Aso says U.S. bank bailout 'insufficient' and causing renewed stock market plunge

TOKYO — Prime Minister Taro Aso said Thursday the U.S. bank bailout is “insufficient” and is contributing to the renewed plunge in global stock markets.

“Since it was insufficient, the market is again falling sharply,” Aso told lawmakers at the upper house budget committee in parliament. The committee was wrapping up talks on a supplementary budget aimed to help struggling small- and mid-sized firms amid an economic downturn.

Aso made his comments as Japan’s key stock index plummeted nearly 10% in early trading Thursday morning following another dive on Wall Street amid growing global recession fears.




Crude Oil Drops Below $70 After U.S. Reports Inventory Gain

Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell below $70 a barrel to the lowest since June 2007 and gasoline tumbled after a U.S. government report showed stockpiles increased more than twice as much as forecast.

Supplies rose 5.6 million barrels to 308.2 million barrels last week, the Department of Energy said in a weekly report. Oil also fell on doubts that the bank rescue plan will bolster global economic growth and fuel use. OPEC brought forward its planned meeting from next month to Oct. 24 after the oil price drop.

"The DOE numbers just added to the downward pressure on the oil market,'' said Brad Samples, a commodity analyst for Summit Energy Inc. in Louisville, Kentucky. "The weak economy is translating into rising inventories because nobody wants to burn the stuff.''



Days of soft-touch regulation are over, says FSA chairman
Lord Adair Turner warns City that higher-paid regulators will ask tougher questions in wake of the credit crisis

The head of the government's financial watchdog, Lord Adair Turner, has warned the City that the days of soft-touch regulation are over.

In an interview with the Guardian, Turner warned that a new cadre of higher-paid regulators would ask tougher questions about the health of financial institutions in the wake of the credit crisis.

Turner admitted that the Financial Service Authority had tried to regulate Britain's big banks "on the cheap" in the past but that a new and more stringent regime was now on the way.

"There will be more people asking more questions and getting more information than we were getting before", Turners said. "There is no doubt the touch will be heavier. We have to make sure it is intelligent and focused on where the risks really are."





Financial crisis: Moscow supermarket shelves increasingly empty in Soviet era reminder

Russian shoppers have been served an uncomfortable reminder of the Soviet era after finding shelves in some Moscow supermarkets empty, a further sign that the woes of the financial markets have begun to affect the mainstream economy.

For a generation of Russians who queued daily in the snow for the most basic of staples, the symbolism of a bare supermarket shelf is so powerful that it could potentially destroy the reputation of Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, as saviour of the world's largest country.

The shortages are not yet widespread. Even so, goods have begun to vanish from dozens of Moscow supermarkets over the past fortnight.




US stocks stage dramatic recovery
The Dow Jones closed up more than 400 points today in volatile trade, as investors scoured for bargains

US shares closed up more than 400 points today at the close as falling oil prices and easing credit markets helped soothe investor jitters.

A late rally lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Index by 401.35 points or 4.68 per cent to 8,979.26.
...
Earlier today, UK share prices plunged in the wake of an emergency meeting called by Opec for next week to discuss oil prices.

The FTSE 100 index of top UK companies closed 5.3 per cent down at 3861.3, a loss of almost 220 points, and it now stands 40 per cent lower than it was a year ago.

Elsewhere in Europe, Germany’s DAX lost 4.9 per cent and France’s CAC shed 5.9 per cent.




Nikkei index closes more than 11% lower

TOKYO — Japan’s key stock index on Thursday plummeted more than 11%—the biggest one-day loss since 1987 as sobering reports on the U.S. economy intensified recession fears.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average nose-dived a staggering 1,089.02 points, or 11.41%, to close at 8,458.45, marking the biggest one-day percentage drop since the stock market crash of October 1987.

The broader Topix index also lost 9.52% to finish at 864.52.




Switzerland injects billions into UBS as it joins global bank bail-out

Switzerland became the latest country to unveil a banking rescue plan that will see it plough billions into UBS, its largest bank.

The Swiss government has provided UBS with SFr6bn (£3.05bn) of fresh capital and the Swiss National Bank will enable it to offload $60bn (£35bn) of illiquid assets through a new fund in an attempt to stabalise the troubled bank.

Credit Suisse, another of the country's leading banks, is raising SFr10bn from private investors and the Qatar Investment Authority.

UBS chief executive Marcel Rohner said that the government bail-out had become necessary after an “unprecedented” meltdown in financial markets in recent days.

“This is in line with what has happened in other countries, but more final, definitive and comprehensive,” said Mr Rohner.




