FIRES STILL RAGE

Israel to free 250 Palestinian prisoners by Ezzedine Said Ezzedine Said – NOV 17,08

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Monday that 250 Palestinian prisoners would be freed in a goodwill gesture, as Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas urged Israel to maintain the Gaza truce.The pair met in Jerusalem for the first time in two months, amid rising tension in and around the besieged Gaza Strip where Israeli forces and Palestinian militants have engaged in almost daily tit-for-tat attacks since November 4.Abbas had asked him to free Palestinian prisoners and Olmert told him of the decision to release 250 at the beginning of December, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said.In a similar move in August, Israel freed 198 Palestinian prisoners. More than 11,000 Palestinians are still held in Israeli prisons.A senior Israeli official said that none of the prisoners to be freed belongs to radical Palestinian movements such as Hamas, the Islamist movement which seized power in the Gaza Strip in June 2007.Since the Hamas takeover, the secular Abbas has held sway only in the West Bank.But he said that during his talks at Olmert's official residence in Jerusalem, Abbas stressed the need to maintain the truce in Gaza because it eases the suffering of the Palestinian people.He also urged Palestinian militants not to shatter the fragile truce that went into effect in and around Gaza on June 19. In other words, stop the futile rocket firings that don't help the Palestinian cause in any way, Abbas said.Abbas also met British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who said it was vital the ceasefire be maintained. The discussions you have had today (with Olmert) seem to me to be a very important contribution to that, Miliband told the Palestinian leader.

Miliband earlier toured Sderot, an Israeli town which regularly comes under rocket fire from neighbouring Gaza.A flare-up in violence last week prompted Israel to further tighten its blockade and completely seal off the aid-dependent Gaza Strip, though it allowed the delivery of humanitarian supplies on Monday for the first time in almost two weeks.Olmert told Abbas that Hamas is to blame for violations of the truce in and around the Gaza Strip, and warned that if violence escalates, Israel will have to respond, a senior Israeli official said.On Monday, several rockets fired from Gaza hit southern Israel without causing any casualties.Each side has accused the other of violating the ceasefire in the latest flare-up of violence in which volleys of rockets and mortar rounds have been launched at Israel and 15 Gaza militants killed since November 4.Israel generally responds to the Gaza attacks by tightening the blockade it imposed after the 2007 Hamas takeover, but said it allowed 33 truckloads of humanitarian supplies into the coastal strip on Monday.A UN spokesman said that many more deliveries will be needed in the impoverished and overcrowded territory.We cannot have another period when people are not getting their food assistance. We cannot allow people to get punished in that way, said Chris Gunness of the UN Works and Relief Agency, which distributes food to 750,000 Gazans -- half the population.The violence as well as the political and geographical division of the Palestinian territories between Hamas-ruled Gaza and the West Bank under Abbas have complicated the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.

Palestinians and the international community say continued Jewish settlement activity in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is major stumbling block in the talks that were relaunched at a US conference in November 2007 after a seven-year hiatus. I called for a halt to all settlement activity, Abbas said after his talks with Olmert.

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Even as winds calm, more Californians flee fires By JUSTIN PRITCHARD, Associated Press Writer NOV 16,08

DIAMOND BAR, Calif. – More residents of Southern California were urged to leave their homes Sunday despite calming winds that allowed a major aerial attack on wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes and blanketed the region in smoke.

Fires burned in Los Angeles County, to the east in Riverside and Orange counties, and to the northwest in Santa Barbara County. More than 800 houses, mobile homes and apartments were destroyed by fires that have burned areas more than 34 square miles since breaking out Thursday.No deaths have been reported, but police brought in trained dogs Sunday morning to search the rubble of a mobile home park where nearly 500 homes were destroyed. They didn't find any bodies after searching about a third of the homes.This has been a very tough few days for the people of Southern California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said after touring damage.The smell of smoke pervaded metropolitan Los Angeles. Downtown skyscrapers were silhouettes in an opaque sky, and concerns about air quality forced organizers to cancel a marathon in suburban Pasadena where 8,000 runners had planned to participate.Fierce Santa Ana winds that fanned the fires on Saturday weakened Sunday morning, allowing firefighters to set backfires to prevent flames from advancing to hillside neighborhoods. Air tankers swooped low over suburbs, red fire retardant billowing from their bellies as they painted defensive lines between brushlands and homes. Big helicopters shuttled back and forth on water drops.The most threatening blaze had scorched more than 16 square miles in Orange and Riverside counties after erupting Saturday and shooting through subdivisions entwined with wilderness parklands. Multimillion-dollar homes were threatened in Diamond Bar in Los Angeles County as the out-of-control fire pushed northward.Fire officials on Sunday morning ordered 1,400 more residents to evacuate, in addition to 26,500 who had already been told to leave.Retired aerospace engineer Joe Gomez, who has lived in his palm-tree-lined Diamond Bar neighborhood for 45 years, stayed put despite being under a mandatory evacuation.I'm trying to use some logic here, said Gomez, 72, trying to gauge the direction of the wind and flames. I don't think it's going to come down this way.

