WHAT WILL WEDNESDAY BRING

YOM KIPPUR IN ISRAEL TODAY AT 6PM SEE IF ANY DISASTERS HAPPEN IN THE WORLD ON THIS DAY. Read about yom kippur by clicking on title.

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Tornado touches down near Fla. park, no one hurt OCT 8,08

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Forecasters say a tornado has blown out windows and knocked down trees and power lines near a state park in the Florida Panhandle. According to the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, a tornado was seen touching down just before 8:30 a.m. CDT Wednesday. It happened in a subdivision near St. Andrews State Park in Panama City.No injuries have been reported.Forecasters say the roof on a nearby business also was damaged.

Hurricane Norbert strengthens, threatens Baja By ALEXANDRA OLSON, Associated Press Writer Wed Oct 8, 11:18 AM ET

MEXICO CITY - Hurricane Norbert strengthened Wednesday to a powerful Category 3 storm in the Pacific Ocean and was forecast to hit Mexico's Baja California peninsula by the weekend. The hurricane was expected to turn toward the northeast over the next two days on a path that could take it over the southern Baja peninsula and the Mexican mainland, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.Norbert's maximum sustained winds were near 125 mph (205 kph), and it was expected to remain a hurricane for the next two days.The storm was centered about 460 miles (740 kilometers) south of the southern tip Baja California, and was moving west-northwest near 9 mph (15 kph).Norbert is the seventh hurricane of the east Pacific season.In Mexico's Gulf coast, Tropical Storm Marco weakened late Tuesday into a tropical depression after slamming into land with near hurricane-force winds.Mexico's state oil company had shutdown of some oil platforms in the gulf and evacuated some 3,000 people before Marco hit the coast about 55 miles (90 kilometers) north of Veracruz.

Marco was expected to dissipate overnight as it moved over Mexico's mountainous terrain, but forecasters said rains of up to 5 inches (13 centimeters) could still unleash mudslides.Marco appeared to have largely spared water-logged southern areas of Veracruz state, where rain-swollen rivers jumped their banks, leaving the towns of Minatitlan and Hidalgotitlan under 10 feet (3 meters) of water last week.State authorities closed schools and set up some 200 shelters, while soldiers and rescue officials bused people from low-lying communities.In northern Veracruz state, authorities evacuated a hospital in the town of Misantla, where two overflowing rivers threatened to flood it.

Disasters kill more in 2008 than in tsunami: UN Wed Oct 8, 6:57 AM ET

GENEVA (AFP) - More people died from natural disasters in the first six months of 2008 than in the Asian tsunami of 2004 due mainly to the earthquake in China and cyclone in Myanmar, the United Nations said Wednesday. 2008 is a terrible year. There have already been more victims than in the tsunami, said Salvator Briceno, head of the UN's disaster management agency (ISDR).More than 230,000 people lost their lives from disasters and another 130 million were affected, he said on the occasion of the International Day for Disaster Reduction.Cyclone Nargis which hit Mynamar in May is estimated to have killed around 138,000 people while the earthquake in south-west China's Sichuan province left a death toll of 87,500.

Record floods in India as well as a devastating hurricane season in the Caribbeans also all contributed to the grim statistics.The UN estimates the economic cost of natural disasters for the first half of this year at 35 billion dollars (26 billion euros), up from an average of 15 billion dollars for the same period over the past ten years.

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.

Arctic Ocean earthquake rattles Nevada seismograph
Tue Oct 7, 5:24 PM

A strong earthquake that shook the high Arctic on Tuesday morning was picked up by seismic instruments as far south as Nevada, but Canadian quake experts say they doubt anyone could have felt the shockwaves.The U.S. Geological Survey reported that a 5.7-magnitude earthquake took place about 6 a.m. ET in the Arctic Ocean, about 755 kilometres northwest of Resolute, Nunavut, and 1,935 kilometres north of Yellowknife.

I doubt if this earthquake would be felt by anybody, and we certainly don't have any felt reports so far, Garry Rogers, an earthquake scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada, told CBC News on Tuesday.But this earthquake, at sort of magnitude 5.6 [or] 5.7, is big enough to record on virtually every seismograph around the world.The earthquake made news in northeastern Nevada, where the U.S. Geological Survey initially reported a 4.2 magnitude earthquake about 29 kilometres west of the town of North Fork.A seismologist reviewed the report and determined that phases from the Arctic Ocean quake, which had started seven minutes earlier, had been wrongly interpreted by a seismograph as a local earthquake, USGS geophysicist Jessica Sigala told the Associated Press.Sigala said no shaking was felt in Nevada, but that waves from a quake such as the one in the Arctic can be detected around the world.Had Tuesday's earthquake taken place near a city, it would have been strong enough to damage buildings.With files from the Associated Press

Kyrgyzstan evacuates wounded after earthquake leaves 75 dead
Agence France-Presse 2008-10-08 01:21 AM

Associated Press
Kyrgyzstan yesterday dispatched helicopters to evacuate victims of a devastating earthquake that killed 75 people, including 41 children, in a remote mountain village near the Chinese border.Military helicopters flew the injured from the flattened village of Nura, about 10 kilometers from China in the Tian Shan mountains, the emergency ministry said in a statement yesterday, a national day of mourning.Almost all buildings in the village have been destroyed. The only buildings remaining are those built recently: the school and a medical clinic, the statement said.The death toll rose to 75 after a woman died in hospital overnight, the ministry said.In addition to Nura's population of about 1,000, the ministry said some 1,000 visitors were in the village when the quake hit late Sunday, including businessmen, tourists and drivers who had just crossed the Chinese border.The quake had a magnitude of 6.6 according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

EU DICTATOR (WORLD LEADER)

REVELATION 17:12-13
12 And the ten horns (NATIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

REVELATION 6:1-2
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse:(PEACE) and he that sat on him had a bow;(EU DICTATOR) and a crown was given unto him:(PRESIDENT OF THE EU) and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(MILITARY GENIUS)

REVELATION 13:1-10
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(THE EU AND ITS DICTATOR IS GODLESS)
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(DICTATOR COMES FROM NEW AGE OR OCCULT)
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;(MURDERERD) and his deadly wound was healed:(COMES BACK TO LIFE) and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE WORLD THINKS ITS GOD IN THE FLESH, MESSIAH TO ISRAEL)
4 And they worshipped the dragon (SATAN) which gave power unto the beast:(JEWISH EU DICTATOR) and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?(FALSE RESURRECTION,SATAN BRINGS HIM TO LIFE)
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.(GIVEN WORLD CONTROL FOR 3 1/2YRS)
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,(HES A GOD HATER) to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.(HES A LIBERAL OR DEMOCRAT,WILL PUT ANYTHING ABOUT GOD DOWN)
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,(BEHEAD THEM) and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.(WORLD DOMINATION)
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.(WORLD DICTATOR)
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.(SAVED CHRISTIANS AND JEWS DIE FOR THEIR FAITH AT THIS TIME,NOW WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE BUT DURING THE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH, PEOPLE WILL BE PUT TO DEATH (BEHEADINGS) FOR THEIR BELIEF IN GOD (JESUS) OR THE BIBLE.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come (ROMANS IN AD 70) shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMANS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he( EU ROMAN, JEWISH DICTATOR) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:( 7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,( 3 1/2 YRS) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

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).

European Union tested by world economic crisis By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer Tue Oct 7, 5:00 PM ET

Wall Street's woes extend far beyond Main Street and all the way to Law Street — the hulking headquarters of the European Union. But the 27-nation bloc based at Rue de la Loi in Brussels, Belgium, hasn't taken sweeping joint action to deal with the global financial meltdown.Instead, it's essentially left member countries to go it alone with a patchwork of measures aimed at keeping banks afloat.Frustrated investors want to know why, and some have begun to question whether the EU — at its core, an economic union — will survive.Although the EU pledged to act as one to calm roiled markets, it hasn't done much beyond a move Tuesday to boost guarantees on savings accounts.That's led member states to take an a la carte approach, with major economic powerhouses like Britain and Germany putting together rescue packages, leaving smaller nations like Iceland to take the fall.It's a risky business for the EU: In the short term, banks in poorer countries may flounder and fail. And by relinquishing key decisions to its members just as they're turning to EU headquarters for guidance at a time of crisis, the bloc could see decades of attempts to forge unity simply disintegrate.Already, the 27 EU nations are divided over deploying troops to Afghanistan and deadlocked on a constitution designed to transform their union into a political super-state. Only 15 countries now use the common euro currency and the pride of the bloc — passport-free travel — doesn't apply to the entire EU.Failure to pull together now on the financial crisis could push member nations even further apart, perhaps emboldening a resurgent Russia's influence on the fringes of the enlarged EU.Europe is in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime crisis, 256 of the continent's leading economists said Tuesday in an open letter to EU leaders.Unless European leaders immediately unite to address this crisis before it spirals out of control, they may find themselves fighting over how best to salvage the aftermath, the economists said. They evoked the dark years of the 1930s, adding: It is not an exaggeration to say that it could happen again if governments fail to act.And failure to act in unison has been an EU hallmark over the past few years.A campaign to get all 27 nations to ratify a European constitution designed to streamline decision-making and give the expanding bloc more of a voice in world affairs remains stuck in limbo. Irish voters rejected it in June, three years after resounding No! votes in France and the Netherlands.

Many who backed a greater global role for the EU have consoled themselves by focusing on its roots as an economic union. Today's EU sprang from the six-nation European Economic Community established in 1957.But the bloc designed to unify is riven by all kinds of divisions.EU members have clashed repeatedly on deploying troops to Afghanistan or even whether to send 24 of their estimated 12,000 military helicopters to Darfur. They've bogged down completely on more thorny issues, such as how to respond to terrorism or recognize an independent Kosovo.That makes the credit crisis now rattling markets and consumers worldwide even more of a test.If the EU can't forge a common response to a collapse that transcends borders, involves multinational lenders and has pushed the euro currency down to its lowest level in a year, some wonder: What's the point of having an EU? EU leaders have forfeited a chance for Europe to find new leadership and credibility on the world stage, Italy's Il Sole 24 Ore financial daily said Tuesday. Instead, it warned, the leadership vacuum thrusts the entire bloc into a suicidal position.As calls mounted for a unified plan of action, EU finance ministers held an emergency meeting Tuesday in Luxembourg to debate raising guarantees for private savings across the bloc. They agreed to raise the minimum bank deposit guarantee to $68,160 (euro50,000) — but that's just half of the $135,000 (euro100,000) backing that France wanted. Private deposits in most of the EU had been insured only up to $27,000 (euro20,000).

At the same time, some European governments have taken unilateral action: Germany pledged to guarantee all private bank savings and CDs in the country, and Iceland and Denmark followed suit. Ireland went even further by also guaranteeing Irish banks' debts. It was easier for the EU to take common positions when it wasn't so big. Today's bloc is unwieldy, and it includes eight ex-communist countries that don't always take kindly to the notion of government intervention. The politicians in Europe are crazy. We didn't live under communism for 40 years just to return to it on EU soil, said Czech Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek, who opposes 100 percent guarantees on bank deposits as unaffordable. His Spanish counterpart, Pedro Solbes, disagreed. In a shared business climate, decisions should be taken in agreement and not individually, he said. El Pais, Spain's leading newspaper, agreed, warning in an editorial Tuesday: There is a real risk that a great quantity of money will flow from those countries with fewer guarantees to those whose deposits are backed up absolutely.Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has been pitching the idea of an umbrella fund for the common market. But German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out a U.S.-style, EU-wide bailout of troubled banks. Merkel's spokesman, Thomas Steg, told reporters Tuesday that although EU coordination is important, Germany believes each must endeavor to solve the problems with the means and methods available to him.It's very painful that Europe is now divided, said Willem Vermeend, a former Dutch junior minister for finance. But I understand very well that countries say, We're going to take measures ourselves now. If it doesn't come from Europe, you can't wait for Europe.But, he added: We need to save the economy. Period.
Associated Press writers Geir Moulson in Germany, Alessandra Rizzo in Italy, Ciaran Giles in Spain, Karel Janicek in the Czech Republic and Toby Sterling in the Netherlands contributed to this report.

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/

PSALMS 39:6
6 Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS WED OCT 08,2008

09:30 AM -120.03
10:00 AM -109.20
10:30 AM -15.53
11:00 AM -104.42
11:30 AM -74.23
12:00 PM -110.15
12:30 PM -230.74
01:00 PM -171.80
01:30 PM -64.20
02:00 PM +92.71
02:30 PM +117.40
03:00 PM -102.11
03:30 PM +83.87
04:00 PM -189.01 9258.10

S&P 500 984.94 -11.29

NAS 1740.33 -14.55

GOLD 908.8 +26.8

OIL 88.65 -1.41

TSE 300 +225.84 10,055.39

CDNX -21.82 1,072.64

S&P/TSX 60 +10.19 611.44

2 Trillion dollars lost in the last 15 months in retirement accounts.
Dow ccoming off biggest 5 day point drop in history.
Dow was up +181 points at one point as of 11AM.
Dow was down -234 points at one point as of 11AM.