Stocks fight back
A volatile session turns positive as lowest oil prices in a year give investors a reason to jump back into the market.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Wall Street rallied Thursday, finding momentum toward the end of a volatile session, as the lowest oil prices in more than a year gave investors a reason to scoop up shares battered in the recent market selloff.
...

Investor fear is at an all-time high, with the CBOE Volatility (VIX) index, or the VIX, rising to a record 81.17 Thursday afternoon before pulling back a bit.

"To a certain extent, we're in the middle of a hurricane," said Gary Flam, portfolio manager, Bel Air Investment Advisors. "It will pass eventually and we will get through it, but there's been a lot of damage."

Year-to-date, the Dow, S&P and Nasdaq are all down between at least 30%.




GLOBAL MARKETS-U.S. stocks rally after wild session; oil slides

* U.S. stocks surge, bargains snapped up in wild session
* Dollar gains as weak U.S. data sparks risk aversion
* Oil slips below $70 for first time since August 2007




GM and Chrysler Step Up Talks Over a Combination

General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC are accelerating merger discussions amid strong support from potential lenders that are eager to see a deal done.

GM is set to report dismal third-quarter earnings in coming weeks and is scrambling to find new sources of funding, according to people familiar with the matter. That's spurring the auto maker to complete the deal as soon as the end of October, these people said.

Two major players driving the deal are J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Cerberus Capital Management. Cerberus owns Chrysler, while J.P. Morgan is one of the largest holders of Chrysler bank debt and a key lender for GM.
...
General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC are accelerating merger discussions amid strong support from potential lenders that are eager to see a deal done.

GM is set to report dismal third-quarter earnings in coming weeks and is scrambling to find new sources of funding, according to people familiar with the matter. That's spurring the auto maker to complete the deal as soon as the end of October, these people said.

Two major players driving the deal are J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Cerberus Capital Management. Cerberus owns Chrysler, while J.P. Morgan is one of the largest holders of Chrysler bank debt and a key lender for GM.




Google gets frugal and profits soar

Meet Google 2.0. Gone are the search giant’s free-spending ways - at least for now. The prospect of a severe economic slowdown has forced Google to do something surprising: act fiscally responsible.

The company toned down costly expenses like data centers and new hires and reported profits Thursday of $1.35 billion for the third quarter, up 26% from a year ago. Earnings per share were $4.92, which beat the Street estimates of $4.75 a share.

Google (GOOG) shares rose nearly 11% in after-hours trading to $390. “This is very encouraging to hear that they’re reigning in costs and not acting like the drunken sailors that they once were,” said Jefferies analyst Youssef Squali.

The company reported sales of $4.04 billion, a 34% spike from the year-ago quarter, and in line with the Street’s estimates of $4.05 billion.




Southwest's treacherous oil hedges

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- For the first time in 17 years, Southwest Airlines on Thursday posted a quarterly loss, betrayed by a business strategy that had made the scrappy discount carrier a shining star in a sea of slugs.

What went wrong? Oil.

Southwest for years reaped huge benefits from its fuel hedging program, locking in future fuel purchases at prices that gave them a massive advantage over competitors at the mercy of ever-rising fuel prices.
...
There could be more pain to come. Southwest said it's already hedged 75% of its estimated 2009 fuel purchases at $73 a barrel and 50% of its 2010 purchases at $90 a barrel.



Slash interest rates now to stave off depression
More co-ordinated international action will be needed to build on the opportunity created by the bank bailout
...
But there are far more urgent items on the political and economic agenda. The first is how to prevent the recession made inevitable by this meltdown becoming a Japanese-style “lost decade” of economic stagnation and falling prices. The second is how to fine-tune the financial rescue plans announced by all leading governments, to promote economic revival. The third is how to reform regulation and global economic governance to reflect the lessons of both the upswing and the slump.



The global government
...
But regardless of the result, we should think big and have a wider vision because a new born will be born out of the financial crisis. German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück says U.S. will lose its status as super power. French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde claims we will have a different world. The new world order will require the formation of brand new institutions. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, for instance, wants the “New Bretton Woods order” as French President Nicolas Sarkozy suggests reforms in the world economy and politics.

The new global organization I think will be formed by the revision of the G-8, consisting of U.S., Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Britain and Russia.
...
Turkey should take action immediately before the new world order comes into formation among 20 biggest economies of the world, because this new entity will be some sort of a “global government”.



***


Temple time?

For centuries Jews have remembered and mourned the destruction of the Temple through traditions such as crushing a glass at weddings or leaving unpainted a patch of wall opposite the entrance to one's home - each stressing that nothing can be perfect or complete without the Temple.

Built by Solomon in about 950 BCE and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, the Temple was rebuilt about 70 years later but finally razed by the Romans in 70 CE.