In the early morning, winds pushed flames dangerously close to a church and adjacent mobile home park in the Olinda Village area north of Yorba Linda, but firefighters were able to beat it back. Only one mobile home was lost.Little fire activity was apparent in Orange County after dark Sunday, but the official containment estimate remained at zero.On Saturday, the fire burned 119 homes in the communities of Corona, Yorba Linda and Anaheim. In addition, 50 units of an apartment complex burned, Orange County fire spokeswoman Angela Garbiso said.Capt. Guy Melker of the Los Angeles County Fire Department stood on a balcony of a multimillion-dollar home in Diamond Bar, looking down into a canyon with flames on the far side.It's an interesting chess game right now, Melker said. Sometimes Mother Nature puts us in check, and our job is to put her in checkmate.As Melker spoke, a small spotter plane slipped low across a ridge, followed by a big air tanker that dropped its load along a ridge.In the Orange County city of Brea, fire destroyed the main building of a high school.About 50 miles to the northwest, a large fire that torched a mobile home park in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley had moved into the rugged San Gabriel Mountains and was burning vigorously — but well outside the city.

Authorities said Sunday that 484 of the Oakridge Mobile Home Park's 608 units were lost. The fire also destroyed nine single-family homes and 11 commercial buildings.

The park was home to many elderly residents, and though no fatalities were reported and no one was reported missing, investigators were searching the site using trained dogs. The search was about 30 percent complete by midday Sunday. To this point no human remains have been found, said Deputy Police Chief Michael Moore. Fire officials estimated that at the peak of the Sylmar fire, 10,000 people were ordered to evacuate. However, many evacuation orders were lifted Saturday night, Fire Department spokesman Ron Haralson said. Five looting arrests were reported. About 90 miles northwest of Sylmar, a 3-square-mile fire that began in the upscale Santa Barbara County community of Montecito on Thursday night was 75 percent contained by Sunday morning after injuring at least 25 people. County spokesman William Boyer said 130 homes burned in the city of Santa Barbara and 80 burned in adjacent Montecito. Some of those destroyed were multimillion-dollar homes with ocean views. All evacuees but those from 260 homes were allowed to return by Sunday night. Associated Press writers Shaya Tayefe Mohajer, Alex Veiga and Alicia Chang contributed to this report.

Wind-blown fires destroy hundreds of Calif. homes By AMY TAXIN, Associated Press Writer Amy Taxin, NOV 16,08

YORBA LINDA, Calif. – Walls of towering flames pushed by Santa Ana wind raged through Southern California hills early Sunday after destroying hundreds of homes and forcing thousands of residents to flee.Evacuees could only watch the wildfires from a distance and wait to learn the fate of their homes and possessions.I'm hoping my house will not burn down, but if it burns down that's my life, right? I've got to start from scratch again, said Jack Chen, 56, of Yorba Linda as he sat on a cot in a gym at Katella High School in Anaheim.Fires in Los Angeles County, to the east in Riverside and Orange counties, and to the northwest in Santa Barbara County had blackened nearly 29 square miles and destroyed more than 800 mobile homes, houses and apartments since Thursday night. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared states of emergency in all three counties.Forecasts indicated the Santa Ana wind would abate by Sunday afternoon, but humidity would remain very low.The most threatening blaze early Sunday had charred more than 11 square miles in Orange and Riverside counties since erupting Saturday and shooting through subdivisions entwined with wilderness parklands. Containment was just 5 percent.More than 60 homes burned in the communities of Corona, Yorba Linda and the Anaheim Hills area of Anaheim. In addition, 50 units of one apartment complex burned, Orange County fire spokeswoman Angela Garbiso said.On Sunday, fire was dangerously close to a mobile home park in the Olinda Village area north of Yorba Linda, but firefighters had been able to push it back, said Lynette Round, another fire spokeswoman.At one point a firefighter battling the Orange County apartment blaze ran down a street with two Pomeranian dogs — one white and one brown — under each arm and placed them in a TV news truck, then dashed back to the fire. The firefighter, who would not give his name, said he rescued the dogs from a burning apartment.Apartment resident Melody Ma, 24, said she took her sister to piano lessons Saturday morning, when the smoke appeared to be far away, then found she couldn't return home.There's things you can't replace like photos and stuff, said Ma, bursting into tears in a shelter.Evacuee Gail Slagel, 61, said she spent Saturday watching flames in the area around her house from the safety of a Yorba Linda strip mall.I just kept sitting there saying, Please, please, please, give me a home to come home to, don't let it be gone, she said as she sat outside a restaurant with her ash-covered poodle.Capt. Leonard Grill, a 20-year veteran of the Riverside County Fire Department, watched for flaring embers in a Yorba Linda neighborhood late Saturday.It's gotten worse and worse every year. I can't keep track of them anymore, Grill said of recent destructive wildfires. These used to be the out-of-the-ordinary fires, once-in-a-career kind of fires. Now they're every year.

Six firefighters from various agencies were injured in the blaze, including four Corona firefighters who were hurt when flames swept over their engine, Garbiso said. Two of the Corona crewmembers required hospital treatment but were released.A separate fire in the Orange County city of Brea charred more than 2 square miles and destroyed the main building of a high school.The largest fire had grown to more than 12 square miles in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley since destroying 500 mobile homes, nine single-family homes and 11 commercial buildings early Saturday. Containment was put at 20 percent. Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda said there was almost total devastation in the Oakridge Mobile Home Park.

I can't even read the street names because the street signs are melting, Ruda said.