Coordinated Global Rate Cut of a half a point by Canada, UK, Switzerland, European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve in the USA.

Federal Reserve 1.50%
Bank of Canada 2.50%
Swiss National Bank 2.50%
European Central Bank 3.75%
Sveriges Riksbank 4.25%
Bank Of England 4.50%

Central Banks statement.
Inflationary pressures have started to moderate in a number of Countries. The recent intensification of the financial crisis has augumented the downside risks to growth.

RUSSIA SUSPENDS MARKETS AUDIO
http://www.3news.co.nz/Video/Russia-suspends-stock-market-trading-for-a-second-day/tabid/313/articleID/72260/cat/639/Default.aspx

50.000 euro, a deposit guaranteed by EU countries
Data: 8 oct 2008

European Union ministers of finance try to calm down the population’s fears and avoid a massive bank run.European ministers of finance gathered yesterday in Luxembourg and agreed to raise the minimum limit of banking deposits’ guarantee from 20.000 to 50.000 euro. A number of countries have already taken individual actions that assure more substantial guarantees. For instance, Spain or Austria raised the level of guarantee to 100.000 euro, and France to 70.000 euro. In Bucharest, governor Mugur Isărescu stated that NBR is ready to take actions similar to those taken by other European countries. In Romania, only 5 % of the depositors have more than 20.000 euro in banks. The countries agree with extending the protection of people’s deposits till a minimum level of 50.000 euro, considering that many of the European Union member-countries are determined to raise the limit to 100.000 euro stated yesterday European sources, cited by AFP. The decision taken in Luxembourg will force each state to guarantee the minimum of 50.000 euro, nevertheless giving the green light to some of the countries to raise the limit even more, depending on the possibilities.

Paulson to discuss G7 financial coordination OCT 8,08

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson at a news conference on Wednesday will discuss coordinated actions by wealthy industrialized countries to ease financial system stress. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Paulson may discuss a plan floated by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for concerted action to guarantee inter-bank lending.Secretary Paulson might have more to say on that today at his press conference, Perino told a daily White House news briefing, adding that the subject also will be discussed at Friday's meeting of Group of Seven central bank governors and finance ministers.She declined to provide any more details about the Brown plan, which was disclosed by a G7 source who said the British leader sent a letter to G7 counterparts urging them to issue a set of similar national guarantees aimed at restoring trust in the global market for bank funding.We will continue to talk with our allies and coordinate with them, and I think this morning's action with the Fed governors is an example, Perino said, referring to a coordinated interest rate cut by major global central banks.Paulson is scheduled to appear with David McCormick, the Treasury's undersecretary for international affairs, to discuss the G7 meeting. He will issue prepared remarks and take questions from the media, the Treasury said.

The news conference is scheduled for 3 p.m..

Perino said Paulson also will focus on the Treasury's coordinated actions with other federal regulators to tackle the four key challenges in our financial markets today: confidence, capital, systemic risk, and liquidity.The Treasury will host the finance ministers and central bank governors of Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan on Friday ahead of semi-annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.(Reporting by David Lawder and Andy Sullivan; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

Stocks fluctuate despite emergency rate cut By JOE BEL BRUNO, AP Business Writer OCT 8,08

NEW YORK - Wall Street zigzagged Wednesday as an emergency interest rate cut failed to alleviate investors' fears that the paralysis in the credit markets will set off a global recession. The major indexes moved in and out of positive territory, with the Dow Jones industrials at times falling more than 200 points or rising more than 100. The rate cut by the Federal Reserve and other leading central banks failed to convince investors that credit markets would soon relax and that banks would begin lending more freely to businesses and consumers. The Fed lowered rates by a half-point, saying in a statement that the turmoil in financial markets posed a further threat to an already shaky economy; it was joined in the rate cut by the European Central Bank, Bank of England, The Bank of Canada, the Swedish Riksbank and the Swiss National Bank.But interest rate changes take months to work their way through the economy, and while investors clearly were happy with the central banks' actions, they were also well aware that in the near term, banks remain reluctant to lend because of fears they won't be paid back.That fear, which increased after the failure of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in mid-September, has all but shut down the credit markets, making it increasingly hard for companies and individuals to borrow, and in turn, posing a further threat to the economy. Wall Street has plunged in response to scarcity of credit; stocks initially rose on the rate cut, but turned lower as the reality of the credit markets' troubles set in again.The fears on the Street have been exacerbated by the spread of the U.S. credit problems overseas. Several banks in Europe have had to be bailed out, and earlier this week, the governments of Germany, Ireland and Greece took steps to guarantee private bank deposits.Moreover, the markets are mindful of the fact that the government's $700 billion financial rescue plan is in its early stages of implementation and will take some time to have an impact on banks' balance sheets.

Stocks drew some early support from signs that the housing industry — whose troubles set off the series of events leading to the current credit problems — might be faring better than expected. The National Association of Realtors said pending home sales for August jumped unexpectedly, rather than falling 1.8 percent as had been predicted. Pending sales, which reflect signed contracts, rose 7.4 percent in August from an upwardly revised reading of 87 in July.But investors who have been selling frantically because of the stymied credit markets, eventually discounted the home sales report. They did some selected buying of stocks that have been turned into bargains by massive losses, but the advances — largely reflected in the major indexes — did not hold for long.In midafternoon trading, the Dow rose 98.92, or 1.05 percent, to 9,456.03. It fell 875 points during the first two days this week.Broader indexes also were in positive territory. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.68, or 0.17 percent, to 997.91. The Nasdaq composite index rose 4.75, or 0.27 percent, to 1,759.63.But declining issues led advancers by a 2 to 1 basis on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a heavy 1.2 billion shares.With its precipitous drop of the past few weeks, Wall Street is approaching the magnitude of the losses it suffered during the bear market in the early part of this decade. By the time the Dow reached its low of that market, 7,286.27 on Oct. 9, 2002, it had fallen 37.8 percent from its record high close of 11,722.98, set in January 2000.The Dow has now fallen about 33 percent from the closing high of 14,164.53, reached a year ago Thursday.European indexes, which were down about 5 percent before the rate cut, pared only some of their losses. In Britain, the FTSE-100 fell 5.18 percent, Germany's DAX dropped 5.88 percent, and France's CAC-40 dropped 6.31 percent.In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 9.38 percent lower and Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 8.17 percent hours before the rate cuts were announced; their declines showed the extent of the worldwide gloom. And Russia's two main stock exchanges were suspended because of a massive sell-off right after their openings.David Wyss, chief economist for Standard & Poor's, said the losses around the world signals that markets are finally realizing that the credit crisis can't be resolved soon.There was a general disregard for risk going on in financial markets around the world, it wasn't just the U.S., he said. Now they're waking up to risk.Investors had been extremely anxious in recent days for a rate cut, and despite the Fed taking other steps this week to help the credit markets. Policymakers unveiled a plan to buy massive amounts of commercial paper, the short-term debt used by companies, in a bid to reanimate the credit markets. With all of this occurring as a coordinated effort it is showing that everybody out there is trying to fight this thing, and that should bring some confidence back to the market, said Scott Fullman, director of derivatives investment strategy for WJB Capital Group. But, the big question now is can the credit market open for business.It is likely that stocks won't begin to recover for good until investors are certain the credit markets are functioning in a more normal fashion. There are also severe economic problems including heavy job losses and high unemployment that will also need to show improvement.

The uncertainty in the market has driven investors to buy up anything deemed safe, including gold and government debt. For instance, prices of gold shot up $19.90 to $901.90 — though still off its record of $1,033.90 in March. Demand for short-term Treasurys remained high because of their safety; investors are willing to take extremely low returns just to have their money in a secure place. The yield on the three-month Treasury bill, which moves opposite its price, dropped to 0.77 percent from 0.81 percent late Tuesday. However, longer term Treasury bonds fell because they are considered to be less attractive when the Fed cuts rates. The yield on the 10-year note rose to 3.72 percent from 3.51 percent late Tuesday. The first third-quarter earnings reports are showing signs of strain on companies, and that is adding more uncertainty to the stock market. After the close Tuesday, Alcoa Inc. said it would conserve cash by suspending its stock buyback program and all non-critical capital projects. The aluminum company's earnings fell 52 percent. Shares of the company plunged $1.99, or 11.9 percent, to $14.72, by far the steepest decliner among the 30 that comprise the Dow industrials. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 4.40, or 0.79 percent, to 563.35.

IMF: World economy to slow sharply, led by US By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer OCT 8,08

WASHINGTON - The world economy will slow sharply this year and next, with the United States likely sliding into recession reflecting mounting damage from the most dangerous financial jolt in more than a half-century. The International Monetary Fund, in a World Economic Outlook released Wednesday, slashed growth projections for the global economy and predicted the United States — the epicenter of the financial meltdown — will continue to lose traction.The world economy is now entering a major downturn in the face of the most dangerous shock in mature financial markets since the 1930s, the IMF said in its report.The IMF now projects that the global economy, which grew by a hardy 5 percent last year, will lose considerable speed, slowing to 3.9 percent this year. It is forecast to weaken even more — to just 3 percent — next year, marking the worst showing since 2002. In the past, the IMF has called global growth of 3 percent or less the equivalent to a global recession.The IMF's projection was made before the Federal Reserve and six other major central banks from around the world slashed interest rates Wednesday in an attempt to prevent a financial crisis from becoming a global economic meltdown.The Fed reduced its key rate from 2 percent to 1.5 percent. In Europe, which also has been hard hit by the financial crisis, the Bank of England cut its rate by half a point to 4.5 percent, while the European Central Bank sliced its rate to 3.75 percent.Also taking part were the central banks of China, Canada, Sweden, and Switzerland. The Bank of Japan said it strongly supported the actions.The financial crisis, which erupted in the United States in August 2007 and has quickly spread around the globe, entered a tumultuous new phase last month, badly shaking confidence in global financial institutions and markets, the IMF said. It has triggered a cascading series of bankruptcies, forced mergers and radical government interventions — such as the United States' unprecedented $700 billion financial bailout — to stem the fallout.

The new projections come before a gathering of the world's top economic powers on Friday and the weekend meetings of the IMF and the World Bank. The jarring financial crisis is likely to figure prominently in those discussions.In the United States, the economy, which grew by 2 percent last year, is projected to slow to 1.6 percent this year. Growth would screech to a virtual halt in 2009, barely budging at just 0.1percent. That would mark the worst showing since 1991, when the country was pulling out of a recession.With a recession now looking increasingly likely, the key questions are, how deep will the downturn be, when will a recovery get under way and how strong will it be? the IMF asked. Much will hinge on how effective the United States' steps to stabilize financial markets and get credit flowing more freely again turn out to be. Another important factor is whether these and other actions turn around U.S. consumers, whose retrenchment is hurting the economy.The IMF — and many private economists — believe the U.S. economy will probably contract in the final three months of this year and the first three months of next year, meeting a classic definition of a recession. The economy's last recession was in 2001.The government's bailout package is aimed at thawing lending by buying bad mortgage-related debt from troubled financial institutions. The idea is that the banks' books would then be cleaner, putting them in a better position to lend and get the economy moving.The IMF said this effort should help to stabilize markets but even so "the process of balance-sheet repair will be long and arduous. Credit availability is likely to remain constrained throughout 2009, the IMF said.Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke warned in a speech Tuesday that the economy's outlook for this year has darkened and the pain could last for some time. His remarks were seen as heralding the rate cut Tuesday.Looking at other countries, Germany's growth will slow to 1.8 percent this year, down from 2.5 percent last year. France's growth will weaken to just 0.8 percent, compared with 2.2 percent in 2007. Britain's economy will see growth taper to 1 percent, down from 3 percent last year. Canada's growth will tail off to 0.7 percent this year, from 2.7 percent last year.In Japan, growth will cool to just 0.7 percent, from 2.1 percent last year.Global powerhouses China and India will see growth clock in this year at a robust 9.7 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively. Even if those projections prove correct, they would still mark downgrades from their blistering performances last year. Russia's economy should grow by a brisk 7 percent this year, down from 8.1 percent last year. Inflation around the world remains high, driven up by surging energy and food prices through much of this year. It will be tricky for Bernanke and his counterparts in other countries to navigate weak growth and inflation pressures, the IMF said. The immediate policy challenge is to stabilize financial conditions, while nursing economies through a period of slow activity and keeping inflation under control, it said.

