Matthew G. Miller; Peter Newcomb; Matthew G. Miller (ed.)	Slim Tops Gates in Debut of Daily Billionaire Ranking		2-Mar-12: Bloomberg Billionaires Index, "a daily ranking of the world’s 20 wealthiest individuals": 1. Carlos Slim, $68.5 billion (telecommunications, Mexico); 2. Bill Gates, $62.4 billion (Microsoft Corp.); 3. Warren Buffet, $43.8 billion (Berkshire Hathaway Inc.). The total net worth of the 20 richest people is $676.8 billion.	Bloomberg	364
	4-Mar-12	GOV	FIN	MON	Lingling Wei	China's CIC Gets Injection: Government Provides Sovereign-Wealth Fund With $30 Billion in New Capital		China: the government injected ~$30 billion of new capital into China Investment Corp.	WSJ	365
	5-Mar-12	GOV			Anton Ponomarev	Putin wins in landslide victory, opposition surrenders		Russia: Vladimir Putin won the presidential election in Russia; in Moscow, over 100,000 people demonstrated in support of Vladimir Putin. Election results (99% of votes processed): Vladimir Putin, 63.82%; Gennady Zyuganov (Communist Party of the Russian Federation), 17.18%;  Mikhail Prokhorov, 7.77%; Vladimir Zhirinovsky, 6.23%; Sergei Mironov, 3.84%.	Pravda	366
	5-Mar-12	VIO	MIL			106 dead in Yemen fighting between al-Qaida and army; 55 troops taken prisoner		Yemen: Al-Qaida militants attacked army bases, killing 78 soldiers; 28 militants were also killed	Washington Post: AP	367
	5-Mar-12	VIO	SEC			Iraqi forces targeted in deadly attacks		Iraq: a series of attacks on checkpoints in Haditha killed ≥27 members of Iraq's security forces	Al Jazeera-Agencies	368
	5-Mar-12	FIN	MON	GOV	Noah Buhayar; Bei Hu; Andreea Papuc (ed.); Linus Chua (ed.)	AIG Sells $6 Billion AIA Shares for $182.3 Billion Rescue		American International Group Inc. (AIG) to sell $6 billion of AIA Group Ltd. shares to pay back the U.S. government; AIG received a $182.3 billion bailout	San Francisco Chronicle: Bloomberg News	369
	5-Mar-12	PRO	GOV		Ellen Barry; Michael Schwirtz. Contributors: David M. Herszenhorn; Glenn Kates; Anastasia Sadovskaya; David Carr from Moscow; Steven Lee Myers	After Election, Putin Faces Challenges to Legitimacy		Moscow, Russia: ~15,000 people protest against the government	NYT	370
	5-Mar-12	BANK	GOV	DEBT	Nicholas Dunbar; Elisa Martinuzzi; Edward Evans (ed.)	Goldman Secret Greece Loan Shows Two Sinners as Client Unravels		The following are comments by Dr. Edward E. Ayoub, founder of Macroknow: (1) The article by Nicholas Dunbar et al. deals with the machinations and consequences of "Greece’s secret loan from Goldman Sachs Group Inc." (2) The consequences include: "On the day the 2001 deal was struck, the government owed the bank about 600 million euros ($793 million) more than the 2.8 billion euros it borrowed, said Spyros Papanicolaou . . ." (3) the machinations give flesh to Tanachic wisdom, such as: "The rich rule the poor and the borrower is the slave of the lender" [Proverbs 22:7] and "The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure . . . and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail . . . " [Deuteronomy 28:12-13]. For more quotations on debt, see Ayoub's article – "Nothing But a Tail" – posted December 8, 2001, at http://www.mindhat.com/editorials-eea/op-ed-20011208.htm.]	Bloomberg	371
	5-Mar-12	GOV	MIL	NUC	Dana Milbank	AIPAC beats the drums of war		Dana Milbank: "Now Israel is moving toward a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear program, and American leaders are coming before AIPAC this week to give their blessings."	Washington Post-Opinions	372
	5-Mar-12	M&A	GOV	OIL	Khushita Vasant	India Raises $2.57 billion Via ONGC Stake Auction		India: the government sold a 4.91% stake in Oil & Natural Gas Corp. for 127.7 billion rupees ($2.57 billion)	WSJ	373
	6-Mar-12	BANK	DEBT	RES	Sarah Mulholland; Zeke Faux; Alan Goldstein (ed.)	S&P Blocked by Banks in CMBS Market After Derailed Goldman Deal: Mortgages		Five big banks – Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Deutsche Bank AG, and Morgan Stanley – dumped S&P’s credit ratings as they issued $11.3 billion of commercial mortgage bond market debt	Bloomberg	374
	6-Mar-12	LAW	PRO		Kim Zetter. Contributors: David Kravets; Ryan Singel	LulzSec Leader Was Snitch Who Helped Snag Fellow Hackers		A member of LulzSec (online name "Sabu"), who was "secretly arrested," reportedly helped authorities arrest other hacker members of the group.	WIRED	375
	6-Mar-12	BANK	LAW	DEBT	Michael J. De La Merced	Lehman Estate Emerges From Bankruptcy		Lehman exits from Chapter 11; Lehman filed for bankruptcy on 15-Sep-2008	NYT-DealBook	376
	6-Mar-12	FIN	FRAUD	JUST	Clifford Krauss	Stanford Convicted by Jury in $7 Billion Ponzi Scheme		U.S.: R. Allen Stanford was convicted on 13 out of 14 counts of fraud in connection with a Ponzi scheme involving >$7 billion; Stanford was accused of defrauding ~30,000 investors in 113 countries	NYT	377
	6-Mar-12	MKT				Dow Jones Industrial Average		The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 203.66 points (-1.57%), closing at 12,759.15	Yahoo! Finance: DJ	378
	6-Mar-12	LAW	PRO			Six Hackers in the United States and Abroad Charged for Crimes Affecting Over One Million Victims: Four Principal Members of “Anonymous” and “LulzSec” Charged with Computer Hacking and Fifth Member Pleads Guilty; “AntiSec” Member also Charged with Stealing Confidential Information from Approximately 860,000 Clients and Subscribers of Stratfor		FBI: "Five computer hackers . . . were charged today, and a sixth pled guilty, for computer hacking and other crimes. The six hackers identified themselves as aligned with the group Anonymous . . . and/or offshoot groups related to Anonymous, including “Internet Feds,” “LulzSec,” and “AntiSec.”"	FBI	379
	6-Mar-12	PRO	SEX		Gabe Joselow	Nairobi Sex Workers Hit Streets to Demand Rights		Kenya: sex workers demand respect for their basic human rights	VOA News	380
	6-Mar-12	MIL	VIO		Paul Joseph Watson	Leaked Email: Pentagon Admits Plan To Direct Terror Attacks Inside Syria		Wikileaks' Stratfor data dump: leaked email: US is preparing to “commit guerrilla attacks, assassination campaigns” to topple Assad	Information Liberation	381
	6-Mar-12	MKT				Dow Jones Industrial Average		The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 203.66 points (-1.57%), closing at 12,759.15	Yahoo! Finance: DJ	382
	7-Mar-12	VIO	HEAL		Will Englund	Teens choosing death in Russia		Countries with the highest teenage suicide rates: 1. Belarus; 2. Kazakhstan; 3. Russia; Russia's teenage suicide rate is ~5 per day (>4 times that of the United States)	NYT	383
	7-Mar-12	VIO	MIL			Six UK soldiers killed in Afghanistan explosion		Afghanistan: an explosion killed 6 UK soldiers; the UK military death toll since 2001 is 404	BBC News	384
	7-Mar-12	PRO	GOV	SEC	Jaikumar Vijayan	Anonymous takes down security firm's website, vows to fight on after arrests		Undaunted, and, apparently, in a challenge to the FBI, Anonymous took down Panda Security's PandaLabs website	Computerworld	385
	7-Mar-12	GOV	VIO		Belen Fernandez [@MariaBelen_Fdez]	A world map without Lebanon: Press reports indicate that Israel is planning another war against Lebanon		Lebanon: response of Lebanese President Michel Sleiman to existential threats from Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu [as outlined in Daily Star, 24-Feb-2012]: "The statement from the [Lebanese] presidential palace mentioned that during a news conference in Switzerland, Netanyahu said it is not a secret that Israel will attack Lebanon, adding that it will do so with the support of the United States, the West and Arab states from the Gulf. He was also reported to have said that 'in the new world map there is no state called Lebanon'"	Al Jazeera	386