No deaths were reported at the park, but police Chief William Bratton said dogs would be brought in to search the rubble on Sunday to determine whether anyone perished there. Fire officials estimated that at the peak of the Sylmar fire, 10,000 people were ordered to evacuate. However, many evacuation orders were lifted Saturday night, Fire Department spokesman Ron Haralson said. Five looting arrests were reported. Among those who lost homes in the Sylmar fire was Linda Pogacnik, who said that after decades of driving a school bus full of noisy kids, she finally bought her dream house at the Beverly Hills of mobile home parks.It had this beautiful oval bathtub, and just a few nights ago I lit candles and put on soft music and got in, she said, sighing with the memory. The moon was full, and it made it look like the eucalyptus tree outside had little white lights.She left with only her dogs, some clothes and a few essentials. Left behind were photography books and scrapbooking materials that she said were going to be all I did for the rest of my life.Northwest of Los Angeles, authorities raised the number of homes lost in a fire that began in the Santa Barbara County community of Montecito on Thursday night. County communication director William Boyer said 106 homes burned in the city of Santa Barbara and 77 burned in adjacent Montecito. He said the final total could reach 200. The fire was 40 percent contained Saturday evening, according to city public information officer Browning Allen. Burned acreage was revised downward to 1,500 acres, or over two square miles, and that was expected to hold because of calming winds, Boyer said. At least half of the 5,400 evacuees had been allowed to return home by Saturday night. At least 13 people were injured in that fire. Associated Press writers Gillian Flaccus, Shaya Tayefe Mohajer, Thomas Watkins, Alicia Chang, Bob Jablon, and Christopher Weber contributed to this report.

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

EARTHQUAKES

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island hit by second earthquake NOV 16,08

JAKARTA: A second strong earthquake struck the northern region of Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island on Monday, after an earlier earthquake had triggered a tsunami warning, the country's Meteorological Agency said.The second earthquake had a magnitude of 6.0 on the Richter scale, following an earlier earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7, which struck an area 138 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital Gorontalo, on Sulawesi, at a depth of 10 kilometres, the agency said.The United States Geological Survey put the second earthquake at magnitude of 5.6, at a depth of 10 kilometres, 83 miles northwest of Gorontalo. reuters

Earthquake kills one in Indonesia
www.chinaview.cn 2008-11-17 09:38:48

JAKARTA, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- A 7.7 magnitude earthquake which struck waters off eastern Indonesia early Monday, killed one person and crashed several houses, an official said. Till 6:00 am on Monday, one resident has confirmed dead during the quake which hit Gorontalo area, located on Sulawesi island, and several houses including school houses were crashed,Detik.com, a leading local website quoted head of Central Crisis Management from the Health Ministry, Rustam F. Pakaya, as saying Monday morning. The quake occurred at 01:02 am local time forcing thousands of people in nearby coastal towns to flee homes, hotels and hospitals in panic. And till Monday morning most of the residents were still stayed outdoors because three big aftershocks hit the area, local reports said. The epicenter of the quake was located 138 km northwest of Gorontalo city in a depth of 10 km. Soon after the quake which lasted for more than two minutes, the local government announced a tsunami warning but it was lifted one hour later. Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. In December 2004, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake off Indonesia's Sumatra island triggered a tsunami that battered much of the Indian Ocean coastline and killed more than 230,000 people -- 160,000 of them in Indonesia's Aceh province alone.

CNN NEWS VIDEO
http://edition.cnn.com/video/

YAHOO NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video

MIDEAST CONFLICT NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/1874;_ylt=A0wNcxFdg6xIgbkAwD6z174F

ABC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2461

FOX NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3074

FOX BUSINESS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3045

AP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2529

BBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2918

REUTERS VIDEO NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2704

AFP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3091

CNBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3245

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

WORLD MARKET RESULTS
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS MON NOV 17,2008
09:30 AM -77.26
10:00 AM -75.11
10:30 AM -208.20
11:00 AM -192.51
11:30 AM -153.48
12:00 PM -12.19
12:30 PM +7.80
01:00 PM -10.36
01:30 PM -28.83
02:00 PM -30.03
02:30 PM -76.82
03:00 PM -92.20
03:30 PM -69.69
04:00 PM -223.73 8273.58

S&P 500 -22.54 850.75

NASDAQ -34.80 1482.05

GOLD 735.9 -6.6

OIL 55.03 -2.03

TSE 300 -268.75 8787.21

CDNX -15.82 785.79

S&P/TSX/60 -17.38 528.61

MORNING NEWS,STATS

Dow down -150 points in first 4 minutes.
Dow down -165 points at low today.
Dow -75 points at high so far today.
10:30AM NYSE STATS
-Advances 594,Declines 2,318,Unchanged 89.
-New Highs 1,New lows 176.
NASDAQ:Advances 741,Declines 1,578,Unchanged 190

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow down 35.94%
Nasdaq down 42.81%
S&P 500 down 40.53%

ERIN BURNETT IN RUSSIA TODAY
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15838220/

Russias RTS down 70% this year so far.
Russia Stocks halted 30 times since SEPT so far including today.
Russians pay $3.35 a gallon for gas.
Russias currency could fall 30%
SEC:Mark Cuban charged with insider trading of mamma.com

CITI:to eliminate 52,000 jobs by Q2 of 2009.
-18,100 from German,Indian asset sales.
-5,000-6,000 from other asset sales.
-25,000 more job cuts by Q2 of 2009.