Europe and US synchronise rate cuts
LUCIA KUBOSOVA Today OCT 8,08 @ 17:18 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Central Bank (ECB) has moved to cut interest rates in the 15 country-strong eurozone in a co-ordinated move with five other major central banks, in a bid to slow Europe's economic downturn.The Frankfurt-based ECB cut its benchmark rate from 4.25 percent to 3.75 percent on Wednesday (8 October). It is the first rate cut since June 2003 and comes sooner than analysts expected.On the same day, the US Federal Reserve cut rates from 2 percent to 1.5 percent. The Bank of England, as well as the central banks of Canada, Sweden and Switzerland all took similar action. The recent intensification of the financial crisis has augmented the downside risks to growth and thus has diminished further the upside risks to price stability, the ECB said in a statement.Some easing of global monetary conditions is therefore warranted, it added. Frankfurt's move came after a teleconference with the other central banks and resembles a similar approach taken in September 2001, shortly after the terrorist attacks on the US, when both the ECB and the Federal Reserve slashed rates in tandem.Hours before the decision on Wednesday, the EU's statistical office Eurostat published a fresh report reflecting the concrete consequences of the financial crisis on the economy.

It showed that the eurozone's GDP shrank by 0.2 percent compared to the first three months of this year while the whole European Union's economy did not change in comparison to the same period. Analysts predict that a decline in the 15-strong monetary union will be reported also in the third quarter of 2008 which would mean that the euro bloc would be officially in recession.By comparison, the US economy grew in the second quarter 0.7 percent while Japan's GDP dropped by 0.7 percent.

EU states set common rules to face bank crisis
LUCIA KUBOSOVA Today OCT 8,08 @ 09:25 CET

EUOBSERVER / LUXEMBOURG - EU finance ministers have decided to raise minimum bank deposit guarantees across all 27-strong bloc and to take co-ordinated action to save financial institutions in a bid to calm ordinary people and markets amid the financial crisis.We agreed that all member states would, at least for one year, provide deposit guarantee protection for savers of at least €50,000, while noting that many countries are determined to raise their minimum to €100,000, announced French finance minister Christine Lagarde after a heated debate on Tuesday (7 October).Currently, the EU's threshold for securing private bank accounts is €20,000, but after Ireland moved to fully guarantee the deposits of clients of the country's banks, a move subsequently copied by Greece and later by Germany, other capitals are under pressure to follow suit.There was a general fear that member states could start competing with each other over who will offer better deposit guarantees, one diplomat commented, adding that both Dublin and Berlin had to give some explanations during the two-day gathering.Originally, ministers were contemplating the setting of a minimum threshold of €100,000, but some smaller countries refused to accept such a jump from the current limit.To paraphrase what someone said: What looks big to you, looks enormous to me, explained Ms Lagarde - chairing the meeting on behalf of the French presidency. She maintained that the compromise reached would take account of this diversity among member states.

Co-ordinated response

The finance chiefs also agreed on a list of principles that they want followed when trying to save systematically relevant financial institutions.They suggested that the government rescue scenarios should be decided on the national level but co-ordinated with other EU member states and bodies, stressing that these state interventions should be timely and temporary, with the existing shareholders of the failing banks having to bear the consequences. We will take measures, including recapitalisation, and we're very specific in what we say, said Ms Lagarde, adding that the European Commission will set down recommendations based on the ministerial meeting to specify under what conditions governments can inject capital to the key financial bodies.Ministers hope that the move by states to acquire stakes in the banking sector will boost confidence between financial institutions and convince them to start lending money to each other.

UK and Spain pump billions into banks

Meanwhile, governments continue to seek specific national measures to save their banking sector. On Wednesday, British finance minister Alistair Darling announced details of a €65 billion (£50 bn) rescue package that will initially make the extra capital available to eight of the UK's largest banks and building societies, the BBC has reported.The money is to be used to bolster the country's banking sector following a serious plunge in shares this week, while in return for the funding, the government will receive preference shares in the reinforced institutions. As part of the package, a further €260 billion (£200bn) will be made available by the Bank of England for short-term borrowing to provide liquidity to banks and building societies.British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is later today expected to describe the full list of extraordinary measures as a bold and far-reaching solution, which will go to the heart of the problem, according to BBC. Spain announced a similar plan on Tuesday (7 October), saying it would set up a €30 to 50 billion emergency fund to provide liquidity to the financial system by buying Spanish bank assets.

The fund, whose details are to be hammered out during a regular cabinet meeting on Friday (10 October), will be managed by the Spanish treasury to buy the assets of financial institutions, the Financial Times reported.Credit makes the economy work. Without credit, there is no investment. And without investment there is no economic activity today, nor growth or job creation tomorrow, said Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.

Fed steps in but stocks dive; UK to rescue banks By Daniel Trotta and Kevin Krolicki OCT 7,08

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve stepped forward as a commercial lender of last resort and signaled a readiness to cut interest rates as stocks spun lower for a fifth straight day and pressure mounted for a coordinated, international response to the most dangerous financial shock since the Great Depression. Financial shares tumbled, led by Bank of America Corp, a day after the largest U.S. bank said it would sell $10 billion in new stock and stoked fears that other banks may also need to raise capital.The British government was readying a rescue package for the UK banking system likely to include public money injected into the banks. That plan will be announced on Wednesday, just five days after the U.S. government approved a $700 billion bailout fund that has failed to calm markets.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. economy was being battered by a financial crisis of historic dimension and that the risk for inflation has eased with the falling prices for oil and other commodities.In light of these developments, the Federal Reserve will need to consider whether the current stance of policy remains appropriate, said Bernanke.In an unprecedented move, the Fed also created a new commercial paper facility that would buy short-term, highly rated debt, stepping into the corporate debt market in a program that falls outside the $700 billion rescue plan approved by the U.S. Congress on Friday.Stocks remained under pressure while U.S. government bond prices recovered and gold prices moved higher in a continued flight to safety.The S&P 500 index shed another 6 percent. That broad measure of the U.S. stock market has now dropped 15 percent over five days, its weakest run since 1987.Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index fell about 4 percent early in its Wednesday session.Iceland, the North Atlantic island facing down a threat of national bankruptcy, took over its second-largest bank and propped up a battered currency.At ground zero in the crisis, the interbank lending market remained stalled, with the cost of borrowing dollars, euros and sterling all higher as financial institutions sought to preserve capital and remained unwilling to lend to each other.

ROOM FOR LOWER EUROPEAN RATES

Analysts credited the Fed with trying to create a fire break in the still-developing crisis, but said it was not enough to stop a wealth-destroying cycle in the markets.

U.S. consumer borrowing dropped for the first time in a decade in August as banks began to tighten credit standards and consumers pulled back from spending.Fed fund futures have priced in a 50-basis-point rate cut by the Fed this month, with a 75-basis-point cut an outside possibility. Expectations have built that the weekend meeting of Group of Seven officials in Washington could set the stage for coordinated rate cuts including the European Central Bank.Certainly there will be room now for Europeans to have lower interest rates, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn told a TV interviewer.U.S. President George W. Bush, whose credibility with voters on economic policy has plunged, spoke with European leaders to coordinate the response to the market turmoil.I have been in close contact with European leaders. I was on the phone with them this morning to ensure that our actions are closely coordinated, Bush said. The White House had earlier said Bush spoke with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. In Tokyo, Japanese government officials and media said France had proposed an emergency summit meeting of the leaders of the richest economies and Russia. The crisis that began with defaults in the $11 trillion U.S. mortgage market is also washing up on Asian shores, pushing South Korea to call for emergency talks with Tokyo and Beijing, and forcing a policy easing from India.

COUNTING THE TOLL

Shares of Bank of America Corp dropped 26 percent -- a record one-day decline -- after a surprise earnings announcement a day earlier in which the bank halved its dividend and said it would sell at least $10 billion in new stock to raise capital.

Bank of America said it had raised its $10 billion by selling 455 million shares at $22 each -- a sale price 7 percent below Tuesday's close. Insurer MetLife Inc said after the New York close that it would issue 75 million shares to raise capital. The insurer, which has seen its stock drop almost 40 percent in recent weeks, said recent Wall Street failures had cut into its projected third-quarter investment gains. Investors has been worried insurers will be hurt by investment losses and exposure to recent corporate calamities including the bailout of AIG and collapses of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc and Washington Mutual Inc, as well as real-estate related debt. Entering the U.S. corporate earnings reporting season, other companies were expected to reinforce the view that the world's largest economy shuddered into recession at the start of the current quarter. The largest U.S. aluminum producer, Alcoa Inc, posted a drop in quarterly earnings of more than 50 percent on crumbling demand for metal to make planes and cars, and said it would halt major investments. The result was worse than expected and underscored the growing risk of a deepening downturn. The sad thing here is that I don't think Alcoa is going to be alone this earnings season, said Brian Hicks, co-manager of the Global Resources Fund. I think there will be quite a few earnings misses due to the fact that it looks like conditions have weakened much more than people expected. (Reporting by Reuters bureaus around the world; Editing by Brian Moss, Steve Orlofsky, Toni Reinhold, Gary Hill)

Asia stocks drop for 5th day on unending crisis By Kevin Plumberg OCT 7,08

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell about 4 percent, down for a fifth consecutive day, and government bond prices rose on Wednesday as fears of a looming global recession grew with no sign of a coordinated response or an end to the worsening financial meltdown. The yen climbed as investors clung to anything resembling stability after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned turmoil in markets could cause U.S. economic activity to be subdued into 2009 and signaled a readiness to cut interest rates.The deteriorating outlook for the economy and the deepening financial crisis are pushing fears to their limit, said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management in Japan.Tokyo's Nikkei share average dropped 4.5 percent, hitting a fresh 5-year low, taking losses for the past five days to 15 percent.Shares of Toyota Motor Corp fell more than 5 percent after a report the car maker's annual operating profit will likely fall around 40 percent in the year to next March.Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index slid 3.5 percent, a day after rallying on a much larger-than-expected interest rate cut by the country's central bank.The MSCI Asia-Pacific index of stocks outside of Japan was down 4.4 percent to a near 3-year low. The index has fallen a staggering 25 percent in a month and 46 percent so far this year, underperforming the MSCI all-country world index, which has fallen 36 percent year-to-date.Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 5.4 percent to a 27-month low after a market holiday on Tuesday.

Bernanke's sobering and candid tone in a speech on Tuesday about the likelihood of interest rate cuts came days after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet prepared markets for easier monetary policy.However, with the upcoming Group of Seven rich nations meeting on Friday, investors have begun to anticipate broader action to snuff out what has become a global calamity.Not one effort by a government -- including a series of bank rescues, the establishment of a $700 billion U.S. rescue fund, emergency measures by European governments and massive injections of funds by central banks around the world -- has so far been able to stop the increasing dysfunction of the financial system or keep the global economy from a potential recession.The yen has emerged as clear favorite among investors amid soaring market volatility.However, UBS recommended bets the U.S. dollar would strengthen against the yen ahead of possible coordinated action among policymakers.

The market has reasons to respond positively to efforts from officials in Europe and the U.S. Concerted efforts may soon reach a critical level in our view, helping investor's sentiment, rendering support to dollar/yen, UBS strategists said in a note.The dollar was little changed from U.S. trade at 101.45 yen, holding above a six-month low of 100.22 yen struck on trading platform EBS earlier in the week.The euro dipped 0.1 percent to 137.85 yen, holding above a three-year low of 135.05 yen also hit this week. Both the Australian and New Zealand dollars fell about 1 percent against the yen.Japanese 10-year government bond futures rallied a full point to 139.30, having risen for three of the last four days.U.S. Treasury debt prices ticked higher, pushing yields a bit lower. The benchmark 10-year yield slipped to 3.49 percent from 3.51 percent late in New York on Friday. Like other developed bond markets, the difference of the 10-year yield over the 2-year yield -- also called the yield curve -- has been growing sharply over the last month as dealers anticipated a cut in the Federal Reserve's target rate. In the last month, the U.S. yield curve has steepened by 64 basis points to the most since June 2004. (Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi in TOKYO; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

Japanese shares fall more than four percent OCT 7,08

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's benchmark Nikkei-225 index dropped more than four percent to 9698.72 in early Wednesday morning trade after another big fall on Wall Street overnight. The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index dropped 457.18 points or 4.50 percent to 9,698.72, below the key 10,000 level.The broader Topix index of all first section shares fell 35.30 points, or 3.61 percent, to 942.31.The massive sell-off came after The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 508.39 points (5.11) percent to a five-year closing low of 9,447.11 following a 369-point slide Monday.

Bad connection caused atom smasher shutdown By ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS, Associated Press Writer Mon Oct 6, 5:41 PM ET

GENEVA - A bad electrical connection likely caused the malfunction that sidelined the world's largest atom smasher days after it was launched with great fanfare, a senior scientist said Monday. The fault was probably a poor soldering job on one of the particle collider's 10,000 connections, said Lyn Evans, project leader of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the European Nuclear Research Organization.Only one fault in 10,000 isn't bad, but it cost dearly, Evans said. It will take at least two months for the repair, meaning the collider cannot be restarted until spring, after its mandatory shutdown due to high electricity costs during the winter.Evans said he still hasn't been able to examine the damage because the collider is too cold to be opened. The machine operates at extremely cold temperatures to take advantage of superconductivity — the ability of some metals to conduct electricity without any resistance near absolute zero degrees.It has to be warmed gradually to room temperature over five weeks so that humans can work inside and make repairs, Evans said. Then it will take another five weeks to re-chill it.The collider was started before a global audience on Sept. 10, with beams of protons being fired at nearly the speed of light around the collider, first in one direction and then in the other. The electrical fault occurred nine days later.