	7-Mar-12	PRO	GOV			Thousands march as South Africans strike		South Africa: thousands of people protested against exorbitant e-tolling and "labour broking," a kind of "modern day slavery"; 25% of South Africa's labour force is unemployed	Al Jazeera-Agencies	387
	7-Mar-12	PRO	REL		A Guest	Vatican.va TANGO DOWN		Anonymous took down Vatican websites: "Anonymous has now decided to lay siege to your site in response to the doctrines, liturgies and the precepts absurd and anachronistic that your organization is for profit (Roman Apostolic Church) propagates and spreads worldwide. . . This is NOT intended to attack the true Christian religion and the faithful around the world, but to the corrupt Roman Apostolic Church and all its emanations."	Pastebin	388
	7-Mar-12	GOV	REL		Fredrick Nzwili	South Sudanese face deadline to leave the north		Sudan: ~500,000-700,000 people, mainly Christians, are being forced to move to South Sudan	ENI News	389
	8-Mar-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		Revenues Have Exceeded Investments, but Concerns about Outstanding Investments Remain		U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO): Report to Congressional Committees: CAPITAL PURCHASE PROGRAM [CPP]: Under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), Treasury had the authority to use a bailout fund of up to ~$700 billion buy or guarantee “troubled assets," including mortgages, mortgage-backed securities, and other financial instruments. Treasury disbursed $204.9 billion to 707 financial institutions from Oct-2008 through Dec-2009. As of 31-Jan-2012, Treasury received $211.5 billion in repayments and income from its CPP investments. As of 30-Nov-2011, Treasury estimated a lifetime gain of $13.5 billion for CPP. The number of institutions that exited CPP is 341. Of these: 43% (146 institutions) exited by fully repaying their investments; 11 institutions made partial repayments but remained in the program; 48% (165 institutions) exited CPP by exchanging their investments under other federal programs -- 28 through the Community Development Capital Initiative (CDCI) and 137 through the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF) program!	GAO	390
	8-Mar-12	REL	POL			Documents: Pius XII Favored a Jewish Homeland in Palestine		Documents reportedly reveal that Archbishop Eugenio Pacelli (future Pope Pius XII) favored a Jewish homeland in Palestine	Zenit	391
	8-Mar-12	ELITE	MON		Forbes Staff	The World's Billionaires		Forbes: the wold's 1,226 billionaires are worth a record $4.6 trillion. Net worth of the top 5 billionaires: 1. Carlos Slim Helou and family, $69 billion; 2. Bill Gates, $61 billion; 3. Warren Buffett, $44 billion; 4. Bernard Arnault, $41 billion; 5. Amancio Ortega, $37.5 billion.	Forbes	392
	8-Mar-12	M&A	BUS			Molycorp to Acquire Leading Rare Earth Processor Neo Material Technologies in $1.3 Billion Deal		Molycorp, Inc. to acquire Neo Material Technologies Inc. for ~CDN $1.3 billion	Molycorp	393
	8-Mar-12	M&A	BANK	RE		BNP Paribas sells a 28.7% stake in Klépierre S.A. to Simon Property Group		BNP Paribas to sell a 28.7% stake in Klépierre S.A. to Simon Property Group for ~€1.5 billion	BNP Paribas	394
	8-Mar-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		Monetary policy decisions		The Governing Council of the ECB to keep the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility unchanged at 1.00%, 1.75% and 0.25% respectively	ECB	395
	8-Mar-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		News Release - Bank of England maintains Bank Rate at 0.5% and the size of the Asset Purchase Programme at £325 billion		The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee: to keep the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5%; and to continue with its programme of asset purchases totalling £325 billion financed by the issuance of central bank reserves	Bank of England	396
	8-Mar-12	GOV	LAW	SEC		Bill Summary & Status: 112th Congress (2011 - 2012): H.R.347		H.R.347 "Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011" (Public Law No: 112-98) was signed into law by President Obama [critics of this law contend that the bill "would severely limit the First Amendment rights of protesters"; see http://dailyagenda.org/2012/03/05/congress-votes-for-the-end-of-protest/]	The Library of Congress: THOMAS	397
	8-Mar-12	PRO	GOV	LAW		America's Authoritarian Turn: Speaking truth to power becomes a crime		Adbusters Blog: "Ever since the rise of Occupy, corporatist authorities have been trying to figure how to squash our emerging social movement. . . Now they are trying the new tactic of “lawfare” – using draconian laws to squash free speech in a last ditch effort to put an end to people power." President Obama signed bill H.R. 347 into law on 9-Mar-2012. The bill "makes it a federal crime to disrupt “Government business or official functions” or to enter any building where a “person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting.” "	Adbusters	398
	9-Mar-12	GOV	FIN	DEBT		Over 80% of Greek creditors accept debt swap		Greece: 83.5% of Greece's private-sector bondholders agreed to a bond-swap deal; 83.5% corresponds to €172 billion out of a total of €206 billion	MarketWatch	399
	9-Mar-12	BANK	FIN	DEBT		ISDA EMEA Determinations Committee: Restructuring Credit Event Has Occurred with Respect to The Hellenic Republic		The EMEA Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee of The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) determined unanimously that "a Restructuring Credit Event has occurred with respect to The Hellenic Republic (Greece)"	ISDA	400
	9-Mar-12	VIO	MIL		Khaled Yacoub Oweis	Syrian forces kill dozens ahead of peace mission		Syria: Syrian forces subdued demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad and killed ≥54 people	Washington Post: Reuters	401
	9-Mar-12	M&A	BUS	COMP		Quest Software Enters Into Agreement with Insight Venture Partners to Become Private Company in Transaction Valued at $2.0 Billion		Quest Software to be taken private by Insight Venture Partners in a transaction valued at $2.0 billion	Quest Software	402
	9-Mar-12	GOV	BANK	FIN	Jaya Mohanty (Director)	RBI Announces Reduction in the CRR		Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to reduce the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks by 0.75% from 5.5% to 4.75% of their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) effective 10-Mar-12	Reserve Bank of India	403
	9-Mar-12	BANK	LAW	REL	Tim Reid	Banks foreclosing on churches in record numbers		U.S.: banks are foreclosing on churches in record numbers; according CoStar, in 2011, 138 churches were sold by banks (up from 24 in 2008)	Reuters	404
	10-Mar-12	VIO	MIL			Death toll climbs after Israeli raids on Gaza		Gaza: Israeli air strikes killed ≥15 Palestinians	Al Jazeera-Agencies	405
	10-Mar-12	PRO				Russians Rally Against Putin, But in Smaller Numbers		Moscow, Russia: ~20,000 protesters (down from >100,000 in the last democracy rally) demonstrated against President-elect Vladimir Putin	VOA News	406
	10-Mar-12	VIO	MIL			10 Suspected Militants Killed in Yemen Raid		Yemen: air strikes killed ≥10 suspected al-Qaida militants	VOA News-AFP-Reuters	407
	11-Mar-12	VIO	MIL			At least 39 militants dead in Pakistan gunfight: officials		Pakistan: a gun battle killed ≥39 militants and 4 Pakistani troops	The West Australian: AFP	408
	11-Mar-12	VIO				15 Killed in Pakistan Funeral Blast		Pakistan: a suicide bomber targeted a funeral attended by an anti-Taliban politician and killed ≥15 people	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	409