Dow -233 points at low today.
Dow -75 points at hight today so far.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS

LIFTNG OIL PRICES
-OCT us industrial production rebounds.
-Hijacked Saudi oil tanker off Kenyan coast.
-2 Mexican Ports shut after bad weather.
OIL DEMAND PRESSURE
-Japan joins Eurozone in recession.
-Retailers 3RD Quarter sales are very weak.
-US stocks still sliding.
OIL RANGES FROM $56 to $59 TODAY SO FAR.
OPEC may signal oil supply cut NOV 29,08 Cairo meeting.
CRUDE OIL still 60% below JULY record high.

NASDAQ has lost around 6-8% in last 6 trading sessions.
Major averages move lower for 5TH time in 6 sessions today so far.
WSJ:Bank of America increasing stake in China construction Bank to 19.1% from 10.75%.

ERIN BURNETT IN RUSSIA TODAY
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15838220/

Moscow has more Billionaires than any other city in the World.
Russian stocks have lost $1 TRILLION since Medvedevs Presidency.
Only 40% of Russians trust commercial Banks.
Metals,Energy,Food account for 80% of the Russian Economy.
Current Russia per capita income $12,000 - $14,000.
Russia wants per capita anual income to reach $30,000 by 2020.

THE BRICS INTERNET USAGE
-Brazil 26.1%
-Russia 23.2%
-China 19.0%
-India 05.2%
TOP 5 INTERNET USERS IN EUROPE
-Germany 52.5 MILLION users.
-United Kingdom 41.8 MILLION users.
-France 36.2 MILLION Users.
-Italy 34.7 MILLION users.
-Russia 32.7 MILLION users.
-Google controls over 30% of Russian market for online Ads.
VLADIMIR PUTIN
-Time 2007 man of year.
-Russians Approval rating 80%.
-30% of Russians want Putin lifetime President.

Dow -250 points at low today.
Dow at high today +73 points.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS

Dow down 2.5% today.
Dow below 8300 points today.
Dow Industrials down 2.5% today.
S&P down 2.2% today.
S&P down 4 of the last 5 sessions.
Nasdaq down 2.3% today.
Crude oil down 3% today to$55.

Stocks finish lower as recession worries deepen By SARA LEPRO and MADLEN READ, AP Business Writers NOV 17,08

NEW YORK – Wall Street finished sharply lower Monday as investors pored over more signs of economic weakness, including a huge round of layoffs in the financial sector.After a turbulent week that sent the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 340 points, investors found little solace in the latest news. Stocks zigzagged throughout the session, finally giving way to a stream of late-day selling that left the Dow Jones industrials lower by 223 points.In a signal that banks are still struggling in the wake of massive losses tied to bad mortgage debt, Citigroup Inc. is cutting another 53,000 jobs in the coming quarters. The company said that in addition to job cuts, it plans to lower expenses by about 20 percent and has reduced its assets by more than 20 percent since the first quarter of the year.Investors were also nervously waiting to see whether the nation's troubled automakers would get a bailout. Senate Democrats, who plan to introduce legislation Monday, want to use part of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout to help prop up Detroit's Big Three carmakers: General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC. A vote was expected as early as Wednesday.Meanwhile, a better-than-expected reading on industrial production did little to boost investor sentiment. The Federal Reserve said Monday that industrial output rose 1.3 percent last month, after plunging in September by the largest amount in over 60 years. Economists, on average, had expected an increase of 0.2 percent, according to a survey by Thomson/IFR.Still, the improvement wasn't encouraging enough, said Anthony Conroy, managing director and head trader for BNY ConvergEx Group, adding that investors want a more concrete sign that the economy could be improving.I think we're seeing a tremendous amount of bad economic data, he said. Earnings have basically hit a wall and don't seem like they are coming back anytime soon.According to preliminary calculations, the Dow fell 223.73, or 2.63 percent, to 8,273.58, near its lows of the session.

Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 22.54, or 2.58 percent, to 850.75, while the Nasdaq composite index dropped 34.80, or 2.29 percent, to 1,482.05.The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 5.16, or 1.13 percent, to 451.36.Declining issues outpaced advancers by a 2 to 1 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a light 1.1 billion shares.The moves on Monday followed a massive sell-off last week that saw the Dow finish down 5 percent; the S&P 500 index down 6.2 percent; and the Nasdaq down 7.9 percent. The major indexes have fallen for four of the past five sessions.Analysts believe the market is still searching for a bottom after last month's huge losses, and that the pattern of volatility will continue for some time. Woody Dorsey, president of financial forecasting firm Market Semiotics, said the market is trapped in a seesaw pattern.It is a very technical trade, he said. The difficulty is there is no dominant positive or negative story that the market is operating on. ... There's nothing here that people can grab on to.In the meantime, investors are still facing a barrage of bad economic news.Wall Street was also disappointed by a lack of direction taken to resolve the global financial crisis at the meeting of Group of 20 international leaders in Washington this weekend. However, the leaders did pledge to keep working together to provide loans to financial institutions.In corporate news, Target Corp. on Monday became the latest retailer to post dour results, citing lower sales at established stores as the reason for a 24 percent drop in profit. Lowe's Cos., meanwhile, said its third-quarter profit also fell 24 percent, better than expected, but it predicted a fourth-quarter profit below the average analyst forecast.The reports follow a spate of disappointing earnings and forecasts from companies like Macy's Inc., Starbucks Corp. and Best Buy Co. as they battle a severe pullback in consumer spending. Investors fear that Americans' clampdown on spending — which accounts for about two-thirds of economic activity in the U.S. — will prolong a worsening economic slump.