Before the failure, the plan had been to step up power on the collider so that scientists could start with test collisions of subatomic particles before the winter shutdown. That will have to wait until next April, Evans said.He said he expected it will then take about a month — until the end of May — to get the machine to high energy.It was a hard blow for us, he said. The failure occurred during the final test of the collider — a large tube running around the circumference of a 17-mile circular tunnel under the Swiss-French border at Geneva. All the other seven sections of the tunnel had passed the test.CERN specialists have already figured out that a connector between electromagnets failed and heated up, causing a magnet quench, or shutdown. It apparently melted a hole in the tube, causing a leak that spilled about a ton of the liquid helium used to chill that section.The high-energy collisions enable physicists to understand better how the smallest bits of matter — and everything and everyone — are made. They also hope it will take them even closer to the Big Bang, which many theorize was the massive explosion that formed the universe.By colliding protons from the nucleus of hydrogen atoms at high energy, the CERN machine is designed to recreate, on a minuscule scale, a view of what matter looked like in the rapid cooling one-trillionth of a second after the explosion.

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).

Portugal becomes 22nd EU state to recognise Kosovo
ELITSA VUCHEVA Today OCT 8,08 @ 09:12 CET

Portugal on Tuesday (7 October) afternoon announced its official recognition of Kosovo as an independent state, becoming the 22nd EU country to make the move.It is in the interests of the Portuguese state to proceed today to the formal recognition of Kosovo, the country's foreign minister Luis Amado told the national assembly's foreign affairs committee, AFP reports.We are convinced that the independence of Kosovo has become irreversible, he added.An autonomous Serbian province within the former Yugoslavia, Kosovo fell under UN governance in 1999 when NATO troops intervened to stop a crackdown by the then president of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic's forces on the majority ethnic-Albanian population.Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on 17 February this year, with 20 EU states recognising the move in a few days or weeks afterward.Malta followed suit in August, while five member states - Cyprus, Spain, Greece, Romania and Slovakia - remain opposed to the declaration of independence, saying that it goes against international law.

Worldwide, 48 countries have now recognised Kosovo as a sovereign state, including the US. But 144 states, including Russia, China and India, still refuse to do so.

Serbia is categorically opposed to the new state of play and considers Kosovo as part of its national territory.Belgrade has said it would use all diplomatic and legal means possible to reverse the situation and is currently seeking an opinion in the International Court of Justice on the Kosovo split.The UN General Assembly is on Wednesday (8 October) to vote on whether or not to approve Belgrade's court initiative.Many UN members, notably those that have recognised Kosovo and that are influential, are pressuring Serbia to abandon the move, Serbia's Kosovo minister Goran Bogdanovic told Reuters.

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.

2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL

REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).

DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) 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)

REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(IRAQ-SYRIA)
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)

North Korea fires missiles into sea: report By Jack Kim
OCT 8,08

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has fired two short-range missiles into the Yellow Sea, a news report said on Wednesday, in a move seen as aimed at dialing up tension as global powers try to make Pyongyang uphold a nuclear disarmament deal. The North fired the missiles into the Yellow Sea on Tuesday as a part of routine military training, South Korea's Yonhap news agency cited an unidentified government official as saying.The North, however, has a history of timing its missile launches to periods of increased tension in the region in saber-rattling bids aimed to show that it is ready to take a hard and defiant line, analysts have said.We understand North Korea fired two short-range missiles in the afternoon of (October) 7th into the (Yellow) Sea, Yonhap quoted an unidentified South Korean official as saying.North Korea declared a no-sail order in the (Yellow Sea) before the missile launch, the official said.South Korean and U.S. defense officials would not confirm the report.

The U.S. administration declined to discuss intelligence on the reported North Korean missile firing but said its concerns were long-standing and well documented.

North Korea's development, deployment and proliferation of missiles and missile-related materials, equipment and technology pose a threat to the region and the world, a U.S. Defense Department spokesman said.The entire world doesn't want to see weapons of mass destruction or missile technology proliferated to other people, that could use it against us or other countries said Gen. Walter Sharp, commander of the U.S. military in South Korea.It's all of our obligation to be able to watch that, report it and to stop it, he told reporters in Washington.State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said he was unable to confirm the reports, but said firing such missiles was not helpful in any way in managing tensions within the region.North Korea maintains an arsenal of missiles that can hit all of South Korea and most parts of Japan. In recent months, it has been upgrading its launch sites, local media reported intelligence sources as saying.Last week, a senior U.S. diplomat went to Pyongyang in a bid to convince North Korea to return to a disarmament-for-aid deal and halt it plans to restart it Soviet-era nuclear plant that makes bomb grade plutonium.Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill has declined to say if he made progress in his talks that were focused on having secretive North Korea agree to a system to verify checks it made about its nuclear arms program.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who on Tuesday briefed President George W. Bush on Hill's visit, told reporters: We are continuing to work on the issue over whether the verification protocol meets our standards.The nuclear agreement North Korea struck with the five regional powers in February 2007 seemed in peril after Pyongyang, angry at not being removed from a U.S. terrorism blacklist, vowed last month to rebuild the aging Yongbyon nuclear plant.Washington said it would take the North off the terrorism list, bringing economic and diplomatic benefits, once a system had been agreed to verify its nuclear claims.A senior Vienna diplomat familiar with North Korea and U.N. monitoring there said Hill probably received a significant proposal from the North Koreans, who may be trying to squeeze concessions from the Bush administration before it leaves office. But knowing how late it is in the current administration and the ill-will that's been generated between the two sides because of the current impasse, it would not be a surprise to discover that the proposal will make many key players in Washington very uncomfortable, and could well be a non-starter, the diplomat said. They have only one card to play at this point -- increasing tension, the diplomat said before the reports of the missile launch. (Additional reporting by Yoo Choonsik and Jon Herskovitz in Seoul, Mark Heinrich in Vienna and Jim Wolf, Susan Cornwell and Paul Eckert in Washington; Editing by Jerry Norton)

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Sarkozy supports Russian security pact idea
ELITSA VUCHEVA Today OCT 8,08 @ 17:52 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday (8 October) expressed readiness to discuss Russian plans for a European Security Treaty, which would provide security guarantees for European and Atlantic states as well as a new framework of rules to govern relations. Mr Sarkozy - who is also the EU's current president-in-office - met Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in Evian, France, for an international conference organised by the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).I heard president Medvedev present his ideas for a new security pact which would run from Vancouver to Vladivostok. We are ready to discuss it, Mr Sarkozy was reported as saying by Reuters.The French leader proposed a summit of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe countries to be held at the end of 2009 to discuss [the Russian] proposals and those of the European Union for new concepts of a pan-European defence, according to German news agency DPA.Mr Medvedev also called for a special forum to be convened, at which the leaders of all European states and the leaders of key organisations in the Euro-Atlantic area could take part.Prior to the meeting with the French president, the Russian president outlined in a speech his ideas for a pact that would include Russia, the EU and NATO countries and would contribute to crating a unified and reliable system of comprehensive security.

Main ideas of the pact

A Euro-Atlantic space that would give powers to all members instead of favouring a US-led unipolar world would be the best option, Mr Medvedev argued.The European Security Treaty would be based on conscientious fulfilment of international commitments; respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of states [and] respect for all other principles that flow from the UN charter, he said.It would contain a clear affirmation of the inadmissibility of the use of force - or the threat of force - in international relations, as well as guarantees of equal security.The pact should also state that no single state or international organisation may have the exclusive right to maintain peace and stability in the region. This applies fully to Russia too.Finally, it would contain basic parameters for arms control and reasonable sufficiency in military construction, and boost co-operation in areas such as terrorism and drug trafficking.

No to Sovietology

Russia had earlier this year already raised the idea of a European Security Treaty as a tool to overarch the EU and NATO, to which it does not belong. But its invasion of Georgia in August had up to now overshadowed debate on future institution-building.On Wednesday, Mr Medvedev also reiterated Russia's opposition to the enlargement of the North Atlantic alliance, in particular to the east, stressing that his country was not interested in confrontations and calling on the US to stop accusing Moscow of conducting a Soviet-driven foreign policy.[Sovietology] belongs to the past … Sovietology, like paranoia, is a very dangerous disease, and it is a pity that part of the US administration still suffers from it, he said. One should study the new Russia rather than reviving the ghosts of the Soviet Union.

Midnight deadline

To back his statement, Mr Medvedev said Russia would withdraw its peacekeeping contingent from security zones around Georgia's breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia by midnight tonight - ahead of a 10 October deadline stipulated in earlier peace accords.The move would pave the way for the resumption of negotiations on an ambitious framework agreement, both in terms of the scope and intensity of cooperation, Mr Sarkozy said, AFP reports, referring to stalled talks on an EU-Russia partnership pact.Lithuania has threatened to block the talks unless Russia leaves South Ossetia and Abkhazia proper as well, the ELTA news agency said, citing a senior diplomat.

Russia, Georgia disagree over troop pullback By MATT SIEGEL, Associated Press Writer OCT 8,08

KARALETI, Georgia - Russian troops pulled back from their positions outside Georgia's breakaway province of South Ossetia but held their ground in contested areas, setting the stage for more tension between the two countries that waged war in August. Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili told The Associated Press the Russian withdrawal was a positive move, but he added that Georgia wouldn't consider it complete until the troops leave the town of Akhalgori, near South Ossetia, and the Kodori Gorge in another Moscow-backed breakaway province, Abkhazia.

We think that it's a step in the right direction, but it doesn't mean yet that the withdrawal is fulfilled, Utiashvili said.Russia maintains that Akhalgori is part of South Ossetia and considers the Kodori Gorge part of Abkhazia — claims that Georgia rejects.Russian media carried a statement by Gen. Marat Kulakhmetov, who is in charge of Russian troops near South Ossetia, saying the pullout had been fully completed.Moscow must pull its troops from the buffer zones surrounding the two regions by Friday under cease-fire agreements brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Earlier Wednesday, Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev said the pullout from areas outside South Ossetia and Abkhazia would be completed by midnight.Officials at the European Union monitoring mission patrolling the buffer zone refused to comment on the latest controversy over disputed areas.The head of the EU monitoring mission, Hansjorg Haber, called the Russian pullout as a very positive development.We always proceeded from the assumption that the process would be completed by Friday, and this is confirmation of that assumption, Haber told the AP by telephone, speaking from the buffer zone outside Abkhazia where he watched the Russian pullout.In Washington, the State Department welcomed Russia's moves but said it was watching to see if it completed the withdrawals by the deadline.

Russia is, in fact, starting to comply with the Sept. 8 agreement with the EU, spokesman Sean McCormack said. It is a positive sign.Despite the dispute, the Russian withdrawal paves the way for the return of Georgian authority to a wide swath of territory held by Moscow since the war.The war erupted when Georgian forces launched an attack targeting Tskhinvali on Aug. 7 in a bid to take control of the region, which broke away in a war during the early 1990s. Russian troops, tanks and warplanes swiftly repelled the attack and drove deep into Georgia in Moscow's first major military offensive beyond its borders since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.Georgians terrified by weeks of arson and looting they blame on Russia's South Ossetian allies lined the roads to watch the withdrawal and welcome returning Georgian police.As dozens of armored personnel carriers, military trucks and transport vehicles rolled north past rows of destroyed homes, tensions in villages outside South Ossetia began to ease.Now I feel safe; I hope that life will improve, said Meri Khokhashvili, standing outside her destroyed home in the village of Kitsnisi. I've had nightmares for the past week because I was afraid someone would attack us. At least now I can sleep safer.The European monitoring mission could not immediately confirm Kulakhmetov's statement that Russian troops had fully withdrawn from six checkpoints outside South Ossetia. They would likely be unable to verify the withdrawal until Thursday at the earliest, said a mission spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity because of rules about talking to the media.In France, Medvedev urged the West to leave the crisis over Georgia behind. It is now important to calm down and at least to give up the confrontational rhetoric, Medvedev said at a conference. Nothing fatal or irreparable has happened. A new edition of the Cold War is not threatening us.But the withdrawal won't resolve major disputes pitting Russia against Georgia and Western countries, which have condemned Moscow's invasion of the former Soviet republic and its recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent nations. Even as it promised to pull troops from the buffer zones, Russia said it would keep nearly 4,000 troops in each of the separatist regions — plans that the United States, EU and NATO say violate a cease-fire commitment to withdraw to prewar positions. On a main road near the village of Karaleti, Russian troops finished dismantling their camp and a roadblock separating the buffer zone outside South Ossetia from Georgian-controlled territory, leaving nothing but a broken-down tractor. Two bulldozers leveled ground at the site, and Russian soldiers swept for mines before leaving. As the Russians moved north, they were joined by other military vehicles, forming a loose column headed toward South Ossetia. Outside Karaleti, the vehicles chugged past a white, bullet-pocked car — a reminder of the violence. The convoy passed through a heavily fortified border post manned by agitated South Ossetian soldiers brandishing Kalashnikovs from behind concrete blocks and stacks of sandbags. EU monitors have been patrolling the buffer zone since Oct. 1 under the withdrawal agreement, a supplement to the initial cease-fire brokered by Sarkozy. Monitors in two blue light-armored vehicles accompanied the convoy as far as the de facto border. Moscow has made it clear the EU monitors are not welcome in the breakaway regions.