	11-Mar-12	VIO	MIL			US Service Member Kills At Least 16 Afghan Civilians		Afghanistan: a U.S. service member shot and killed at least 16 Afghan civilians	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	410
	11-Mar-12	PRO	GOV	DEBT		Hundreds of thousands protest austerity measures in Spain		Spain: hundreds of thousands of people protest against austerity measures in 60 cities across Spain	USA Today: AP	411
	12-Mar-12	VIO	REL			Archbishop of Jos: Religious leaders must bring down tension in Nigeria		11-Mar-2012: Nigeria: a suicide car bomber attacked a Catholic church in Jos killing ≥10 people	Vatican Radio	412
	12-Mar-12	ELITE	TECH	MON	Rob Cox	The Ruthless Overlords Of Silicon Valley		Rob Cox, on "the Overlords of Silicon Valley": "Though Silicon Valley’s newest billionaires may anoint themselves the saints of American capitalism, they’re beginning to resemble something else entirely: robber barons. Behind the hoodies and flip-flops lurk businesspeople as rapacious as the black-suited and top-hatted industrialists of the late-19th century."	The Daily Beast	413
	12-Mar-12	M&A	BANK			Unionbancal Corporation To Acquire Pacific Capital Bancorp		UnionBanCal Corporation (UNBC) to acquire Pacific Capital Bancorp for $46 per share in cash (~$1.5 billion)	UnionBanCal Corporation	414
	12-Mar-12	REL				Presentation Of Pontifical Yearbook 2012		The number of Catholics in the world increased from 1,181 million in 2009 to 1,196 million in 2010 (up 15 million or 1.3% YOY); over 2009-2010, the presence of baptised Catholics in the world has remained stable at ~17.5%	VIS News	415
	12-Mar-12	VIO				More Than 100 Dead in South Sudan Tribal Fighting		South Sudan: death toll from tribal hostilities: ≥100 people	VOA News	416
	12-Mar-12	M&A	BUS	WWW	David Barboza	2 Video Web Sites in China Plan a Merger		China: Youku to acquire Tudou in a deal valued at $1.1 billion	NYT-DealBook	417
	12-Mar-12	M&A	BUS	HEAL		Asahi Kasei Announces Agreement to Acquire ZOLL Medical		Japan/U.S.: Asahi Kasei Corporation to acquire ZOLL Medical Corporation for ~$2.21 billion	Asahi Kasei Corporation	418
	12-Mar-12	BANK	MKT	DEBT	Susanne Walker; Dave Liedtka (ed.)	Banks Buy Treasuries at Seven Times Pace in 2011		Banks purchased $78.2 billion of Treasuries and securities of agencies in Jan-Feb 2012 (up from $62.6 billion in all of 2011); total bank holdings of Treasuries reached $1.78 trillion	Bloomberg	419
	12-Mar-12	RES	ECON	EDU	Michelle Kaske; Mark Tannenbaum (ed.)	New York City Tops Global Competitiveness, Economist Report Says		Top ranked cities for global competitiveness according to an Economist Intelligence Unit report commissioned by Citigroup Inc.: 1. New York; 2. London; 3. Singapore; 4. Paris and Hong Kong (tied). 120 cities were surveyed. According to the report, a joint Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology campus is expected to generate $6 billion.	Bloomberg	420
	13-Mar-12	VIO				Massacre' in Homs as Idlib endures assault		Syria: death toll for "massacre" in Homs on 11-Mar-2012: ≥16 people (according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights); 45 people (according to the Local Co-ordination Committees)	Al Jazeera-Agencies	421
	13-Mar-12	VIO	REL			Imam dies in arson attack on Belgian mosque		Belgium: arson attack on a Shia mosque killed its imam.	Al Jazeera: Agencies	422
	13-Mar-12	LAW				DISPUTE SETTLEMENT: US, Japan and EU file disputes against China		World Trade Organization (WTO): the U.S., Japan and the EU filed disputes against China regarding China's restrictions on export of rare earths, tungsten and molybdenum	WTO	423
	13-Mar-12	ACC				35 dead, nearly 200 missing in B'desh ferry capsize		12-Mar-2012: Bangladesh: a ferry capsized; at least 35 people were killed; >150 people are missing	Hindustan Times: Press Trust of India	424
	13-Mar-12	GOV	BANK	RES		Federal Reserve announces summary results of latest round of bank stress tests		The Federal Reserve announced results of the latest round of bank stress tests; the hypothetical stress scenario includes "a peak unemployment rate of 13 percent, a 50 percent drop in equity prices, and a 21 percent decline in housing prices"; 4 out of 19 banks failed the stress test; the 4 banks include Ally Financial Inc., Citigroup Inc., MetLife Inc. and SunTrust Banks Inc. [see also Ronald D. Orol, Citi among banks that fail Fed stress test, MarketWatch, http://www.marketwatch.com/story/citi-among-banks-that-fail-fed-stress-test-2012-03-13]	Federal Reserve Board	425
	13-Mar-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement		FOMC decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0% to 0.25%	Federal Reserve Board	426
	13-Mar-12	M&A	BUS	SEC		Dell Announces Intent to Acquire SonicWALL, Inc.		Dell to acquire SonicWALL, Inc. (network security and data protection) [the deal is valued at ~$1.25 biilion; see Michael J. De La Merced, Dell to Buy Security Services Provider for $1.25 Billion, NYT-DealBook, http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/dell-to-buy-sonicwall-a-security-services-provider-for-1-25-billion/]	Dell	427
	13-Mar-12	BANK	FIN			JPMorgan Chase to Increase Quarterly Common Stock Dividend to $0.30 Per Share; Board Authorizes $15 Billion Equity Repurchase Program		JPMorgan Chase to increase quarterly dividend to $0.30/share; the bank's board authorized a $15 billion equity repurchase program	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	428
	13-Mar-12	MKT				Dow Jones Industrial Average		The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 217.97 points (1.68%), closing at 13,177.68	Yahoo! Finance: DJ	429
	13-Mar-12	MKT				NASDAQ Composite		NASDAQ gained 56.22 points (1.88%), closing at 3,039.88	Yahoo! Finance: NASDAQ	430
	13-Mar-12	GOV	LAW	SEC	Michael S. Schmidt	New Interest in Hacking as Threat to Security		U.S.: according to DHS, during the 5-month period ending Feb-2012, the number of reported attacks on computer systems increased to 86 (up from 11 YOY), and the number of hacking incidents increased to 50,000 (up from 40,000 YOY); the federal government is seeking increased authority to regulate infrastructure security	NYT	431
	13-Mar-12	MKT				Dow Jones Industrial Average		The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 217.97 points (1.68%), closing at 13,177.68	Yahoo! Finance: DJ	432
	14-Mar-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		Federal Reserve Board launches its Twitter channel		Federal Reserve Board launched its official Twitter channel: @federalreserve	Federal Reserve Board	433
	14-Mar-12	GOV	ENER		J. Matthew Roney	World Wind Power Climbs to New Record in 2011		Earth Policy Institute: the world total electricity-generating capacity inctreased to 238,000 megawatts in 2011 (up a record 41,000 megawatts YOY); China's total installed wind capacity increased to 63,000 megawatts in 2011 (up 18,000 megawatts YOY): China's wind capacity surpassed that of the United States in 2010	Earth Policy Institute	434
	14-Mar-12	BANK	JOBS			Lloyds, RBS Announce 1,900 Job Cuts		UK: Lloyds to cut 1,600 positions (part of a plan to cut 15,000 jobs); RBS to cut ~300 jobs	NYT: Reuters	435
	14-Mar-12	BANK	ELITE	PRO	Greg Smith	Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs		Greg Smith resigned as a Goldman Sachs executive director and head of the firm’s U.S. equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa: "TODAY is my last day at Goldman Sachs. . .  I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it. . . When the history books are written about Goldman Sachs, they may reflect that the current chief executive officer, Lloyd C. Blankfein, and the president, Gary D. Cohn, lost hold of the firm’s culture on their watch. I truly believe that this decline in the firm’s moral fiber represents the single most serious threat to its long-run survival. . . Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence. . . It astounds me how little senior management gets a basic truth: If clients don’t trust you they will eventually stop doing business with you. It doesn’t matter how smart you are."	NYT-Op Ed	436