On Monday, the Bush White House stressed that it steadfastly opposes drawing funds from the bailout plan to help the nation's automakers. The administration supports the idea of helping the struggling companies, but said the $25 billion that Democrats favor taking from the rescue plan should come, instead, from a Department of Energy program previously approved to develop fuel-efficient vehicles. General Motors shares added 8 cents, or 2.66 percent, to $3.09. Ford slipped 5 cents to $1.75. Meanwhile, the layoffs planned at Citigroup underscored the ongoing distress in the financial sector. The company said total headcount is being reduced by 20 percent from its peak of 375,000 at the end of 2007; the company had already announced in October that it was eliminating about 22,000 jobs from those levels. The New York-based bank has posted four straight quarterly losses, including a loss of $2.8 billion during the third quarter. The fallout from this year's global credit crisis has claimed jobs on all corners of Wall Street, from hedge fund managers to floor traders and beyond. Some industry experts forecast the job losses could come close to 200,000 before the year is over. On Sunday, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said seven top executives, including Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, opted out of receiving cash or stock bonuses for 2008 amid the ongoing credit crisis. Citi's leaders may also go without bonuses this year — a move that would effectively amount to a substantial pay cut for the company's executives. Citigroup shares fell 65 cents to $8.87. Goldman sank $4.39, or 6.6 percent, to $62.34. Government bond prices were higher as investors looked for safety. The three-month Treasury bill's yield fell to 0.10 percent from 0.14 percent late Friday, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.68 percent from 3.72 percent late Friday. Lower yields indicate higher demand. The dollar fell against most other major currencies, and gold prices also declined. Light, sweet crude closed at a 22-month low, falling $2.11 to settle at $54.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In Asian trading, Japan's Nikkei index rose 0.71 percent, despite a report showing the second-straight quarterly decline in gross domestic product — signaling a recession. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.10 percent. In European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 2.38 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 3.25 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 3.32 percent. On the Net: New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com On the Net:
New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

G20 leaders step back from co-ordinated stimulus plans
RENATA GOLDIROVA Today NOV 17,08 @ 10:17 CET

The world's 20 leading industrialised and emerging nations have backed fiscal stimulus plans to boost their economies but reached no agreement to co-ordinate such action - the preferred option of a number of European Union nations.The gathered leaders pledged to take over next four months a series of steps to support the global economy and stabilise financial markets. G20 leaders have agreed to some new regulation of banks and insurance houses, but there will be no new global financial architecture (Photo: French EU presidency/Laurent Blevennec)We are determined to enhance our co-operation and work together to restore global growth and achieve needed reforms in the world's financial systems, the group of 20 nations stated after a top-level meeting in Washington on Saturday (15 November). However, leaders reached no agreement on any internationally co-ordinated series of tax cuts and government spending to prime the economic pump, as some European leaders had favoured heading into the summit. The final conclusions also came well short of delivering any construction of a new global financial architecture or refounding capitalism as the current chair of the EU presidency, France's Nicolas Sarkozy, had famously demanded.

The meeting brought together leading developed powers, including the US, Japan, the UK and Germany, as well as developing countries such as China, India, Argentina and Brazil. The G20 accounts for 85 percent of the global economy and two-thirds of the world's population. World leaders tasked their finance ministers to begin working on moves to align global accounting standards, review pay practices that encourage excessive risk taking, and draft appropriate regulation and oversight of financial institutions, including rating agencies. The market should also see a stronger surveillance of cross-border firms by establishing supervisory colleges for all major cross-border financial institutions. We will implement reforms that will strengthen financial markets and regulatory regimes so as to avoid future crises, the leaders stated. In addition, they agreed that top emerging economies should have a bigger say in the key international financial institutions. The Financial Stability Forum - a group consisting of major national financial authorities - must expand urgently to a broader membership of emerging economies, the leaders said.

But despite calls for improved regulation, world leaders also pledged to avoid over-regulation, saying it could hamper economic growth and capital flows. We underscore the critical importance of rejecting protectionism and not turning inward in times of financial uncertainty, they also said in a joint statement, committing themselves to not raise new barriers to investment or trade in goods and services over the next 12 months. The G20 leaders agreed to meet again under the same G20 format in April next year.

Richer safety net

Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn told the BBC that his institution is likely to need more funding if it is to rescue ailing economies. The number of countries having problems at the same time has dramatically increased and they come to the IMF asking for support. So we need more resources, he was cited as saying on Monday (17 November).The question is to be able to face the problem in six months from now and I think all the heads of state and government are aware of the need for a strong IMF, he added, estimating its needs for extra funding to at least €80 billion. Mr Strauss-Kahn also advocated more ambitious interest rate cuts. In some parts of the world - Japan, the United States - interest rates have been cut very much, but it can be done more aggressively in other parts, he told the BBC, referring to the European Central Bank. I think now [the ECB has] room to decrease the interest rate, but nevertheless the stress has to be put on fiscal policy, he concluded.In separate news, Japan, the world's second largest economy has officially entered recession, with GDP shrinking 0.4 percent in the last quarter, the Japanese Cabinet Office announced today (17 November).