The governor of the Georgian region where Karaleti is located, Vladimir Vardzelashvili, said Georgian police would move into the buffer zone as the Russians leave. A white pickup truck whose open bed was packed with black-uniformed police carrying Kalashnikovs crossed the former checkpoint at Karaleti. Russian forces occupied large portions of Georgia for weeks afterward and reinforced positions around the edges of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The war began after years of increasing tension between Russia and Georgia, whose pro-Western President Mikhail Saakashvili has cultivated close ties with Washington and pushed to bring his nation into NATO. Georgia straddles a key westward route for oil and gas from the Caspian Sea region, and has become a focus of competition between Russia and the West for regional clout. Associated Press writer Sophiko Megrilidze contributed to this report from Kitsnisi, Georgia.

Russia pulls back troops, Georgia demands more By Dmitry Solovyov and Margarita Antidze OCT 8,08

KARALETI, Georgia (Reuters) - Russia pulled back its troops on Wednesday from buffer zones it set up on Georgian territory during a summer war, but Georgia demanded it take further steps before a deadline of Friday. The Russian Defense Ministry said troops had removed all six of their checkpoints in the buffer zone around Georgia's rebel province of South Ossetia, ahead of the Friday deadline stipulated by a French-brokered ceasefire deal.Russian troops remain inside South Ossetia and a second, pro-Russian breakaway region, Abkhazia, which Moscow has recognized as independent states and promised to protect.At 2030 Moscow time (1630 GMT) the last column of Russian peacekeepers withdrew into South Ossetia. The pullback is completed," Igor Konashenkov, aide to the commander of the Russian military's ground forces, told Reuters.Troops were also seen pulling back from close to Abkhazia.Russia seems to have completed most of the withdrawal, said Hansjoerg Haber, head of an EU monitoring mission, adding that his team was still verifying the situation on the ground.Russia sent tanks and troops in August to repel a Georgian military assault to retake South Ossetia. Its heavy counter-offensive drew condemnation from the West, and deepened fears over the security of the Caucasus as a transit route for oil and gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe, bypassing Russia.A Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman said the pullback from the buffer zones was complete.But Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili said Russian troops still had to quit two disputed enclaves within South Ossetia and Abkhazia by October 10. Tbilisi says the Georgian-populated enclaves -- Akhalgori and the Kodori gorge -- have for years not been part of the rebel regions.

The dispute underlined the potential for renewed conflict, as more than 200 EU observers patrol the zones to monitor the fragile ceasefire.By October 10 ... Russian forces have to withdraw definitely from the territories which never used to be part of the conflict regions of South Ossetia or Abkhazia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Tkeshelashvili told a teleconference.

RUSSIAN PRAISE FOR EU

Russia plans to keep 7,600 troops in the rebel regions, twice as many as before the war that began on August 7 and ran for five days.All Russian forces that are here now in Georgia ... that entered the territory of my country from August 7 onwards, they have to be withdrawn, Tkeshelashvili said.A Reuters reporter followed a convoy of about 20 military trucks and armored vehicles out of the main Karaleti checkpoint and saw it cross the de facto border with breakaway South Ossetia, 20 km (12 miles) further north.Russian President Dmitry Medvedev praised the role of the EU in ending the crisis in a speech heavily critical of Georgia's main backer, the United States.

When other forces in the world were reluctant or incapable of doing this, it was in the European Union that we found a ... responsible and pragmatic partner, Medvedev told a conference in the French city of Evian.U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, speaking in Macedonia, said: I am pleased that Russia appears to be fulfilling its obligation under the ceasefire to withdraw in compliance with Friday's deadline in Georgia.Russia said it would call at talks in Geneva on October 15 for an embargo on the sale of offensive weapons to Tbilisi, and for a security mechanism to prevent Georgian attacks. (Additional reporting by Matt Robinson in Tbilisi, Liutauras Strimaitis in Zugdidi, Georgia, Guy Faulconbridge and Conor Sweeney in Moscow and Kristin Roberts in Ohrid, Macedonia) (Writing by Matt Robinson, editing by Mark Trevelyan)

STEADY ON THE FRONT TODAY MAYBE

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

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.

Death toll rise from Tibet earthquake
www.chinaview.cn 2008-10-07 14:26:55

LHASA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Ten people are confirmed dead and 34 injured after a 6.6-magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China, the regional government said Tuesday. The latest death was from a high school in Shannan Prefecture, the region's vice chairman Gong Puguang said at a press conference. Gong said the school in Nagarze County was evacuating its students during the quake when a stampede occurred. One teenager was killed and 15 others injured. The earthquake hit Damxung, an outer county of the regional capital Lhasa, 4:30 p.m. Monday. Nine deaths and 19 injuries were reported in the epicenter, mainly women, children and the elderly. Most men were out mowing and storing forage grass for the winter.

Tibet's regional government decided Monday night to close all schools in Lhasa Tuesday due to safety concerns.

Chinese president sends message of condolences over Kyrgyzstan earthquake
www.chinaview.cn 2008-10-07 16:29:07

BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday sent a message of condolences to his Kyrgyz counterpart Kurmanbek Bakiyev over the deadly earthquake which killed nearly 70 people. On behalf of the Chinese government, the Chinese people and himself, Hu expressed sincere condolences and deep mourning over the deaths in the disaster to the Kyrgyz president and the relatives of the bereaved. The 6.3-magnitude quake occurred in southern Kyrgyzstan on Sunday, killing nearly 70 people and injuring 50 others, according to reports of the country's Emergency Situations Ministry.Editor: Jiang Yuxia

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Tropical Storm Marco Makes Landfall Kevin Roth OCT 7,08

Tropical Storm Marco made landfall around 10am CDT Tuesday 80 miles to the south-southeast of Tuxpan, Mexico. Marco is a very tiny storm with tropical storm force winds only extending 15 miles out from the center. Maximum sustained winds are 65 mph and it is moving to the west at about 8 miles per hour (as of 10 a.m. CDT). Satellite view of Marco. Tropical storm warning are in effect along the Mexican coast from Cabo Rojo to Veracruz. The hurricane watches have been discontinued for the same area. Now that Marco has made landfall it will quickly die out in the Mexican Mountains. Hurricane Norbert.Hurricane Norbert continues to strengthen with top winds estimated to be near 80 mph and was located about 555 miles south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico as of 8 a.m. PDT. It is moving to the west-northwest near 8 miles per hour, and this general motion is expected to continue over the next couple of days. Norbert could move toward Baja California later in the week or over the weekend, so interests there should monitor the progress of the system. Check out Norbert's projected path.

Tropical storm Marco hits Mexico OCT 7,08

MIAMI (AFP) - Tropical storm Marco made landfall in Mexico Tuesday, crashing ashore as the latest in a series of powerful storms to strike the region this hurricane season, US forecasters said. Marco quickly traversed the Gulf of Mexico before barreling ashore about 55 miles (90 kilometers) north-northwest of Veracruz, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.The storm has maximum sustained winds of some 65 miles (100 kilometers) per hour and is traveling in a west-northwest direction at about eight miles (13 kilometers) per hour as it moves towards Mexico's interior, where NHC forecasters said it was likely to dissipate Wednesday.Marco is the latest in a succession of storms to batter the Gulf of Mexico during the busy 2008 hurricane season, including devastating Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which caused millions of dollars in damage in Haiti, Cuba and the United States.

Tropical storm Julio in late August killed one person north Mexico and damaged roads and homes as it swept through the northwestern state of Baja California.In July, Hurricane Dolly also caused one fatality in Mexico after dumping rain over Texas and Mexico after pummeling the Gulf coast.

METEORS HIT THE EARTH

REVELATION 6:12-17
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

REVELATION 8:12-13
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels,which are yet to sound!

ANGEL 4 TO DOCTOR DOCTORIAN So many earthquakes shall happen that rivers shall flow different directions in the continent, flooding many villages. I saw great pieces falling from the sky over different parts of Africa.

Small asteroid headed for light show over Africa By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer Mon Oct 6, 6:21 PM ET

WASHINGTON - A small asteroid was headed for a fiery but harmless dive into Earth's atmosphere early Tuesday morning over Africa, astronomers said in a first of its kind advance warning. Harvard scientists announced late Monday afternoon that the asteroid 2008 TC3 would burn up in the sky, making a fireball potentially visible to people in northern Africa. Measuring between 3 feet and 15 feet in diameter, the rock was expected to enter Earth's atmosphere above Sudan at 10:46 p.m. EDT Monday, just before dawn in Africa.Harvard astronomer Tim Spahr said the asteroid was so small it wouldn't reach the ground before burning up and wouldn't hurt anyone, but the fireball should be seen heading from west to east.It's the first time we've been able to predict an impactor in advance and it'll be quite a celestial show for the world, said Donald Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near Earth Object program, which tracks asteroids and comets that come close.There are 5,681 such objects, but only 757 of them are large enough to cause any damage if they hit Earth.This object, spotted by an Arizona telescope late Sunday and calculated on Monday to be heading toward Earth, isn't one of them. Astronomers don't know precisely how big it is or what it is made of, but they know that it is small enough that it will burn up harmlessly. As it enters the atmosphere becoming a meteor, it compresses the air in front of it, which then gets hotter, causing a fireworks display.Rocks this size hit Earth's atmosphere about two or three times a year, but without warning, Yeomans said.

Astronomers were only able to give the world about six hours notice because the rock is so dark and small. It was spotted a little farther away from Earth than the moon, said Spahr, director of the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center. Astronomers hope by scanning the sky they can eventually give Earth warning for more worrisome rocks that come this way.If this were something larger and it was going to hit the ground we would be able to get people out of the way, Spahr said. But with something this size, they can tell people to look up for a sight that could be pretty cool from the ground, he said.On the Net NASA's Near Earth Object Program: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/

PESTILENCES (CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS)

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

OZONE DEPLETION

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

POISONED WATERS

REVELATION 8:8-11
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood:(bitter,Poisoned) and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.(poisoned)

REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they(False World Church and Dictator) have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

Scientists: 1 in 4 mammals faces extinction By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer Mon Oct 6, 8:52 AM ET

WASHINGTON - Conservationists have taken the first detailed look at the world's mammals in more than a decade, and the news isn't good. Our results paint a bleak picture of the global status of mammals worldwide, the team led by Jan Schipper of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in Gland, Switzerland, concluded.We estimate that one in four species is threatened with extinction and that the population of one in two is declining, the researchers said in a report to be published Friday in the journal Science. The findings were being released Monday at the IUCN meeting in Barcelona, Spain.I think the bottom line is, what kind of a world do you want to leave for your children, Andrew Smith, a professor in the Arizona State University School of Life Sciences, said in a telephone interview.

How impoverished we would be if we lost 25 percent of the world's mammals, said Smith, one of more than 100 co-authors of the report.Within our lifetime hundreds of species could be lost as a result of our own actions, a frightening sign of what is happening to the ecosystems where they live, added Julia Marton-Lefevre, IUCN director general. We must now set clear targets for the future to reverse this trend to ensure that our enduring legacy is not to wipe out many of our closest relatives.

The IUCN describes itself as the world's oldest and largest global environmental network. It is made up of more than 1,000 government and nongovernment organizations and almost 11,000 volunteer scientists in more than 160 countries. The research for the report took five years and involved more than 1,700 scientists around the world.

The report updates the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species, which overall includes 44,838 species, of which 16,928 are threatened with extinction. Of these, 3,246 are in the highest category of threat, critically endangered, 4,770 are endangered and 8,912 are vulnerable to extinction. The IUCN estimated that 76 mammal species have gone extinct since 1500.While the new report estimated that one-in-four mammals is threatened with extinction, the actual numbers listed were 1,141 out of 5,487 species. That comes out to 20.8 percent, closer to one in five.However, the researchers noted that there were several hundred species about which they don't have enough data to classify. They believe that the lack of information about those animals indicates that they exist in such small numbers that many could be endangered, raising the total to 25 percent or higher, Smith explained.Among the mammals particularly in danger are primates, used for bush meat in parts of Africa and facing major loss of habitat in Southeast Asia, Smith noted.The report also notes unusually high threats to tapirs, hippos, bears, pigs and hogs, while among the less threatened are moles, opossums and free-tailed bats.In general, larger mammals were found to be more threatened than smaller ones. Larger species tend to have lower population densities, grow more slowly and have larger home ranges.