	14-Mar-12	BANK			Lloyd Blankfein (CEO); Gary Cohn (President)	Goldman Sachs responds to former exec		Goldman Sachs: CEO Lloyd Blankfein and President Gary Cohn responded to Greg Smith's public resignation	CNN Money	437
	14-Mar-12	GOV	FIN	DEBT	Stephen Castle	With Details Settled, a 2nd Greek Bailout Is Formally Approved		A 2nd bailout for Greece was formally approved; the bailout package is valued at €130 billion ($170 billion)	NYT	438
	14-Mar-12	LAW	MON	RES	Ellen M. Ryan; Laura E. Simmons	Securities Class Action Settlements: 2011 Review and Analysis		The number of court-approved securities class action settlements in 2011 decreased to 65 (a 10-year low; down 25% YOY); and settlement funds in 2011 tumbled to $1.362 (down 58% YOY) [see also http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/court-approved-class-action-settlements-at-decade-low/]	Cornerstone Research	439
	14-Mar-12	BANK	LAW	FRAUD	Matt Taibbi	Bank of America: Too Crooked to Fail –The bank has defrauded everyone from investors and insurers to homeowners and the unemployed. So why does the government keep bailing it out?		Incredible article by Matt Taibbi on Bank of America: "The bank has defrauded everyone from investors and insurers to homeowners and the unemployed. So why does the government keep bailing it out? . . . Bank of America is now bigger and more dangerous than ever. . . Last year, the Federal Reserve allowed Bank of America to move a huge portfolio of dangerous bets into a side of the company that happens to be FDIC-insured, putting all of us on the hook for as much as $55 trillion in irresponsible gambles. . . The bank . . .  made a habit out of breaking the law and engaging in ethical lapses on a grand scale, all over the globe. . . Bank of America didn't pay a dime in federal taxes last year. . . They paid out $35 billion in bonuses and compensation that year. You do the math."	Rolling Stone	440
	14-Mar-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		Federal Reserve offers $3 billion in 28-day term deposits though its Term Deposit Facility		Federal Reserve to offer $3 billion in 28-day term deposits through its Term Deposit Facility	Federal Reserve Board	441
	15-Mar-12	M&A	BUS	TECH		Cisco Announces Intent to Acquire NDS		San Jose, CA/London, UK: Cisco Systems Inc. to acquire NDS Group PLC (video software and content security solutions) for ~$5 billion	Cisco	442
	15-Mar-12	VIO	MIL			Death Toll Mounts as Syria Marks Uprising Anniversary		Syria: Syrian forces continue to crack down on dissent; ≥23 were reportedly killed	VOA News-AP-AFP	443
	15-Mar-12	PRO	EDU	SEC		Over 100 arrested at unruly Montreal anti-police protest		Montreal: ~1,000 people demonstrated against police brutality and tuition hikes; violence and confrontation with police was reported; >100 people were arrested	The Globe & Mail: The Canadian Press	444
	15-Mar-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		IMF Executive Board Approves €28 Billion Arrangement Under Extended Fund Facility for Greece		The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a 4-year SDR 23.8 billion (~€28 billion, or US$36.7 billion) arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Greece	IMF	445
	15-Mar-12	MKT			Kate Gibson	U.S. stock rise pushes S&P 500 past 1,400 – Dow industrials extend longest winning run in more than a year		S&P 500 index soared past 1,400 for the first time since Jun-2008	MarketWatch	446
	15-Mar-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT	Vikas Bajaj. Contributors: Heather Timmons; Neha Thirani	Bad Loans at State-Run Banks Add to India’s Woes		India: Reserve Bank of India survey indicates that bad loans pose “the most significant risk to the financial system”; as percent of GDP, the government of India debt is ~69%	NYT	447
	15-Mar-12	ACC				Swiss tunnel crash: What happened		14-Mar-12: Switzerland:  coach crashed in a tunnel killing 22 school children and 6 adults	BBC News	448
	16-Mar-12	NATO	ACC		Hamid Shalizi; Jack Kimball. Contributors: Reuters TV; Jon Hemming; Ece Toksabay; Rob Taylor (ed.); Robert Birsel (ed.)	NATO helicopter crash kills 16 people in Afghanistan		Afghanistan: A NATO helicopter crashed killing 12 Turkish soldiers and 4 Afghan civilians	Reuters	449
	16-Mar-12	M&A	BUS	MEDIA		Bell to acquire Québec’s leading media company Astral		Bell Canada to acquire Quebec's Astral Media for ~$3.38 billion	Bell Canada	450
	16-Mar-12	VIO	GOV		David Ignatius	The bin Laden plot to kill President Obama		Documents reportedly found in Osama bin Laden’s compound by U.S. forces on 2-May-2011 reveal that bin Laden was hatching a plot to kill President Obama and Gen. David H. Petraeus	Washington Post	451
	16-Mar-12	GOV	SCIE	TECH	Choe Sang-hun; Steven Lee Myers. Contributor: William J. Broad	North Korea Says It Will Launch Satellite Into Orbit		North Korea annouced it will launch a satellite into orbit	NYT	452
	16-Mar-12	GOV	BANK	MON	Nicholas Dunbar; Elisa Martinuzzi; Edward Evans (ed.)	Italy Said to Pay Morgan Stanley $3.4 Billion		Italy to pay Morgan Stanley $3.4 billion to cancel speculative derivative contracts from the 1990s	Bloomberg	453
	17-Mar-12	REL				Egypt's Coptic Christian Pope Shenouda III dies		Egypt: Coptic Christian Pope Shenouda III died at the age of 88	BBC News	454
	17-Mar-12	VIO	GOV			Deadly car bombs hit Syrian capital		Syria: 2 car bombs targeting intelligence and security buildings in Damascus killed ≥27 people	CBC News-AP	455
	18-Mar-12	MIL	COMP	WWW	Ellen Nakashima	U.S. accelerating cyberweapon research		The Pentagon spends ~$3.4 billion per year on cybersecurity and cybertechnology; the budget of the U.S. Cyber Command in 2012 is $154 million	Washington Post	456
	19-Mar-12	RES	MIL	MKT		Rise in international arms transfers is driven by Asian demand, says SIPRI [Trends in International Arms Transfers, 2011: Paul Holtom, Mark Bromley, Pieter D. Wezeman and Siemon T. Wezeman]		Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI): the volume of worldwide arms transfers in 2007-2011 was 24% higher than in 2002-2006. The 5 biggest suppliers in 2007-11 were: 1. the United States (30% of international arms exports; up 24% between 2002-2006 and 2007-2011); 2. Russia (24%; up 12%); 3. Germany (9%; up 37%); 4. France (8%; up 12%); 5. the United Kingdom (4%; up 2%). The 5 largest recipients of arms in 2007-2011 were: 1. India (10% of global arms imports); 2. South Korea (6%); 3. Pakistan (5%); 4. China (5%); 5. Singapore (4%). China has become the 6th largest supplier of arms in the world; Chinese arms exports increased by 95% from 2002-2006 to 2007-11.	Stockholm International Peace Research Institute	457
	19-Mar-12	M&A	BUS	OIL		Williams Partners Announces $2.5 Billion Acquisition to Establish Major Footprint in Liquids-Rich Area of Marcellus Shale; Plans Joint Venture to Pursue Utica Shale Opportunities		Williams Partners L.P. to acquire Caiman Energy's wholly owned subsidiary, Caiman Eastern Midstream LLC, for ~$2.5 billion	Williams Partners	458
	19-Mar-12	M&A	BUS	TEL				Zayo Group LLC to acquire AboveNe,t Inc. for ~$2.2 billion in cash	Zayo Group	459
	19-Mar-12	REL	BANK		Philip Pullella; Lisa Jucca	Vatican bank image hurt as JP Morgan closes account		JP Morgan Chase to close the Vatican bank's account; reason: lack of transparency at the Holy See's Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) [sources: Il Sole 24 Ore; Corriere della Sera; La Stampa]	Reuters	460