Gulf stocks plunge as G20 fails to halt panic
Sun Nov 16, 7:15 AM

KUWAIT CITY (AFP) - Stock markets in the Gulf states plunged on the week's opener Sunday as panic from the fallout of the global economic crisis continued to dampen investor sentiment.The slump came despite the approval by leaders of the G20 nations of an action plan on Saturday to restore global growth and prevent future financial upheaval while promising new spending plans and a set of reforms.Markets of Dubai, Muscat and Doha were the biggest losers, while the Saudi market, the largest Arab bourse, fluctuated sharply at the opening after diving 7.4 percent on Saturday to its lowest level since March 2004.In the United Arab Emirates, the two bourses of Dubai and Abu Dhabi continued to reel under the woes of the flagging real estate sector amid reports of a sharp drop in the prices of units.Turnover was sharply down from this year's average, an indication that many investors are staying away amid a huge sell-off that included blue chip stocks.Traders said the sell-off came mainly from investors who were forced to liquidate stocks in order to raise cash to meet debt commitments.The Dubai Financial Market closed down 5.9 percent 1,981.44 points, the first time in more than four years it has dropped below the 2000-point barrier.

Market leader, property giant Emaar shed 9.75 percent, just off the maximum allowed 10 percent to close at 2.87 dirhams (0.78 dollars).Emaar, which is trading at a four-year low, has so far plunged more than 80 percent this year. DFM dropped for the seventh straight session and has dived more than 29 percent since the start of last week. It is down 66.6 percent on the year.The Abu Dhabi Securities Market recovered most of its losses to finish down 0.34 percent at 2,755.62 points, spurred by the key real estate sector which gained 0.4 percent.The energy sector was up 5.1 percent and banks one percent. All other sectors dropped.The Saudi bourse reversed opening gains and was trading down 2.4 percent by mid-day, diving below the 5,000-point mark for the first time in almost 55 months.The leading petrochemicals sector was 2.6 percent lower and banks dropped 4.1 percent.The Tadawul All-Shares Index (TASI) slumped 7.4 percent on the week's opener Saturday as market leaders petrochemicals SABIC and Al-Rajhi and SAMBA banks dropped by the maximum allowed level.The Doha Securities Market slumped 5.1 percent to just above 5,500 points, a two-year low.

The small Muscat Securities Market retreated 6.1 percent to below the 6,000-point mark while the Bahrain Stock Exchange lost 0.35 percent.Kuwait Stock Exchange, the second largest in the region, remained closed on Sunday after a court ordered trading halted on Thursday to stem heavy losses by small investors.Commerce and Industry Minister Ahmad Baqer, who is the head of KSE Committee, said the bourse has filed an appeal against the suspension. The court held its deliberations and the ruling is expected any time.Even if the court lifts the suspension, trading will not resume on Sunday as the bourse trading hourse are over for the day.

Japan enters first recession in seven years NOV 16,08

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's economy, the second largest in the world, has entered its first recession in seven years as the global financial crisis batters exports and business investment, official data showed Monday.Japan joins Germany and Italy on the list of major economies that are officially in recession, despite emergency steps by world powers to try to shield the global economy from months of turmoil on financial markets.The Japanese economy unexpectedly contracted by 0.1 percent in the three months to September, after shrinking 0.9 percent in the second quarter of the year, according to figures from the Cabinet Office.The data showed that the economy is in a recession phase. There are risks it may worsen further, said Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano.It is the first time since the third quarter of 2001 that Japan has entered a recession, which is usually defined as two or more consecutive quarters of negative economic growth.Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted at an annualised rate of 0.4 percent.Analyst forecasts, on average, had been for modest growth of 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter. Tokyo's Nikkei stock index fell 1.3 percent in early trade.Business investment slumped 1.7 percent in the third quarter while exports were worse than expected, as the financial crisis triggered by a US housing slump squeezed other major economies.Japan was dragged down by the weakness in the global economy, said Kyohei Morita, chief Japan economist at Barclays Capital, who expects the recession to last for four quarters in total.

Although Japan has not suffered financial turmoil on the same scale as the United States or Europe, its trade-dependent economy remains highly vulnerable to global downturns.Japan is as export-driven as ever. So as long as exports are slowing due the weakness of the global economy, we cannot escape, said Morita.After suffering a series of on-off recessions in the 1990s, Japan had been slowly recovering on the back of brisk exports and business investment.Corporate profits, however, are now sliding as exports suffer from the global slowdown, prompting companies to slash investment in new equipment and factories, which had been a key driver of economic growth.Consumer spending rose 0.3 percent in the third quarter helped by a hot summer and demand for televisionswho ahead of the Beijing Olympics.But analysts said Japanese consumers are likely to tighten the purse strings as the economy worsens and companies shed workers.We are already seeing the start of a vicious cycle in which a worsening labour market leads to slack consumption, said Naoki Murakami, chief economist at the Monex brokerage firm.Analysts see little prospect of a recovery any time soon. The Japanese economy is expected to contract 0.1 percent in 2009, according to the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