For land species, habitat loss is a major threat across the tropics, including deforestation in the Americas, Africa and Asia. Hunting is having devastating effects in Asia, but African and South American species are also affected.For marine mammals the major threat is accidental death, especially fisheries by-catch and vessel strike.Climate change is also affecting sea ice dependent species such as polar bears and harp seals.Even though most of the world has been explored, new mammal species continue to be discovered. This year's species total of 5,487 is up 19percent since 1992.Many newly discovered species are among those that are not well documented, living in regions in need of future research such as tropical forests in West Africa and Borneo. Marine mammals are not as well studied as land mammals and are more difficult to survey. While it raises concerns, the new analysis isn't all bad news. It found about five percent of currently threatened mammals showing signs of recovery. The black-footed ferret moved from extinct in the wild to endangered after a successful reintroduction by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in eight western states from 1991-2008. Also, wild horses moved from extinct in the wild in 1996 to critically endangered this year after successful reintroductions started in Mongolia in the early 1990s. In addition to raising concern about mammals, new additions to the IUCN Red List include:

• Indian tarantulas, sought by collectors and threatened by the international pet trade.

• The Rameshwaram parachute spider has been listed as critically endangered due to habitat loss.

• The squaretail coral grouper from the coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific has been listed as vulnerable because it has become a luxury food.

• In Costa Rica, Holdridge's toad moved from critically endangered to extinct, as it has not been seen since 1986 despite intensive surveys.

• La Palma giant lizard, found on the Canary Island of La Palma and thought to have become extinct in the last 500 years, was rediscovered last year and is now listed as critically endangered. IUCN also said it is issuing a Sampled Red List Index, developed in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London. The index takes a random sample of species from a taxonomic group to calculate the trends in extinction risk within that group. It can be used to calculate trends much like an exit poll from a voting station. Associated Press writer Daniel Woolls in Madrid, Spain, contributed to this report. On the Net: Science: http://www.sciencemag.org
IUCN: http://www.iucn.org

POSSIBLE ROBOT OR CLONE

DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

REVELATION 13:13-15
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

REVELATION 14:9-11
9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Robot suit for rent in Japan to help people walk (AP)
Posted on Tue Oct 7, 2008 9:37AM EDT

TSUKUBA, Japan - A robotic suit that reads brain signals and helps people with mobility problems will be available to rent in Japan for $2,200 a month starting Friday — an invention that may have far-reaching benefits for the disabled and elderly.

HAL — short for hybrid assistive limb — is a computerized suit with sensors that read brain signals directing limb movement through the skin.The 22-pound battery-operated computer system is belted to the waist. It captures the brain signals and relays them to mechanical leg braces strapped to the thighs and knees, which then provide robotic assistance to people as they walk.Cyberdyne, a new company in Tsukuba outside Tokyo, will mass-produce HAL. Two people demonstrated the suits at the company's headquarters on Tuesday.A demonstration video also showed a partially paralyzed person getting up from a chair and walking slowly wearing the HAL suit.

We are ready to present this to the world, said Yoshiyuki Sankai, a University of Tsukuba professor who designed HAL.Sankai, who has worked on robot suits since 1992 and is also Cyberdyne's chief executive, said a full device that covers the entire body is also being designed, though it is unclear when it will be available commercially.HAL comes in three sizes — small, medium and large — and also has a one-leg version for a 150,000 yen, or $1,500, monthly rental fee.Noel Sharkey is a robotics expert not affiliated with the technology. The professor at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. said HAL will have wide-ranging benefits for the elderly others with movement disabilities.HAL can only lead to extending the abilities of the elderly and keep them out of care for longer, Sharkey said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.Cyberdyne said its policy is not to reveal how much it costs to manufacture the device. It is unclear when HAL will go on sale to the public or what the price tag will be.Robotics technology is common in manufacturing sectors, but product liability concerns restrict its widespread use in everyday life. Sankai said the HAL technology is devoted to social welfare purposes only, adding he has refused requests from military officials to share it.Some European nations have already expressed interest and HAL may soon be on the market there, but U.S. sales are still undecided, Sankai said.The University of California, Berkeley, and other researchers around the world are working on similar robotic suits that increase mobility.

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/

PSALMS 39:6
6 Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS TUE OCT 07,2008

09:30 AM +58.56
10:00 AM +15.37
10:30 AM +58.78
11:00 AM +15.05
11:30 AM -39.51
12:00 PM -40.38
12:30 PM -130.62
01:00 PM -138.19
01:30 PM -244.28
02:00 PM -327.27
02:30 PM -205.97
03:00 PM -306.64
03:30 PM -342.49
04:00 PM -508.39 9447.11

S&P 500 996.23 -60.66

NAS 1754.88 -108.08

GOLD 890.0 +23.08

OIL 89.14 +1.93

TSE 300 -420.39 9,810.04

CDNX -38.73 1,095.37

S&P/TSX 60 -25.89 589.79

GERMANY AND UK DOIN THINGS ON THEIR OWN FOR NOW.
Dow was 100 points up at its high.
Dow was -365 at its low today.
Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq touch fresh 5 year lows.
Short selling ban ends at 12AM tomorrow.
Ford and Gm shares sink to multi-decade lows as investor confidence sinks.
Ford and Gm down 6-10% over the last 2 days.
Stocks down for the 5th straight day.
Report Wells Fargo gets 80% and west and Southwest of Wachovia Deposits and Citi gets 20% and Northeast of Wachovis Deposits.
Morgan Stanley: Mitsubishi deal on track to close by this weekend.
Morgan Stanley would be reducedto less then 20-1
reports the EU will have a Capital Injection bailout plan of $80 BILLION for banks.

THE FUTURES WENT WILD OVER NIGHT WITH A 20 POINT RALLY AS THE ANNOUNCEMENT CAME ON THAT NEW FED FICILITY CAME TO BUY COMERCIAL PAPER. FUTURES WENT FROM 10.50 TO 10.70. BACK TO 10.50, BACK UP TO 10.70, BACK DOWN TO 10.50, AND FINALLY BACK UP TO 10.70 AS THEY ANNOUNCE THAT SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLE, ALL IN THE SPACE OF 9 HOURS.

IMF JOHN LIPSKY SAYS THIS CRISIS WENT FROM AMERICA TO THE WHOLE WORLD ECONOMIES. THE ECONOMIES ARE IN OR CLOSE TO A MILD RECESSION. EFFECTIVE RECOVERY SHOULD BE IN THE SECOND HALF OF NEXT YEAR. THE FED RESERVE BASICALLY SAID IT WOULD BUY COMERCIAL PAPER? LIPSKY'S ANSWER ITS ANOTHER SIGN THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT LET THE ECONOMY BE DISFUNCTIONAL. DO THE CENTRAL BANKS HAVE TO COORDINATE RATE CUTS TO SEND A MESSAGE TO MARKETS? LIPSKY IF THE QUESTION IS DOES EVERYBODY DO THE SAME THING AT THE SAME TIME THE ANSWER IS NO. EVER BODY FACES DIFFERENT SITUATIONS. BUT THEY HAVE TO WORK IN THE SAME DIRECTION. WHERE IS THE IMF IN THIS SITUATION? LIPSKYS ANSWER: WE HAVE BEEN SUPPORTING OUR 185 MEMBER COUNTRYS AROUND THE WORLD. THIS SITUATION HAS A DIFFERENCE FROM THE ASIAN CRISIS 10 YEARS AGO, THAT INVOLVED VERY SUDDEN EMERGENCE OF LARGE SCALE BALANCE OF PAYMENT DEFICETS IN A CRISIS MODE IN EMERGING MARKET ECONOMIES. THIS HAS STARTED IN THE ADVANCE ECONOMIES, AFFECTED THE ADVANCED ECONOMIES MORE AND HAS NOT INVOLVED LARGE BALANCE OF PAYMENTS NEEDS OF THOSE ECONOMIES, THEY'RE STILL ABLE TO FUND THEMSELVES.

THE G-7 MEETINGS ARE ON FRIDAY AND THE IMF MEETINGS ARE OVER THE WEEKEND. WHAT WILL YOU DO? LIPSKY SAYS ALL THE 185 LEADING FINANCE MINISTERS AND CENTRAL BANK HEAD MEMBERS WILL BE GATHERING HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE CRISIS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE CRISIS BEGAN TO TAKE ON A NEW AND MORE DIFFICULT CHARACTER. I THINK THERE WILL BE SERIOUS DISCUSSION ON THE SITUATION OF A BREAK THROUGH COMUNICA. BUT I THINK THE FOCUS AND THE LEVEL OF ATTENTION AN THE POSSIBILTY FOR NEW INITIVES ARE THERE.

HES OF A MIND,(LIPSKY) THAT MAYBE YOU DON'T NEED A COORINATED EFFORT, BECAUSE EACH COUNTRY HAS ITS OWN INTERESTS TO KEEP AN EYE ON, BUT THEY ARE BOUND BY IN EUROPE BY THAT UNIFIED CURRENCY. GERMANY THINKS THEY CAN WORK ON AN AD HAWK BASES AND STILL REMAIN WITHIN USING THE EURO CURRENCY AS WELL.

Stocks tumble as Street worries about financials By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer OCT 7,08 4:PM

NEW YORK - Wall Street sank further Tuesday, extending its heavy losses as enthusiasm over Federal Reserve efforts to inject confidence into credit markets gave way to concerns about financial companies' balance sheets. Trading remained fractious, with the Dow Jones industrial average losing nearly 400 points and all the major indexes falling well over 3 percent. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned in a speech Tuesday that the financial crisis could prolong the difficulty the economy is facing. Some traders appeared to regard his remarks as a sign that an interest rate cut could be in the offing, but that did not stanch the losses that built on Monday's huge drop.Investors appeared initially heartened but still very cautious following the Fed's announcement that it plans to buy massive amounts of corporate debt to jump-start lending in the markets where many companies turn for short-term loans. The evaporation of faith that loans will be repaid has lenders weary and is making it more difficult and expensive for businesses and consumers to borrow.Credit markets showed some signs of easing as demand for safe-haven investments decreased. Credit markets seized up last month after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. declared bankruptcy and the government stepped in to rescue insurer American International Group Inc.The Fed's latest move is designed to lubricate the lurching credit markets whose troubles have spread to other parts of the economy. Still, the measure stops short of a broad interest rate reduction that some investors say is necessary to restore confidence in the market. Other market watchers argue, however, that more focused steps like Fed's decision to buy commercial paper are what's needed.But some investors remain worried about financial companies like Bank of America Corp., which after the closing bell Monday slashed its dividend and reported that its third-quarter profit fell 68 percent. The stock fell $7.17, or 22 percent, to $25.05 and was the steepest decliner among the 30 stocks that comprise the Dow industrials.

And a rumor that Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. was pulling out of a deal to acquire up to 24.9 percent of the voting shares of Morgan Stanley sent the investment bank's stock tumbling $5.40, or about 23 percent, to $18.10.Investors are fearful that financial companies will continue to face cash shortages even with efforts in Washington and by other governments to resuscitate lending.I think we have weeks of volatility ahead of us, said Kim Caughey, equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group.She said the write-downs of bad debt at Bank of America are a reminder to investors that troubles within the financial sector remain.The concerns weighed on stocks after Monday's rout. In the final half hour of trading, the Dow fell 351.41, or 3.53 percent, to 9,604.09, after dropping just over 400 points. The drop came a day after the blue chips fell below 10,000 for the first time in four years. The Dow skidded as much as 800 points on Monday before finishing with a loss of 370.Broader indexes also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 42.23, or 4.00 percent, to 1,014.66, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 74.26, or 3.99 percent, to 1,788.70.The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.Oil prices rebounded after plunging Monday to an eight-month low on concerns a global recession will undermine demand for crude. Light, sweet crude rose $2.25 to settle at $90.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.Concerns about the credit markets still fed demand for the relative safety of government debt, though pressures eased. The yield on the three-month Treasury bill, which moves opposite its price, rebounded to 0.80 percent from 0.50 percent late Monday. Demand for short-term Treasurys remains high because of their safety; investors are willing to take extremely low returns just to have their money in a secure place.

Some investors moved into longer-term Treasury bonds, which while still safe don't draw as much demand as shorter-term debt in times of fear. The yield on the 10-year note fell to 3.49 percent from 3.50 percent late Monday.Investors are still hoping to see other moves from the Fed to boost confidence. Australia's central bank lowered interest rates by the largest amount since 1992 in a surprise move, and that reignited hopes that others, including the Fed and European Central Bank, might follow suit.Though not giving the market a rate cut, the Fed has taken other steps to help unclog the credit markets. On Tuesday, policymakers provided more details about when it will make $900 billion in short-term loans available to squeezed banks. The loans are made available to banks through auctions. The Fed, in coordination with other countries' central banks engaged in similar efforts, laid out dates that it will conduct the auctions through the rest of this year. The Treasury stepping into the commercial paper market is good news, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist for Avalon Partners. "The Fed is doing everything they can to have confidence return to the markets, and maybe an interest rate cut is next. The central bank is doing what it should be doing as a lender of last resort.