Talmud scholar Rabbi Yohanan wrote: "During these times that the Temple is demolished, a person is not allowed to fill his mouth with laughter. This is because the verse [Psalms 126] says, 'Then our mouths will be filled with laughter,' and does not say 'Now our mouths will be filled with laughter.' And when is 'then'? 'Then' will be when the Third Temple is rebuilt."
...
Although Temple Institute staff have been called lunatics, zealots and racists by some, they maintain that there is nothing more natural for the Jewish faithful to do than make preparations for the Third Temple.




Thousands Gather for Temple Congregation Ceremony

(IsraelNN.com) The Temple Institute in Jerusalem's Old City succeeded on Wednesday in arousing a spirit of longing for the Holy Temple amongst a crowd of thousands that gathered for a re-enactment of the Hakhel ceremony.

Of the two once-every-seven-years Biblical commandments - Shemittah and Hakhel - the first lasts for a whole year, while Hakhel takes only an hour or two, but packs a great burst of inspiration into that short period. Binding only when the Holy Temple is standing, it involves a public Torah reading by the King of Israel for the entire nation - men, women, and children - for the purpose of rousing all to stand in awe of G-d and follow the Torah's statutes.
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New Temple Vessel Serves 12

Priests at OnceThe ceremony also featured the unveiling of the just-completed Kiyor HaNechoshet, the water source to be used for washing by the Priests several times a day. Built to replicate the Kiyor used in the Holy Temple, it is about nine feet high, weighs two tons, and is made mostly of copper. It comes complete with a computerized system that enables heated water to be used on weekdays, and non-heated water on Sabbaths and festivals, when heating the water is not permitted. Twelve priests can wash their hands and feet at once; each one presses one of two buttons to indicate whether he wants a large amount of water, such as after completing preparing an animal offering, or a small amount to merely purify his hands and feet.



'What's Looming in Ukraine Is more Threatening than Georgia'

In an interview, Kremlin-aligned political strategist Vyacheslav Nikonov argues that the recent war in South Ossetia and bickering over Ukraine doesn't mean Moscow is steering into a confrontation course. But if Kiev entered NATO, he says it would spell the end of Russian cooperation with the West.



Bashir Begins Darfur Peace Conference, Without Rebels

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has opened a three-day conference he says is aimed at finding peace in the war-ravaged Darfur region. No rebel groups involved in the conflict are attending the meeting, held in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

[Some 'conference.']




IDF may buy fewer F-35 jets due to world crisis

The IDF will need to reevaluate its procurement of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) in light of the global economic crisis, as cracks appearing in the coalition producing the plane could push up the price of the jet.

According to the officials, the IDF will likely hold off signing an official contract with the US Air Force to buy the jet, also known as the F-35, until the economic situation becomes clearer.

Last month, the Pentagon announced plans to sell Israel 75 JSF jets in a deal that could reach over $15 billion. Israel said it will likely exercise the right to buy 25 planes, which it would like to begin receiving in 2014.

Italy, one of the project's nine partners, said last week it would not purchase two early models of the jet it had intended to use for testing and evaluation, Israeli defense officials noted Thursday.




'Iran, welcome to equip Lebanese army'

A top Lebanese official says his country would welcome any Iranian effort to provide the Lebanese army with long-needed military equipment.

"The US has taken no serious action to provide the Lebanese army with its needed equipment; therefore, if Iranians want to do so, we welcome them," said Lebanese Minister of State Jean Oghassabian in an interview with the al-Jadid Arabic-language satellite channel, according to IRNA.

Lebanon's 70,000-strong army is under-armed and overstretched with army officials complaining over the lack of heavy armor, anti-aircraft missiles and the absence of a strong air force.

The United States and Lebanon have set up a joint commission in Beirut to establish military relations; there have been reports of the United States entering military contracts to equip Lebanese forces in line with a pledge to grant aid to the country.




Sectarian tensions worsen in northern Lebanon

A string of bombings over the past two months has left at least 20 people dead, most of them Lebanese Army soldiers, and scores of wounded. Hard-line Sunni Islamist leaders have gained new followers here, fueling sectarian violence that has scarred the city and its economy. Already, the president of Syria has warned that northern Lebanon has become "a real source of extremism and a danger to Syria."

But this being Lebanon, it is not clear what part of all this is terrorism and what is just election-year politics - or which of those is more dangerous.

Many Lebanese political leaders say Syria and its allies here - including the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which has little power in northern Lebanon - are trying to win votes in the coming parliamentary elections by smearing their opponents with the image of Al Qaeda. Some openly accuse Syria of orchestrating the bombings.