	19-Mar-12	BANK	FIN	JOBS	Lauren Tara LaCapra; Alwyn Scott (ed.); Steve Orlofsky (ed.)	Goldman Sachs cuts staff in annual review process		Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to cut staff ($1.4 billion in annual cost savings were targeted in 2011). Goldman 2011 productivity statistics: revenue per employee, $865,195 (down 25% from 2005); profit per employee, $75,375 (down 71% from 2005).	Reuters	461
	19-Mar-12	RES	GOV			Investigation Ranks 50 State Governments for Corruptibility [See Caitlin Ginley, "50 states and no winners," http://www.stateintegrity.org/state_integrity_invesitgation_overview_story]		State Integrity Investigation: "State governments are largely doing a poor job delivering transparency and accountability to their citizenry. Meanwhile, statehouses remain ripe for corruption and self-dealing."	Center for Public Integrity	462
	19-Mar-12	BUS	FIN			Apple Announces Plans to Initiate Dividend and Share Repurchase Program		Apple announced plans (1) to pay a quarterly dividend starting 1-Jul-2012, and (2) to initiate a $10 billion share repurchase program starting 30-Sep-2012. The plans are expected to cost ~$45 billion over 3 years.	Apple	463
	19-Mar-12	M&A	BUS			United Parcel Service and TNT Express to Create a Global Leader in the Logistics Industry		United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) to acquire TNT Express N.V. in a transaction valued at ~€5.16 billion ($6.77 billion)	United Parcel Service	464
	19-Mar-12	VIO	GOV			5 Killed in Attack Near Somali Presidential Palace		Somalia: al-Shabab attacked the presidential palace in Mogadishu and killed ≥5 people	VOA News-Reuters	465
	19-Mar-12	VIO				Intense Fighting Rocks Syrian Capital		Syria: rebels attacked an upscale area of Damascus; 2 rebels and a security force member were killed [source: SANA]	VOA News	466
	20-Mar-12	BANK	JOBS		Dawn Kopecki; David Scheer (ed.)	JPMorgan’s Gulya Said to Leave as Equities Staff Shrinks		JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut ~5% of its equities trading desk jobs; the bank's treasury and securities services division cut <1% of its staff (~100 jobs) in Jan-2012	Bloomberg	467
	20-Mar-12	VIO			Alice Fordham; Aziz Alwan	Dozens killed in attacks across Iraq ahead of Arab League summit		Iraq: a series of bombing and shooting attacks killed ≥49 people in 8 cities	Washington Post	468
	20-Mar-12	VIO	REL		DS	Series of attacks in Iraq, dozens of dead. Church of St Mathew in Baghdad targeted		Iraq: the Syrian Orthodox Church of St. Matthew in Baghdad was targeted in bombings by Iraqi extremists on 20-Mar-2012 -- the 9th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq	AsiaNews.it	469
	20-Mar-12	BUS	FIN	TECH		Oracle Reports Q3 GAAP EPS Up 20% To 49 Cents; Q3 Non-GAAP EPS Up 15% To 62 Cents: Trailing Twelve Month Operating Cash Flow Up 35% To $13.5 Billion		Oracle fiscal 2012Q3 results: total revenues, $9.0 billion (up 3% YOY); net income, $2.5 billion (up 18% YOY); operating cash flow on a trailing 12-month basis, $13.5 billion (up 35% YOY)	Oracle	470
	20-Mar-12	M&A	BUS	FOOD		Glencore to Acquire Viterra		Glencore International to acquire Viterra Inc. for C$2.6 billion in cash; Glencore agreed to sell certain assets of Viterra to Agrium and Richardson International	Glencore	471
	20-Mar-12	AOG	QUAK			Magnitude 7.4 - OAXACA, MEXICO		Mexico: magnitude 7.4 quake hits Oaxaca [source: USGS]	U.S. Geological Survey	472
	20-Mar-12	GOV	BANK	FIN		Federal Reserve System publishes annual financial statements		Federal Reserve Banks 2011 combined annual financial statements: net income, $77.4 billion (down $4.4 billion or 5.3% YOY); total assets as of 31-Dec-2011, $2.919 trillion (up $491 billion or 20.2% YOY)	Federal Reserve Board	473
	21-Mar-12	GOV	BANK	LAW	Edward Taylor; Gary Hill (ed.)	Deutsche Bank Changes Legal Status of U.S. Unit		Deutsche Bank changed the legal status of Taunus Corp, its U.S. subsidiary, to avoid the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act [see Deutsche Bank: Annual Report 2011 on Form 20-F, as filled with the SEC, 20-Mar-2012, http://www.db.com/ir/en/download/SEC_Form_20-F_2011.pdf]	NYT: Reuters	474
	21-Mar-12	RES	REL		Dr. Gudrun Kugler (director of the Observatory)	Report 2011		Dr. Gudrun Kugler, director of the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians: "Studies suggest that 85% of all hate crimes with an anti-religion background in Europe are directed against Christians . . ."	Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians	475
	21-Mar-12	GOV	FIN	LAW	William L. Watts	Osborne cuts U.K. corporate tax, top personal rate		U.K. to cut (1) the corporate tax rate from 26% to 24% in Apr-2012; and (2) the top marginal personal tax rate from 50% to 45% in Apr-2013	MarketWatch	476
	22-Mar-12	VIO				Suspect's killing ends French siege		11-22-Mar-2012: Toulouse, France: Gunman who allegedly killed 7 [3 French soldiers, 3 Jewish children and a rabbi] is shot dead	Al Jazeera-Agencies	477
	22-Mar-12	BANK	DEBT			Bank of America Outlines Limited Pilot Test of Mortgage to Lease Program		Bank of America announced a pilot program to offer a limited number of mortgage customers (<1,000) facing foreclosure an opportunity to remain in their homes as tenants	Bank of America	478
	22-Mar-12	GOV	MIL			UN Security Council Condemns Mali Coup		Mali: coup toppled President Amadou Toumani Toure's government	VOA News	479
	22-Mar-12	GOV	POL	ECON		US Warns of Global Water Insecurity		World Water Day 2012; the areas most  likely affected by water challenges over the next 30 years are North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia [source: Intelligence Community Assessment, Global Water Security, 2-Feb-2012, http://www.dni.gov/nic/ICA_Global%20Water%20Security.pdf]	VOA News	480
	23-Mar-12	REL				Apostolic Journey to Mexico and to the Republic of Cuba (March 23-29, 2012)		23-29-Mar-2012: Apostolic Journey to Mexico and to the Republic of Cuba	Vatican	481
	23-Mar-12	M&A	BUS	OIL	Ian Austen	Pengrowth Energy to Buy NAL Energy		Pengrowth Energy to acquire NAL Energy in an all-stock transaction valued at CAD $1.3 billion	NYT-DealBook	482
	23-Mar-12	PRO	REL	FREE	Barbara Bradley Hagerty	Thousands Rally For Religious Freedom Nationwide		"Stand Up For Religious Freedom" rallies: thousands of people rallied across the U.S. against a perceived threat to religious liberties	NPR	483
	24-Mar-12	PRO	JUST		Ovetta Wiggins	Demonstrators at Freedom Plaza rally in memory of Trayvon Martin		U.S.: people seeking justice demonstrate in memory of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Floridian killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer on 26-Feb-2012; millions of people support Martin via social media	NYT	484
	24-Mar-12	MEDIA	FIN	LAW		A Long Road to Regulating Derivatives		New York Times Editorial: " . . . the multitrillion-dollar derivatives market is still dominated by a handful of big banks, and regulation is a slow work in progress. That means Americans, and the economy, remain at risk."	NYT-Editorial	485
	24-Mar-12	BUS	WWW		Quentin Hardy	Just the Facts. Yes, All of Them.		Factual, a Big Data company founded by Gilad Elbaz, aspires to collect/aggregate all the world's data for profit.	NYT	486
	24-Mar-12	PRO	GOV	MIL	Shahar Chai	Tel Aviv: 1,000 march against Iran strike		Tel Aviv: ~1,000 Israeli protesters rallied against bombing Iran's nuclear facilities	Ynet News	487
	25-Mar-12	GOV	LAW	REL		Islamists Win Majority on Egypt's Constitution-Drafting Panel		Egypt: Islamists won a majority of seats on a 100-member constituent assembly; the assembly is tasked with drafting a new constitution	VOA News-AP-AFP	488