Minutes from the Fed's last meeting described a U.S. economy that was slowing considerably and credit markets that were deteriorating rapidly. The meeting was held Sept. 16, the day after the failure of Lehman Brothers. The central bank's Open Market Committee found the risks from weaker growth and higher inflation were roughly equal; that was its rationale for leaving rates unchanged. Policymakers, who will meet again at the end of the month, left key interest rate unchanged at 2 percent. Wall Street is looking for Alcoa Inc. to unofficially kick off earnings season when it releases results after the closing bell. Alcoa fell 44 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $17.67. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 966.8 million shares. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 26.54, or 4.45 percent, to 569.37. Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 3.03 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.35 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 1.12 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.55 percent.
On the Net: New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

EU finance ministers agree to coordinate responses to financial crisis
www.chinaview.cn 2008-10-07 23:25:43

LUXEMBOURG, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) finance ministers agreed on Tuesday to coordinate their responses to the escalating global financial crisis.

Europe is united in the face of the financial crisis and determined to act in a coordinated way, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde told reporters after chairing a monthly meeting with her EU counterparts. We agreed to assure the solidity and stability of our financial system and carry out any measures to reach that objective, Lagarde said. The ministers said they would support systemic financial institutions, one day after their eurozone members vowed to prevent any bank of systemic importance from falling apart. We are all committed to taking all necessary measures to enhance the soundness and stability of our banking system and to protect the deposits of individual savers, they said in a joint statement after the meeting. As the first coordinated effort, EU finance ministers agreed on Tuesday to significantly increase the minimum deposit guarantee which the member states must offer savers in a bid to restore financial stability. The EU law requires member states to guarantee savers' deposits of at least 20,000 euros (27,000 U.S. dollars) in case of a bank failure. Now the minimum amount was raised to at least 50,000 euros (67,500 U.S. dollars). Many member states even decided to raise the minimum amount to 100,000 euros (135,000 U.S. dollars).

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, EU countries rush to increase their minimum guarantee for bank deposits in a bid to calm savers' concerns about their money in troubled banks. Ireland, followed by Germany and Denmark, even provided full guarantee for all private bank deposits in hopes of boosting confidence, but their unilateral moves angered others, which feared an outflow of deposits in their own banks. EU finance ministers agreed that public intervention has to be decided at national level, but in a coordinated framework. We agree to coordinate closely in our actions and to take into consideration potential cross-border effects of national decisions, they said. Editor: Yan

Fed to buy massive amounts of short-term debt By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer OCT 7,08

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve announced Tuesday a radical plan to buy massive amounts of short-term debt in a dramatic effort to break through a credit clog that is imperiling the economy. Invoking Depression-era emergency powers, the Fed will buy commercial paper, a short-term financing mechanism that many companies rely on to finance their day-to-day operations, such as purchasing supplies or making payrolls.In more normal times, about $100 billion of these short-term IOUs were outstanding at any given time, sold by companies to buyers that included money market mutual funds, pension funds and other investors. But this market has virtually dried up as investors have become too jittery to buy paper for longer than overnight or a couple days.That has made it increasingly difficult and expensive for companies to raise money to fund their operations. Commercial paper is a way of borrowing money for short periods, typically ranging from overnight to less than a week.The unstable situation has left many companies vulnerable. The notion under the plan is for the government to provide a backstop that would give companies a new place to get cash, the Fed said. The action makes the Fed a crucial source of credit for nonfinancial businesses in addition to commercial banks and investment firms.

The Fed's action initially helped lift investors' spirits, although concerns about the economy dampened their enthusiasm. The Dow Jones industrials — which gained about 145 points just after the open — fell nearly 40 points in late morning trading. Monday, a huge selloff put the Dow below 10,000 for the first time in four years.Concerns about the credit markets pushed investors into longer-term Treasury bonds, considered a secure place to park money in times of turmoil. The rush to safety drove yields lower, though.European stocks posted modest gains on hopes that central banks around the globe would coordinate on rate cuts. Share prices in Britain and in Germany, Europe's largest economy, rose. Iceland, however, is facing the prospect of bankruptcy, according to the Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde, after its banks went on a buying spree across Europe, accumulating massive debts in the process.The Fed said it is creating a new entity to buy three-month unsecured and asset-backed commercial paper directly from eligible companies. It hopes to have the program up and running soon, Fed officials said.Fed officials said they'll buy as much of the debt as necessary to get the market functioning again. They refused to say how much that might be, but they noted that around $1.3 trillion worth of commercial paper would qualify.The commercial paper market has been under considerable strain in recent weeks as money market mutual funds and other investors" have become increasingly reluctant to buy commercial paper, especially longer-dated maturities. As the market for commercial paper shrank, the Fed said rates on the longer-term debt increased significantly, making it more expensive for companies to borrow.

The Treasury Department, which worked with the Fed on the program, said the action is necessary to prevent substantial disruptions to the financial markets and the economy.The Treasury will provide money to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to support the new program, the Fed said. Fed officials would not say how much but believed it would be substantial. The money would not come from the $700 billion financial bailout President Bush signed into law on Friday.If a company's commercial paper is not backed by assets or other forms of security acceptable to the Fed, the company could pay an upfront fee, the central bank said. The amount of such a fee has not yet been determined.The Fed said it hoped its effort would jolt the commercial paper market back to life.This facility should encourage investors to once again engage in term lending in the commercial paper market, the Fed said. That should eventually spur financial companies to lend to each other and to their customers, including consumers, the Fed said.The Fed said it planned to stop buying commercial paper on April 30, 2009, unless the Federal Reserve board agrees to extend the program. The Fed created a separate entity to pool and hold the commercial paper it buys. The Fed said this should allow the central bank to more easily manage the program and better control risk.There was $1.61 trillion in outstanding commercial paper, seasonally adjusted, on the market as of last Wednesday, according to the most recent data from the Fed. That was down from $1.70 trillion in the previous week. Since the summer of 2007, the market has shrunk from more than $2.2 trillion. Pressure also is growing on the Fed to reverse course and order a deep reduction in its key interest rate, now at 2 percent. Such a move would be aimed at reviving the moribund economy by encouraging consumers and businesses to boost their spending. Many predict the Fed will act on or before its next meeting on Oct. 28-29. And, some believe it could be part of a broader coordinated move with central banks in other countries. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke may offer clues on the Fed's next move when he speaks Tuesday afternoon on the economic outlook and developments in financial markets.

President Bush also was set to talk about the government's bailout effort, which lets the government buy rotten mortgages and other bad debts from banks and other financial institutions. By getting these bad debts off bank's balance sheets, they might be in a better position to raise capital and more willing to lend to each other and to customers. As the number of failed banks has gone up sharply this year, Sheila Bair, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., wants to boost fees to financial institutions to replenish the insurance fund that backs the nation's deposits. The increase would double the average paid by U.S. banks and thrifts next year. The Fed pledged Monday to take additional measures as necessary to battle the worst credit crisis in decades. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has tapped a former Goldman Sachs executive to be director of the government's bailout program. Neel Kashkari, who has worked with Paulson at the department since July 2006, was chosen Monday as the interim head of the government's unprecedented effort to unclog the credit markets. Kashkari, who was a vice president in Goldman's San Francisco office before joining the department, is one of four former executives from the firm now working feverishly to resolve the financial crisis. The lending lockup is a key reason why the U.S. economy is faltering. Unable to borrow money freely or forced to pay a high cost to borrow, employers are cutting jobs and reducing capital investments. Consumers have retrenched.

Oil rises above $90 after steep slide By Alex Lawler and Jane Merriman
OCT 7,08

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose more than $2 a barrel on Tuesday after a big interest rate cut in Australia raised hopes that other countries would follow suit to bolster economic growth, a move that would support oil demand. The market spiked briefly after a report that a U.S. warplane violated Iran's territory and was forced to land in Iran. An Iranian state television station later said the plane was Hungarian, with no U.S. military officials aboard.The U.S. said it was unaware of any U.S. warplanes being forced to land in Iran.U.S. crude was up $2.64 at $90.45 a barrel at 10:31 a.m. EDT. It had settled down $6.07 at $87.81 on Monday after hitting an eight-month low of $87.56.London Brent rose $2.10 to $85.78 a barrel.Oil's fall on Monday was part of an international market rout, triggered by the credit crisis.

Oil traders were skeptical the rally would last.

It's a bit of a recovery, but hardly anything to speak of after very steep falls, said Christopher Bellew, a broker at Bache Commodities.It would be foolish to think the dawn has come in terms of oil prices going back up again.Oil has plummeted from a record high of $147.27 a barrel, hit in July, as high fuel prices and the growing financial crisis slow oil demand in top consumer the United States and other industrialized nations.

OPEC

Oil's drop has caused worry for some members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.If this volatility continues, OPEC will have to do something, Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya's National Oil Corporation, told Reuters by telephone.We may sit down together before December, he said. OPEC's next meeting is in December in Algeria.The spread of the credit crisis has intensified gloom about the global economic outlook and weakening prospects for oil demand.The U.S. Energy Information Administration revised down its forecast for world oil demand growth in 2009 versus 2008.The agency cut its forecast by 140,000 barrels per day from its previous estimate published last month.Analysts are watching oil demand from China -- which helped drive oil's rally from $20 in early 2002 -- for signs the crisis is hitting consumption in the world's second-largest consumer. News that Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex was evacuating four offshore oil platforms due to tropical storm Marco could become supportive for prices. Marco is expected to approach hurricane strength before reaching Mexico's Central Gulf Coast later on Tuesday.
(Additional reporting by Annika Breidthardt in Singapore; editing by Anthony Barker)

EU endorses bank deposit guarantees
RENATA GOLDIROVA Today oct 7,08 @ 09:24 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The 27 EU leaders have vowed to take all measures necessary to ensure the stability of the ailing financial system. According to a statement issued by EU French presidency on Monday evening (6 October), EU governments will not hesitate - if needed - to inject liquidity from central banks, to adopt measures targeted at certain banks or to enhance deposit guarantees. No depositor in the banks of our countries has suffered losses and we will continue to take the necessary measures to protect the system and depositors, reads the political declaration on behalf of all European leaders. In addition, they once again pledged close co-ordination and co-operation as they deal with the domestic effects of the ongoing crisis. However, thus far, the words of solidarity have yet to be translated into deeds. The Irish government was the first to take concrete steps towards blanket guarantees last week. Since then, Greece, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and the UK have all acted unilaterally in also promising full or significantly higher deposit guarantees.

EU solution

My preference would be by far an EU solution, EU competition commission Neelie Kroes told the European Parliament on Monday (6 October). That would be the best way to co-ordinate national actions and maximize their effectiveness, and at the same time, secure that negative spill-overs into other financial institutions and member states are limited.According to Ms Kroes, it is the very large scope of the Irish guarantee and its discriminatory potential that have raised concerns - the scheme covers not only existing deposits and credit, but also all future credit to all six Irish banks. I'm confident with some fine tuning, the Irish guarantee scheme could be put in line with EU law, the commissioner concluded. In general, the EU's fair competition watchdog took a softer stance towards other full bank deposit guarantees. The current financial crisis poses a systemic threat to EU banking sector ... and in this systematic context, general guarantees, protecting retail deposits and bank debts held by retail clients can be a legitimate component of the public policy response, she said.

Future clarity

The commission announced it would provide EU governments with clarity and legal certainty on the matter over the next few days. According to Zsolt Darvas from the Brussels-based centrist think-tank Bruegel, the full guarantee should be only temporary solution. There is a fear that households will go to banks, take out their money and the bank will face not only liquidity, but also solvency problems, Mr Darvas said, adding that guaranteeing deposits could be a good solution because it could comfort bank clients. But in a long run, the authorities should develop regulations that would prevent such situations as we are facing now from happening again, the analyst concluded. The issue - including amounts of guarantee and an impact on other EU states - will be debated on Tuesday (7 October) by all 27 EU finance ministers, EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Joaquin Almunia said.

Wounded Iceland takes over top bank, seeks Russia loan By Omar Valdimarsson
OCT 7,08

REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland took over its second largest bank, propped up a battered currency and sought on Tuesday a 4 billion euro ($5.44 billion) loan from Russia to help tackle a crisis threatening to overwhelm the island nation. Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Moscow viewed positively the request from Iceland, whose premier said it had faced a risk of national bankruptcy.The result will be announced after negotiations, Kudrin said.Prime Minister Geir Haarde said Icelandic officials would travel to Moscow on Tuesday or Wednesday to discuss terms for the loan to bolster the country's foreign reserves.With this, like everything else, nothing is certain until it's certain, Haarde told a news conference.He said Iceland would not default on its sovereign debt.Home to just 300,000 people, Iceland used emergency powers rushed through on Monday to dismiss the board of directors of Landsbanki (LAIS.IC) and put the bank in receivership.That tipped the country's crown currency into a 35 percent nosedive although it later recovered some ground.So volatile was the currency that Iceland's central bank was forced to introduce a currency peg at a value of 131 per euro. It was last trading around 150.An International Monetary Fund spokesman said an IMF staff team was in Iceland and Norway said it was ready to discuss help but had heard nothing from Reykjavik.