EU car makers eye multi-billion rescue package
VALENTINA POP Today NOV 17,08 @ 09:26 CET

The European Investment Bank (EIB) could help out struggling European car makers with a credit programme worth up to €40 billion, with details expected next week, the Financial Times reports.With car sales dropping 15.5 percent in Western Europe in the past month, car makers on the continent are turning to national governments and EU institutions to rescue them from the spreading recession.The €40 billion rescue package from the EIB would be double the amount the American congress is proposing to save US car giants General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler.Details of the bail-out could be put forward next week, when the European Commission expected to make proposals to bolster struggling industries in the face of the economic slowdown.Top executives of German car maker Opel are to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday (17 November) in a special cabinet session. Opel is struggling not to go under with its American owner General Motors, threatened by bankruptcy, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. General Motors said earlier this month it had drawn on the last of its credit lines from banks. With just €12.8 billion left in the bank, and about €9.5 billion needed to fund its day-to-day operations, it could run out of money within weeks.The German government already helped national car makers earlier this month by scrapping taxes on new cars bought over the next six months for up to two years in the case of low-emission models, as part of a €12 billion, two-year package of growth-boosting measures to help out the slowing economy.British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is also under pressure from car makers to suspend rises announced earlier this year in vehicle excise duty, while French President Nicolas Sarkozy promised to mobilise €400 million for research and development of low-emission cars.On the other side of the Atlantic, president-elect Barack Obama made the case for the €20 billion aid proposed by the Democrats to help out the Big three, saying collapse would be a disaster. A week ago, Mr Obama urged the outgoing president George Bush not to block an aid package, when the two men had their first meeting at the White House.

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).

Irish voters may back Lisbon treaty, poll reveals
LUCIA KUBOSOVA Today NOV 17,08 @ 09:21 CET

A fresh poll has suggested the Irish could back the EU's Lisbon treaty in a second attempt, repeating the same scenario as with the vote on the previous EU institutional reform. The survey published in Irish Times on Monday (17 November) indicates there has been a change of mood among Ireland's voters since the June referendum, as 43 percent of respondents say they would vote for the Lisbon treaty against 39 percent who would vote No and 18 percent who have no opinion.The Irish voters likely to see another campaign on the EU's Lisbon Treaty - poll suggests they might vote Yes if offered certain guarantees (Photo: EUobserver)

The poll asked people if they would vote for a modified document which would allow Dublin to keep a national commissioner in the EU executive. Under the existing version of Lisbon, the 27-strong commission should be reduced so that from 2014, two thirds of member states would rotate in being represented in the EU's key law-proposing body. The other modification suggested by the authors of the poll was that the Irish would get clear confirmation of their neutrality and their right to rule on issues such as abortions or taxation, in a document attached to the treaty - an idea already supported by several EU leaders as a way to enable a second ballot in Ireland.The Irish Times pointed out that when the don't knows are excluded this gives the Yes side 52.5 percent, with the No side on 47.5 percent, which compares to the referendum result in June of 53.4 percent No and 46.6 percent Yes.The Irish government is due to decide on whether to hold a second vote in early December. We will make that decision in advance of the December meeting, Irish foreign minister Micheal Martin told RTE television on late Sunday (16 November), referring to the EU summit of heads of states and governments to be held in Brussels on 11-12 December.

We have looked at a variety of alternatives, Mr Martin added in the TV interview, noting that the research carried out by the government has shown up a range of issues people were concerned about.A similar scenario as suggested by the Irish Times poll was followed in October 2002 when the Irish voted on the EU's currently-applicable Treaty of Nice for the second time, after rejecting it in a referendum held in June 2001.Back then, the government of Bertie Ahern received a so-called Seville Declaration on Ireland's policy of military neutrality from the European Council, the gathering of EU leaders.

Iceland drafts plan for 2011 EU entry
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today NOV 17,08 @ 09:31 CET

Iceland's prime minister has announced the set-up of a commission to investigate joining the European Union.An initial plan has already been drafted by the country's foreign ministry that would see a membership application made in early 2009, aiming for entry some time in 2011, according to a report in the Financial Times which appeared at the weekend.The prime minister, Geir Haarde, also said that his centre-right Independence Party would hold its 2009 conference in January instead of October as scheduled, to consider EU membership.In announcing the move on Friday (14 November), Mr Haarde said We have always said that we will assess at any given time how we co-operate with Europe.This process will help us make our future decisions.

Until now, Iceland has never applied for EU membership, and the population has historically been strongly opposed to the idea. After the bottom falling out of the Icelandic banking sector and a run on the currency in recent weeks, many are now convinced of the need to adopt the euro, but EU officials have repeatedly told the north Atlantic nation that the euro cannot be adopted without joining the union first.The crisis has sharply boosted support for EU membership in Iceland, climbing to a current 70 percent up from around 50 percent ahead of the crisis.On Saturday, some 6,000 people - two percent of the population - protested outside the Icelandic parliament, attacking the government for its handling of the crisis. According to local reports, several people carried EU flags.