Diplomats struggle to free Israeli hostages from island

Israeli and British diplomats set out on Thursday afternoon to negotiate the release of the 12 Israelis being held hostage for three days now by hundreds of Chinese laborers on a remote island in the Caribbean.

The Israelis are employees of the Ashtrom Engineering and Construction firm, which employed the 300 laborers for a large tourism project. The venture, however, was put on hold due to the global financial crisis.

The laborers are demanding Ashtrom compensate them for their travel expenses and missing wages.




Nigerian Military Repels Armed Gang in Oil Region

The Nigerian army says suspected militants in speedboats attacked troops guarding the country's main crude oil and liquified natural gas export terminal. The attack was the first since armed groups announced a cease-fire last month. Gilbert da Costa has more from Abuja for VOA.

Bonny Island, in the southern Niger Delta, is home to a liquified natural gas terminal whose exports account for 10 percent of world supply and to Nigeria's biggest crude-oil export facility.

This makes the heavily-guarded facility a prime target for militants out to sabotage the oil industry.

The army says it recovered weapons and ammunition from the gunmen who had come in six boats to attack navy vessels and military personnel patrolling the export facility.




Analysis: An iron fist in a velvet glove

The decree by President Bashar Assad announcing the establishing of full diplomatic relations between Damascus and Beirut represents the latest stage in the emergence of Syria from diplomatic isolation.

On a symbolic level, the announcement appears to suggest Syria's reconciliation with the fact of Lebanese independence, after 60 years of rejection. However, the move should be seen in the context of realpolitik, rather than simply in terms of its undoubted historic symbolism.
...
Lebanese commentators are expressing cautious optimism. However, the more likely prognosis is that Syria will continue to exercise its will in Lebanon through a combination of diplomacy and other means. Syria apparently expects that the Lebanese opposition will make significant gains in the elections scheduled for March.

Damascus is also understood to expect that a Barack Obama victory in the US presidential election will mark the end of Syrian international isolation.




Attack on Pakistan police station kills 4

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Four security officials were killed and 26 wounded in an attack on a police station in the troubled northern Swat region on Thursday, a senior police official said.

The official told the English-language newspaper Dawn that the police station in Mingora, the district headquarters of Swat, had come under attack from rocket-propelled grenades about 1:30 a.m. The barrage was followed by a suicide bombing.



10 Killed in Turkey-Kurd Clashes

Turkey's military says five Turkish soldiers and five Kurdish rebels have been killed in clashes near the country's southeastern borders with Iraq and Iran.

A statement Thursday from the Turkish military says one soldier was killed and 15 others injured when a helicopter crashed near fighting in the province of Hakkari.

Kurdish PKK rebels say they shot down the helicopter. Turkey's military says the helicopter crashed because of a technical malfunction.




Afghan strike 'kills civilians'

At least 18 civilians have been killed in an air strike by foreign forces in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, reports say.
...
The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says that civilian casualties are hugely damaging to foreign forces trying to wage a "hearts and minds" campaign.




Afghan Policeman Kills US Soldier

U.S. military and provincial officials in Paktika say an American soldier has been shot dead by an Afghan policeman. U.S. Army Major John Redfield told VOA News a group of American soldiers were returning from a routine patrol when they came under fire from a member of the Afghan National Police.

"The ANP member shot from a tower and also threw a hand grenade toward the troops who were returning to their base," he said. "The other service members in the group fired back on the tower and killed the ANP member."

This is the second time in a month an Afghan police officer has attacked and killed an American soldier. In that attack, at a police station in the same province, the policeman also was killed. The incidents raise concern insurgents may have infiltrated Afghanistan's corruption-ridden police force.



Hospitals admits over 100 people in Maigatari town

No fewer than 100 persons were admitted in hospitals unconsciously and are now receiving treatment as a result of high malaria attack of high malaria fever out break in Maigatari local government area of Jigawa state.



Mice invade Effia-Nkwanta hospital

Mice have besieged the Effia-Nkwanta Hospital as a result of poor environmental sanitation.

This has become a nuisance to the hospital's administration, the staff and patients who visit the facility.

Also, the hospital's administration is worried about the breeding of mosquitoes at the facility, which is likely to militate against effective health care delivery at the hospital.




Iraq in the Time of Cholera

It is the kind of news that everybody had been dreading. A new outbreak of cholera in Iraq has already affected more than 400 people, and caused seven deaths. This outbreak only confirms what, by any measure, is a humanitarian and public health emergency in the country.

Writing for Counterpunch, Patrick Cockburn, an expert on Iraq, reports that this new outbreak is being blamed on corrupt officials who were bribed to buy chlorine from Iran long past its expiration date.