	25-Mar-12	GOV	UN		Robert Berger	Israel to Block UN Mission on Settlements		Israel to block a fact-finding mission of the United Nations Human Rights Council investigating the impact of Jewish settlements on the civil rights of Palestinians	VOA News	489
	25-Mar-12	ELITE	RPIG	ECON	Steven Rattner	The Rich Get Even Richer		Steven Rattner, on income inequality: "The bottom 99 percent received a microscopic $80 increase in pay per person in 2010, after adjusting for inflation. The top 1 percent, whose average income is $1,019,089, had an 11.6 percent increase in income."	NYT-Op Ed	490
	25-Mar-12	ENER	OIL	ACC		Gas leak incident at Elgin platform in the North Sea		Natural gas is leaking at Total's Elgin offshore drilling platform n the North sea	Total	491
	26-Mar-12	VIO	MIL			At Least 5 Killed After Syrian Security Forces Shell Homs		Syria: security forces reportedly bombarded Homs, killing ≥5 people	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	492
	26-Mar-12	BANK	LAW	SEX		Strauss-Kahn Receives Prostitution-Related Charges		Charges were filed against ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn alleging he was involved in a French prostitution ring; apparently DSK attended orgies but did not know the orgies involved prostitutes	NYT: AP	493
	26-Mar-12	M&A	BANK			CaixaBank today approves an agreement of intent to merge with Banca Cívica, to create Spain’s leading financial group		CaixaBank to acquire Banca Cívica in a share swap deal; the bank is valued at €977 million	La Caixa	494
	26-Mar-12	Bank	DEBT	BUS	Robin Emmott; John O'Donnell. Contributors: Sakari Suoninen; Claire Davenport; Mike Peacock (ed.)	Nervous Banks Hold Back Europe's Revival Strategy		European banks are not lending, especially in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal; according to Mark Fielding, head of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, "Most small businesses feel almost hatred towards their banks"	NYT: Reuters	495
	26-Mar-12	VIO	NATO		Ernesto Londoño. Contributors: Karla Adam; Anthony Faiola; Craig Whitlock	Afghan forces fatally shoot 3 NATO troops in Afghanistan		Afghanistan: Afghan soldiers killed 3 NATO troops	Washington Post	496
	26-Mar-12	MKT				Dow Jones Industrial Average		The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 160.90 points (1.23%), closing at 13,241.63	Yahoo! Finance: DJ	497
	27-Mar-12	ECON				The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® Decreases		The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index for Mar-2012 fell to 70.2 (1985=100) (down 1.4 from 71.6 in Feb-2012)	Conference Board	498
	27-Mar-12	HEAL			Brigid Fitzgerald Reading	Growth in World Contraceptive Use Stalling; 215 Million Women’s Needs Still Unmet		Earth Policy Institute: ≥215 million women want to prevent or delay pregnancy but use no effective contraception; ~40% of all pregnancies are unintended; modern contraception methods include oral contraception (“the pill”), condoms, injections, intrauterine devices (IUDs), and sterilization [for more information, see World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse by Lester R. Brown at http://www.earth-policy.org/books/wote]	Earth Policy Institute	499
	28-Mar-12	M&A	BUS			Pentair and Tyco International's Flow Control Business to Combine in $10 Billion All-Stock Merger		Pentair, Inc. and Tyco International Ltd. to combine Tyco's Flow Control business with Pentair in a tax-free, all-stock merger; the transaction values Tyco Flow at ~$4.9 billion	Tyco-PRNewswire	500
	28-Mar-12	M&A	ENER	ECO		Samsung C&T Enters Europe’S Carbon Capture Race: Samsung C&T Investment Boosts 2Co Energy’S Flagship Ccs Project In The Uk		Samsung Construction & Trading to acquire a 15% stake in 2Co Energy’s Don Valley Power Project – "one of Europe’s most advanced and economically viable Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects"; the total investment in the power project is expected to be ~£3 billion ($4.75 billion)	NYT: Reuters	501
	28-Mar-12	RES	GOV	ELITE	Dan Hind [author of "The Threat to Reason and The Return of the Public" and "Occupy movement and deliberative politics, Common Sense: Occupation, Assembly and the Future of Liberty"]	The third British Empire – London is considered the "capital of capitalism" allowing foreign billionaires to stash tax free income offshore.		Dan Hind, on the 3 British Empires, the first 2 being "deeply criminal projects . . . they relied heavily on profits from slavery and the sale of narcotics": Empire 1. "an Atlantic empire built on North American colonies and Caribbean possessions"; Empire 2. "an Asian empire, built on control of India and coercive trade with China"; Empire 3. "organised around the country's offshore financial infrastructure and its substantial diplomatic, intelligence and communications resources"	Al Jazeera	502
	29-Mar-12	PRO	LAW	JOBS	Lauren Frayer. Contributor: Henry Chu	In Spain, millions join strike to protest labor reforms		Spain: millions of Spaniards protested against new labor laws favoring companies [dismantling of collective bargaining; low wages; job cuts] and other austerity measures imposed by lenders; violence against financial institutions was reported; ~25% of the Spanish workforce and almost 50% of people under 25 are unemployed	Los Angeles Times	503
	29-Mar-12	GOV	MIl	RES	Ron Ben-Yishai	Analysis: US thwarting Israeli strike on Iran		Analysis by Ron Ben-Yishai alleging that the U.S. is leaking classified information to the media in order to hinder an Israeli strike in Iran; the leak operation is described as a "practical, targeted assassination of potential Israeli operations in Iran"	Ynet News	504
	29-Mar-12	ECON				Gross Domestic Product: Fourth Quarter And Annual 2011 (Third Estimate) Corporate Profits: Fourth Quarter And Annual 2011		U.S.: real GDP increased at an annual rate of 3.0% (QOQ) in 2011Q4; and 1.7% (YOY) in 2011 (compared with an increase of 3.0% YOY in 2010)	Bureau of Economic Analysis	505
	29-Mar-12	BUS	JOBS			Best Buy Reports Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2012 Results		Best Buy: (1) to close 50 U.S. big box stores in FY2013; (2) to open 50 new Five Star stores in China also in FY2013; (3) to cut $800 million in planned cost by FY2015; and (4) to cut ~400 positions in corporate and support areas	Best Buy	506
	29-Mar-12	ELITE	FIN	MON	Julie Creswell; Azam Ahmed	Large Hedge Funds Fared Well in 2011		U'S.: top hedge fund managers earned $14.4 billion in 2011. Top 3 hedge managers: 1. Raymond Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, $3.9 billion; 2. Carl Icahn, Icahn Capital Management, $2.5 billion; 3. James Simons, Renaissance Technologies Corp, $2.1 billion [source: Stephen Taub, "The Rich List," AR Magazine, 29-Mar-2012, http://www.absolutereturn-alpha.com/Article/3001821/The-Rich-List.html]	NYT-DealBook	507
	29-Mar-12	GOV	BANK	FIN	Kurt Achin	BRICS Nations Inch Toward Development Bank		New Delhi, India: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) proposed the formation of a "BRICS bank” that would protect developing economies from financial crises emanating from richer countries	VOA News	508
	30-Mar-12	PRO	LAW	MIL		Israeli forces face Palestinian 'Land Day' protests		Jerusalem: "Land Day" protest: ~15,000 Palestinians protested against Israeli discriminatory land policies	USA Today: AP	509
	30-Mar-12	SEC	WWW	PRO	Somini Sengupta	Warned of an Attack on the Internet, and Getting Ready		The Domain Name System has been preparing to protect the Internet's infrastructue, including root servers, against a possible Operation Global Blackout by Anonymous; there are 13 root servers worldwide	NYT	510