Icesave deposits guaranteed

In separate news, a bitter row between Iceland and EU member states the UK and the Netherlands over savers' deposits in local subsidiaries of Icelandic banks appears to have been resolved.On Sunday, the Icelandic government announced it is to refund the deposits of those banking with Icesave, the collapsed internet bank owned by the now nationalised Landsbanki.Iceland's attempts to access IMF funding were threatened in recent weeks as London and the Hague - as well as Berlin - insisted that Reykjavik guarantee foreign deposits before the taps were opened.According to a statement from the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Talks between Iceland and several EU member states, initiated by the French EU Presidency, led to a common understanding that will form the basis for further negotiations.The EU-chaperoned deal will see the government covering the deposits of insured depositors in the Icesave accounts in accordance with EEA law.In return, the EU, under the French Presidency, will continue to participate in finding arrangements that will allow Iceland to restore its financial system and economy.European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso had said on Wednesday that aid could only be delivered after Iceland and some EU member states reach an agreement on ...issues related to deposit guarantee schemes and protection of foreign depositors.

France overstepped mandate on missile shield moratorium
RENATA GOLDIROVA Today NOV 17,08 @ 09:13 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Prague and Warsaw have poured cold water on French calls for a moratorium on a planned US missile shield in Europe, with both capitals saying that president Nicolas Sarkozy overstepped his mandate. I don't think that third countries, even such good friends as France, can have a particular right to express themselves on this issue, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday (15 November).At the NATO summit in Bucharest in April this year, the entire 26-nation Alliance - including France - backed the planned US missile shield in Europe (Photo: wikipedia)The Polish leader described Mr Sarkozy's comments as his own point of view, [with] no impact of the future of the project, according to AFP, adding that The question of the anti-missile shield is governed by an agreement between Poland and the United States.A similar message came from the Czech republic, with the country's deputy prime minister Alexandr Vondra saying he was taken by surprise.

France did not discuss its viewpoint with us ... As far as I know, the French presidency mandate for the EU-Russia summit did not contain a position on the US missile defence system, he said. French President Nicolas Sarkozy - currently chairing the 27-nation EU - had spoken alongside his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on Friday (14 November), following the top level EU-Russia meeting in Nice.

He suggested that the EU, Russia and the US meet in mid-2009 in the framework of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe in order to lay foundations of future pan-European security. Until then, please, no more talk about deployment of missile and anti-missile systems, the French leader said.

His remarks no doubt pleased the Russian ear.

Moscow sees US plans to place components of a missile shield in Poland and the Czech republic as a direct threat to its security and the broader military balance. Earlier this month, the Kremlin threatened to deploy short-range missiles in Kaliningrad, the Russian enclave between Lithuania and Poland, if the shield gets up and running.Russian President Dmitry Medvedev defended the standpoint by saying at Friday's summit that All [Russian] decisions were in response to the behaviour of nations in Europe, which without consulting anyone had agreed to deploy new systems on their own territory.It is better to have a global anti-missile system in which Russia also participates, he later suggested.According to Mr Vondra - speaking to EUobserver - the Russians are currently testing the US president-elect the same way as Nikita Khrushchev once tested John F. Kennedy, while Prague continues to hope that neither the Europeans nor the Americans will fall into the trap.The Czech deputy prime minister referred to the Cuban missile crisis of the early 1960s - a risky muscle-flexing exercise during the Cold War - when the Soviet Union stationed its weapons in Cuba in response to the deployment of US ballistic missiles in Turkey. In addition, Mr Vondra pointed to the NATO summit in Bucharest in April this year, stressing that back then the entire 26-nation Alliance, including France, approved the US missile shield project. The alliance was tasked to develop options for a comprehensive missile defence architecture - something that would allow a NATO-designed short and medium range missile defence system to be bolted onto the American one designed for protection from long range attacks. The fresh comments by France differ from the NATO summit conclusions, Mr Vondra said.Speaking in Washington on Saturday (15 November), French President Nicolas Sarkozy seemed to back down from his previous comments. Every country is sovereign to decide whether it hosts an anti-missile shield or not, he was cited as saying by AFP. But it still remains to be seen how the US project in Central Europe will progress under the new White House chief, Barack Obama, who enters office on 20 January. The Democrat is surrounded by people questioning the military efficiency of the system. We don't expect, even for political reasons, any revolution but of course, the new president will take a new look and we know what the position of the president-elect is. He told me that he wanted to make sure the thing worked, Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said last Friday.

WW3 THE 3 WAVES THAT MARCH TO ISRAEL

DANIEL 11:40-45
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA 2ND WAVE OF WW3) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)

The Third and Final Wave of WW3 is when all Nations march to Jerusalem, but JESUS bodily returns to earth and destroys them,sets up his KINGDOM OF RULE FOR 1000 YEARS THEN FOREVER.

Russia, China against Iran sanctions: Russian Official NOV 16,08

Press TV - Russia and China are against the Western powers' call for fresh sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, a Russian official declared. Russia is against the sanctions pushed forward by some of the six, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Riabkov told Interfax on Friday pointing to the recent meeting of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany. The Western countries are for the sanctions. China like Russia did not back it, he added, a day after the meeting was held in Paris to discuss Iran's nuclear program, AFP reported. A French Foreign Ministry statement stressed that the UN Security Council reaffirmed the importance of the dual-track approach, namely holding talks with Tehran and at the same time considering more sanctions on Iran. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner also told journalists We have always been supporters of both sanctions and dialogue.
... Payvand News - 11/16/08