	30-Mar-12	SEC	FRAUD	FIN	Meghan Kelly	Over 50K Visa and Mastercard credit cards compromised, banks alerted		Cyber-criminals reportedly stole Visa and Mastercard credit-card data: 56,455 cards are potentially compromised	Venture Beat	511
	30-Mar-12	REL	FIN	ECON		Jews And Catholics: The Economic Crisis Is A Crisis Of Moral Values		27-29-Mar-2012: 11th meeting of the Bilateral Commission of the Delegations of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with Jews: "while many factors contributed to the financial crisis, at its roots lies a crisis of moral values in which the importance of having, reflected in a culture of greed, eclipsed the importance of being; and where the value of truth reflected in honesty and transparency was sorely lacking in economic activity"	VIS News	512
	30-Mar-12	SEC			Bruce Crumley	French Anti-Terror Raids: A Sarkozy Election Gambit?		30-Mar-2012: France: The French National Police Intervention Group (GIPN) arrested 19 suspected "Islamist extremists" in multi-city anti-terrorism raids	Time-Global Spin	513
	30-Mar-12	GOV	FIN	DEBT	James Kanter			30-31-Mar-2012: Copenhagen: European finance ministers agreed to establish an almost €800-billion bailout fund for the euro zone	NYT	514
	30-Mar-12	GOV	FIN	DEBT	Barbara Kollmeyer	Spain announces €27 billion deficit-cutting plan		Spain: the Spanish government announced a €27 billion ($36 billion) deficit-reduction plan	MarketWatch	515
	30-Mar-12	HEAL	RES		Jon Baio	Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders — Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 14 Sites, United States, 2008		CDC survey: Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) among the 14 Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDMs) sites in 2008: 11.3 per 1,000 (1 in 88) children aged 8 years (up 78% when compared with statistics for 2002)	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	516
	31-Mar-12	VIO	MIL			Clashes in Yemen Leave 30 Dead		Yemen: ≥30 people were killed in clashes between military forces and suspected al-Qaeda-linked militants	VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters	517
	31-Mar-12	GOV	ECON	MKT	Pliny Han (ed.)	Rare earth association "to launch next month"		China: China's rare earth industry association is due to be established 8-Apr-2012; the association will be supervised by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; China accounts for ~97% of the world's output of rare earth minerals [source: China Daily]	Gov.cn	518
	1-Apr-12	VIO				Tribal clashes in southern Libya kill scores		Libya: ≥147 people were killed in 1 week in clashes between Tobou fighters and Arab tribespeople	Al Jazeera: Agencies	519
	1-Apr-12	GOV				NLD Claims Aung San Suu Kyi Election Win		Burma: National League for Democracy: Nobel prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, won a seat in Burma's lower house of parliament	VOA News-AP-AFP	520
	1-Apr-12	VIO				3 Killed in Afghan Blast		Afghanistan: a roadside bomb killed 2 local council members and a police officer	VOA News	521
	1-Apr-12	JOBS	ECON		Liz Alderman, Contributor: Maïa de le Baume	Ranks of Working Poor Grow in Europe		Poverty is spreading in Europe: "hundreds of thousands of people are living in campgrounds, vehicles and cheap hotel rooms. Millions more are sharing space with relatives, unable to afford the basic costs of living." In 2010: ~8.2% of workers in the EU lived at below the poverty level of ~$13,500; according to Eurostat, temporary jobs accounted for 50% of all job openings	NYT	522
	1-Apr-12	GOV	BANK	FRAUD		As Foreclosure Problems Persist, Fed Seeks More Fines		Federal regulators to crack down on 8 financial firms over home foreclosure practices; the 8 firms include: HSBC’s U.S. bank division, SunTrust Bank, MetLife, U.S. Bancorp, PNC Financial Services, EverBank, OneWest, and Goldman Sachs	NYT	523
	2-Apr-12	M&A	BANK			DBS To Acquire Pt Bank Danamon Indonesia Tbk To Become Fifth-Largest In Indonesia		DBS Group Holdings Ltd. to acquire Asia Financial (Indonesia) Pte. Ltd. (a subsidiary of Fullerton Financial Holdings Pte. Ltd.), which holds a 67.37% stake in PT Bank Danamon Indonesia Tbk (Danamon) for a total consideration of IDR45.2 trillion (~$4.95 billion)	DBS Group Holdings Ltd.	524
	2-Apr-12	Law	BANK			CFTC Charges Royal Bank of Canada with Multi-Hundred Million Dollar Wash Sale Scheme – CFTC also charges that bank concealed material information from, and made material false statements to, a futures exchange		U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) charged the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) (1) "with conducting a multi-hundred million dollar wash sale scheme in connection with exchange-traded stock futures contracts"; and (2) "that RBC willfully concealed, and made false statements concerning, material aspects of its wash sale scheme from OneChicago, LLC, an electronic futures exchange, and CME Group, Inc." [RBC intends to vigorously defend is reputation; see "RBC Vigorously Rejects CFTC Allegations as Unwarranted," http://www.rbc.com/newsroom/2012/0402-cftc.html]	CFTC	525
	2-Apr-12	ACC	JET			Passenger jet crashes in Russia after take off killing 32, leaving 11 survivors		Russia: UTAir ATR-72 jetliner crashed killing 32 people	Pravda	526
	3-Apr-12	M&A	BANK			Royal Bank of Canada to Acquire Full Ownership of RBC Dexia Investor Services		Royal Bank of Canada to acquire the 50% stake that RBC does not already own in RBC Dexia Investor Services Limited from Banque Internationale à Luxembourg S. A. for total consideration of €837.5 million (C$1.1 billion) in cash	Royal Bank of Canada	527
	3-Apr-12	M&A	BUS	FOOD		Molson Coors to Acquire Central and Eastern European Brewer StarBev		Molson Coors Brewing Company to acquire StarBev L.P. for €2.65 billion ($3.54 billion)	Molson Coors	528
	3-Apr-12	RES	BUS	DEBT		Rating Action: Moody's downgrades GE rating to Aa3, GE Capital to A1		Moody's Investors Service downgraded (1) the senior unsecured debt rating of General Electric Company (GE) to Aa3 from Aa2; and (2) the senior unsecured rating of its finance subsidiary, General Electric Capital Corporation, to A1 from Aa2. The rating outlook for GE and GECC is stable	Moody's Investors Service	529
	3-Apr-12	VIO	MIL		Matthew Rosenberg	Taliban Attacks Kill 9 Afghan Police Officers		2-3-Apr-2012: Afghanistan: Taliban attacks killed 9 Afghan police officers; 14 are also missing	NYT	530
	4-Apr-12	BUS	WWW	JOBS		Yahoo! Statement		Yahoo! to eliminate ~2,000 jobs; employee transitions are expected to realize ~$375 million in savings per year	Yahoo!	531
	4-Apr-12	GOV	BANK	DEBT		4 April 2012 - Monetary policy decisions		The Governing Council of the ECB to keep the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility at 1.00%, 1.75% and 0.25% respectively	European Central Bank	532
	4-Apr-12	VIO	EDU		Maria L. La Ganga; Victoria Kim. Contributors: Ashley Powers; Lee Romney; Matt Stevens	Oakland college gunman sought to settle score, police say		A South Korean national allegedly shot and killed 6 students and a secretary at Oikos University, a small Christian college	Los Angeles Times	533
	4-Apr-12	GOV	MEDIA	JOBS		CBC to cut 650 jobs over next 3 years		Canada: CBC/Radio-Canada to lose $115 million in funding over 3 years and to eliminate 650 jobs over the same period	CBC News	534
	4-Apr-12	M&A	RES			Graphics: Mergers and Acquisitions, Top Financial and Legal Advisers		Mergers and acquisitions in 2012Q1: wordwide, $481 billion (down 34%): U.S., $146 billion [source: Thomson Reuters]	NYT-DealBook	535
	4-Apr-12	M&A	BUS	TECH		EBX Group and IBM Announce Strategic Agreement		IBM to acquires 20% of SIX Automacao's capital, a subsidiary of SIX Solucoes Inteligentes, an EBX Group technology company; IBM and EBX Group to collaborate on research, and to create Joint Industry Solutions Center at SIX Automacao; EBX Group to outsource IT operations to IBM for ~$1 billion over 10 years	IBM	536
	4-Apr-12	BUS	FIN	JOBS		EBX Group and IBM Announce Strategic Agreement		Brazil: EBX to invest $15.5 billion during 2011-2012 in Brazil, and to generate 20,000 jobs	EBX	537
	4-Apr-12	VIO			Mohammed Yusuf	Suicide Bomber Kills 8 in Somali Capital		Somalia: a female suicide bomber targeted the Somali National Theater in Mogadishu and killed ≥8 people; the Islamist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility	VOA News	538
	4-Apr-12	GOV	NUC	VIO	Catherine Hickley; Manuela Hoelterhoff (ed.)	Nobelist Grass Says Nuclear-Power Israel Threatens Peace		In the poem titled “What Has to Be Said,” Guenter Grass, the Nobel Prize winning author of “The Tin Drum," claims that Israel is threatening world peace [see http://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/gedicht-zum-konflikt-zwischen-israel-und-iran-was-gesagt-werden-muss-1.1325809] [for a translation of the poem, see Heather Horn, "Gunter Grass's Controversial Poem About Israel, Iran, and War, Translated," The Atlantic, 6-Apr-2012, http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/04/gunter-grasss-controversial-poem-about-israel-iran-and-war-translated/255549/]	Bloomberg	539
	5-Apr-12	JUST	BANK	FRAUD	Brady Dennis	Judge approves foreclosure deal with banks		U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer approved a $25 billion settlement between the government and large banks – Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Ally Financial "to overhaul the flawed and fraudulent foreclosure practices" [see 9-Feb-2012] [the banks do not admit wrongdoing; see http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/02/business/fed-targets-eight-more-firms-in-foreclosure-probe.html]	Washington Post	540
	5-Apr-12	GOV	BANK	FRAUD		Banks Always Win		Editorial in the NYT titled" Banks Always Win": "Citing “unsafe and unsound” foreclosure practices, the Federal Reserve said recently that it plans to penalize eight financial firms . . . We’ll believe it when we see it. If recent history is any guide, regulators are more likely to offer the banks a way to avoid fines for harmful and egregious behavior. That means there will be no deterrent against future misbehavior."	NYT-Editorial	541
	6-Apr-12	BUS	SEX		Suzanne Daley. Contributors: Rachel Chaundler; Stefania Rousselle	In Spain, Women Enslaved by a Boom in Brothel Tourism		Spain: prostitution and trafficking of foreign women is booming in Spain; according to the U.S. State Department’s 2010 report on trafficking, 200,000-400,000 women were in the prostitution business in Spain and 90% were trafficked	NYT	542
	7-Apr-12	ELITE	MON	RPIG	Natasha Singer	In Executive Pay, a Rich Game of Thrones		Data on 100 top-paid CEO's in 2011: median salary, $14.4 million (more than 318 times the average American salary); the aggregate salary of the 100 top-paid CEO's, $2.1 billion [source: Equilar]. According to a study by Emmanuel Saez (University of California, Berkeley): "In 2010, average real income per family grew by 2.3% but the gains were very uneven. Top 1% incomes grew by 11.6% while bottom 99% incomes grew only by 0.2%. Hence, the top 1% captured 93% of the income gains in the first year of recovery. Such an uneven recovery can help explain the recent public demonstrations against inequality" [see Emmanuel Saez, "Striking it Richer: The Evolution of Top Incomes in the United States (Updated with 2009 and 2010 estimates)", 2-Mar-2012, http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/saez-UStopincomes-2010.pdf].	NYT	543
	7-Apr-12	VIO	MIL			Syria warned as daily death toll hits 100		Syria: according to activists, >100 people were killed, including ≥87 civilians	CBC News: AP	544
	8-Apr-12	VIO	MIL			6 Colombian Soldiers Killed in FARC Ambush		Columbia: rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) ambushed and killed 6 soldiers; 3 rebels were also killed	VOA News-AP-AFP	545
	8-Apr-12	REL			Robert Berger	Thousands of Christians Converge on Jerusalem for Easter		Jerusalem: thousands of Christians celebrated Easter	VOA News	546
	9-Apr-12	M&A	BUS	WWW		AOL And Microsoft Announce $1.056 Billion Patent Deal		AOL Inc. to sell over 800 of its patents and related patent applications to Microsoft Corporation and to grant Microsoft a non-exclusive license to its retained patent portfolio for $1.056 billion in cash	AOL	547
	9-Apr-12	VIO				Nigerian Easter Bombing Death Toll Rises to 36		Nigeria: a suicide car bombing near a church on 8-Apr-2012 killed ≥36 people; the Islamist group Boko Haram is reportedly suspected ("Boko Haram" means "Western education is a sin" in the Hausa language)	VOA News	548
	9-Apr-12	BUS	TECH	JOBS	Tiffany Hsu	Sony Corp. to cut 10,000 jobs, or 6% of global workforce		Sony Corporation to cut 10,000 jobs (~6% of its global workforce) [Sony's net loss in 2011Q4 was $2.038 billion; sales and operating revenue was down 17.4%; see http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/fr/11q3_sony.pdf]	Los Angeles Times	549
	9-Apr-12	AOG				Rescue workers search for 135 missing in Pakistan avalanche		7-Apr-2012: Pakistan: a massive avalanche buried a military complex; ≥135 people, including 124 troops and 11 civilian contractors, are missing	China Daily: AP	550
	9-Apr-12	M&A	TECH	WWW		Facebook to Acquire Instagram		Facebook to acquire Instagram (photo-sharing app for mobile devices) for $1 billion in cash and shares of Facebook	Facebook	551
	9-Apr-12	ACC	JET		CNN Wire Staff. Contributors: Barbara Starr; Sandra Endo	Navy begins compensation after crash		6-Apr-12: Virginia Beach, VA: an F/A-18 fighter jet crashed after experiencing a "catastrophic mechanical malfunction"	CNN U.S.	552
	9-Apr-12	VIO				Blast Kills At Least 10 in Somali Town		Somalia: a blast killed ≥11 people	VOA News	553
	9-Apr-12	MKT				Dow Jones Industrial Average		The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 130.55 points (-1.00%), closing at 12,929.59	Yahoo! Finance: DJ	554
	10-Apr-12	VIO	MIL			Activists deny Syrian claim of pullout		Syria: according to the Syrian National Council, 160 people were killed on 9-Apr-2012, and 1,000 people in 8 days	Fox News: AP	555
	10-Apr-12	VIO	MIL		Ahmed Al-Haj	127 killed in 2 days of clashes in southern Yemen		9-10-Apr-2012: Yemen: the death toll from clashes between al-Qaida-linked militants and the Yemeni military is 127	AP	556
	10-Apr-12	VIO	SEC		Sayed Salahuddin	Bomb attacks in Afghanistan leave at least 18 police, civilians dead		Afghanistan: a series of suicide attacks killed ≥18 people, including police and civilians	Washington Post	557
	10-Apr-12	BUS	TECH	FIN		Sony Announces Revision of Consolidated Forecast for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2012		Sony revised its consolidated net loss attributable to Sony Corporation’s stockholders for the FY ended 31-Mar-2012: from ¥220 billion (or ~$2.7 billion) (Feb-2012 forecast) to ¥520 billion (or ~$6.4 billion) (Apr-2012 forecast)	Sony	558
	10-Apr-12	MKT			Sara Sjolin	Europe stocks see steep falls on Italy, Spain		France: CAC 40 lost 102.21 points (-3.08%), closing at 3,217.60. UK: FTSE 100 lost 128.12 points (-2.24%), closing at 5,595.55. [See also http://finance.yahoo.com/intlindices?e=europe.]	MarketWatch	559
	10-Apr-12	MKT				Dow Jones Industrial Average		The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 213.66 points (-1.65%), closing at 12,715.93	Yahoo! Finance: DJ	560