Iceland's commerce and banking minister Bjorgvin Sigurdsson said Landsbanki would be open and run as normal while changes were taking place. Iceland's Financial Supervisory Authority (IFSA) had replaced the bank's board with its own people.

Domestic deposits are fully guaranteed, as declared by the government. Landsbanki's domestic branches, call centers, cash machines and internet operations will be open for business as usual, the IFSA said in a statement.Ratings agency Standard & Poor's sharply revised its banking industry country risk assessment, saying: The recent developments likely mark the end of the Icelandic banking model as it had developed over recent years. The forthcoming unwinding of the banking sector is likely to have significant repercussions on the economy and on the banks themselves.

RUSSIA LOOMS LARGE

The central bank said a Russian loan would substantially strengthen Iceland's foreign reserves and support the crown, which Haarde predicted would should strengthen significantly when more normal trading conditions resumed.Four billion euros would be more or less what Iceland needs to cover the whole banking system assets with their reserves, said Elisabeth Gruie, currency strategist at BNP Paribas.
It's also a surprising move for Russia that reflects its desire to reaffirm itself as a world power.Political analysts pondered Moscow's strategy in the light of its increasingly robust dealings with the west. I think there will be a lot of eyebrows raised in NATO if Iceland does accept this loan. I think the Icelandic government will need to ask themselves and the Russians a lot of questions before they accept, said Carlo Gallo, senior Russia analyst at Control Risks.

EMERGENCY BILL RUSHED THROUGH

Iceland adopted sweeping powers over banks late on Monday as its financial system tottered and its currency plunged. The ruling alliance and opposition parties united to pass a bill that gave the state the ability to dictate banking operations, including provisions that allow it to push through mergers or even force a bank to declare bankruptcy. We were faced with the real possibility that the national economy would be sucked into the global banking swell and end in national bankruptcy, Haarde told the nation late on Monday. Iceland's biggest bank, Kaupthing (KAUP.IC), said on Sunday it was in healthy shape but only last week the number three bank, Glitnir (GLB.IC), had to be rescued. Landsbanki said it would restructure and rise again. The bank has not been put into liquidation but is in receivership which gives it a temporary protection from payment of debts and obligations, it said in a statement. Investment firm Exista kicked off what is expected to be a string of asset sales, saying it had sold its near 20 percent stake in Finnish insurer Sampo to cut liabilities. Iceland has found itself perched on a faultline in the global financial turmoil. The North Atlantic island has punched far above its weight in financial terms as its banks expanded overseas, investors took large positions in its high-yielding currency and foreign firms poured money into local projects. (Writing by Mike Peacock; editing by Ralph Boulton) ($1=.7358 Euro)

Euro Falls to 14-Month Low as Credit Crisis Spreads to Europe
By Kim-Mai Cutler and Stanley White

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The euro had its biggest one-day drop against the yen since its debut in 1999 as the deepening credit crisis prompted European governments to pledge bailouts for troubled banks while stopping short of coordinated action. The 15-nation currency declined to a 14-month low against the dollar and the weakest in 2 1/2 years versus the yen after leaders meeting at the weekend avoided announcing any plan that would mirror the U.S.'s $700 billion bailout. Germany joined with banks and insurers to prevent the collapse of property lender Hypo Real Estate Holding AG and Belgium announced a revised deal to salvage Fortis. The yen jumped 5 percent versus the Australian dollar as investors cut holdings of higher- yielding assets funded in Japan, known as carry trades. It appears that European governments are failing to grasp the real problem and are taking reactive measures instead of dealing with the underlying situation, said Ian Stannard, a London-based currency strategist for BNP Paribas SA. The market is disappointed with the results out of weekend meetings and that's going to put the euro under increasing pressure. The euro fell to 139.80 yen, the weakest since March 2006, before trading at 140.47 as of 7:36 a.m. in New York, from 145.11 on Oct. 3. The euro declined to $1.3605, from $1.3772. It earlier reached $1.3543, the lowest since Aug. 23, 2007. The dollar bought 103.31 yen, from 105.32, after earlier sliding below 103 for the first time in four months. The euro may fall to $1.3360 and below 137 against the yen this week, Stannard said. Against the pound, the euro fell to 77.02 pence, the lowest since March 14. It also declined to 1.5379 Swiss francs, the weakest in more than six months.

European Bailouts

The German government and the country's banks and insurers agreed on a 50 billion-euro ($68 billion) rescue for Hypo Real Estate after an earlier bailout faltered. BNP Paribas SA, France's biggest bank, agreed to take over Fortis's units in Belgium after a government rescue failed. It could be difficult for the European Union to take coordinated relief actions, Toru Umemoto, chief currency analyst in Tokyo at Barclays Capital, Britain's third-biggest lender, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. This is a risk and the currency market is focusing on this risk.HSBC Holdings Plc cut its forecast for European growth next year to 0.4 percent from a previous prediction of a 0.9 percent, economists led by Janet Henry wrote in a note to clients dated Oct. 3. UBS AG cut its outlook for expansion in Asia excluding Japan next year to 6.1 percent from 6.9 percent. The yen rose to 76.56 per Australian dollar, the highest since Sept. 17, 2004. It advanced to 66.85 versus the New Zealand dollar from 69.68 and to 50.5162 against the Brazilian real from 51.5240.

Unbeatable Yen

Japan's currency was the best performer in September and the only currency to appreciate against the dollar as a credit- market collapse drove Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. into bankruptcy and sent borrowing costs in Europe to record highs.

Deutsche Bank AG, the biggest trader of foreign exchange, says the yen will rise 5 percent in coming months. New York- based Morgan Stanley is telling clients to buy the currency versus the euro and the pound. After seven years of providing the cheapest source of funds for investors buying higher-yielding New Zealand dollars, Australian dollars and Brazil reais, the yen is appreciating as $587 billion of subprime mortgage-related losses force banks to restrict credit. It strengthened 4.4 percent on a trade-weighted basis in September, according to the Bank of Japan's effective exchange rate, the most since August 2007.

Easing Cycle

We are in a multi year trend reversal, said Paresh Upadhyaya, a senior vice president at Putnam Investment LLC in Boston, who helps manage $50 billion in currency assets. We are going to see a global central bank easing cycle. The yen is the place to be in this environment of economic slowdown and heightened volatility.
Futures traders increased their bets that the yen will gain against the U.S. dollar, figures from the Washington-based Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. The difference in the number of wagers by hedge funds and other large speculators on an advance in the yen compared with those on a drop, so-called net longs, was 43,022 on Sept. 30, compared with net longs of 31,939 a week earlier. The dollar fell for a fourth day against the yen on speculation reports will show a deepening slump in the U.S. economy. Pending home sales fell 1.1 percent in August after a 3.2 percent decline in the previous month, according to a Bloomberg News survey. The National Association of Realtors will release the data on Oct. 8. The U.S. Congress approved a financial-market bailout on Oct. 3, authorizing the government to spend as much as $700 billion buying troubled assets from financial institutions reeling from record home foreclosures.

Recession, Banking Crisis

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the U.S. economy will enter a recession significantly deeper than previously forecast, prompting the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by at least 1 percentage point. Gross domestic product will decline in each of the next two quarters, with unemployment reaching 8 percent by the end of 2009, Goldman said in a research note. It's unwise to buy a currency which is both in recession and having a banking crisis, said Peter Pontikis, a treasury strategist at Suncorp-Metway Ltd. in Brisbane. The dollar will weaken to $1.45 per euro over the next month, he said. Technical analysis shows the euro may fall to $1.3380 this week, said Kengo Suzuki, currency strategist at Shinko Securities Co. in Tokyo. The European currency is likely to extend last week's 5.8 percent loss as its daily moving average convergence/divergence chart is showing a sell signal, according to Suzuki. Support at $1.3380 is near the euro's 200-week moving average, he said. Support is a level where buy orders may be clustered. There's really not much to suggest the euro can stage a meaningful recovery right now,'' Suzuki said. It's been caught in a wave of panic selling and the charts show it can go lower still.To contact the reporters on this story: Kim-Mai Cutler in London at kcutler@bloomberg.net; Stanley White in Tokyo at swhite28@bloomberg.net

EMERGING MARKETS REPORT Russian stocks plunge 20% amid relentless selling
RTS stock index has fallen 62% this year, making it world's worst performer
By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch

4:07 p.m. EDT Oct. 6, 2008 NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The relentless wave of selling that has battered Russian equities in recent weeks accelerated Monday, sending local markets down nearly 20% on the day and forcing the two main stock exchanges to suspend trading once again. In Moscow, the dollar-denominated RTS stock index plunged 19.1% to end at 866.39 points. The index is down 62% year to date, making it the world's worst performer among major emerging markets. The global financial crisis, coupled with tumbling oil prices and heightened domestic political risk, have brought the Russian stock markets to their knees, with daily double-digit stock drops and trading suspensions becoming the norm in recent weeks. The Russian marketplace is suffering from continued liquidations, margin calls and redemptions as well as global market fears.— James Fenkner, Red Star Asset Management

At Moscow's other exchange, the ruble-denominated Micex index tumbled 18.7% Monday to finish at 752 points. You can buy assets extremely cheap [in Russia], said Reiner Triltsch, head of international equities at Federated Investors. It's for someone who has very little risk aversion, he said. It's too early and it's definitely too risky for my taste.Russian equities led a broad-based sell-off in emerging-market assets Monday, as the global financial crisis led to a sharp spike in risk aversion.

Russia in under severe strain, said Paul Biszko, senior emerging markets analyst at RBC Capital Markets. It's called deleveraging, right? Redemptions are very high, and that just means weaker asset prices.The steep slide in shares forced the Micex stock exchange to suspend trading three times on Monday for a total of four hours, a Micex spokesman told MarketWatch. The exchange will open for trading at the usual time on Tuesday, he said. The RTS stock exchange said in a statement that it suspended trading twice on Monday because of the sell-off. The Russian marketplace is suffering from continued liquidations, margin calls and redemptions as well as global market fears, said James Fenkner, principal and portfolio manager of Red Star Asset Management, a hedge fund that invests primarily in Russian assets. Longer term, global growth and robust oil and steel prices are needed to keep the Russian market from falling into a market abyss, Fenkner said in emailed comments.
Oil and gas stocks, as well as metals and mining shares, suffered the steepest losses Monday.

The RTS Oil and Gas index fell 22%, with shares of state-controlled Gazprom (UK:OGZD: news, chart, profile) and oil giant Lukoil (UK:LKOD: news, chart, profile) suffering double-digit declines. The RTS Metals and Mining index fell 15%, with shares of Russia's largest mining company Norilsk Nickel (UK:MNOD: news, chart, profile) going into free fall. In London trading, Norilsk tumbled 44%. The Russian equity market is dominated by resource stocks, particularly oil and gas companies, and as a result the recent tumble in commodity prices has hit Russia particularly hard. Crude futures closed at their lowest level in eight months Monday. Crude for November delivery closed at $87.81 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down $6.07, or 6.5%. See Futures Movers.

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).

Abkhazians call for recognition in European Parliament
VALENTINA POP Today oct 7,08 @ 09:26 CET

Abkhazia would never accept a return to Georgia and still hopes for international recognition of its independence, as well as for the EU to include it in its neighbourhood policy, representatives of the breakaway province told MEPs during a hearing on Monday (6 October) organized by the Green Party.The host of the event, German Green MEP Cem Ozdemir, said that his group had suggested for a long time for such discussions to take place, in order to prevent the escalation of the conflict.

You can't select your neighbours: You have to live together, he said, stressing that it is important for all parties involved in the conflict to look ahead and not to remain captive in a blame game.With a small, green-striped Abkhaz flag set up in front of his laptop, Viacheslav Chirikba, a Western-schooled advisor to the president of Abkhazia, presented in harsh terms such as genocide and even holocaust the history of his nation, concluding that Georgia has lost every moral right to rule Abkhazia.Russia's recognition of the two breakaway provinces' independence on 26 August following the war in Georgia was a surgical cut-off that would increase the stability in the region, he said.Using the same arguments as the Kremlin, Mr Chirikba claimed that the EU, the US and the OSCE have an irrational attitude in not recognising Abkhaz independence, after they did so in regards to Kosovo, thus proving the double standards with international law. So far, only Russia and Nicaragua have recognized the two break-away republics.

He also insisted that Abkhazia, home to some 200,000 people, was not planning to join Russia - as the much smaller South Ossetia wants - since it was economically viable as an independent country based on agriculture and tourism.In a more conciliatory tone, Abkhaz vice-foreign minister Maxim Gunjia insisted that his country does not seek any more conflicts, after one day of war destroyed 15 years of confidence building efforts.Do you think it was our dream to have Russian military bases on our soil? he asked, adding that there was no other solution than to ask for Russia's help. A military agreement is being currently drafted in regards to the Russian presence in Abkhazia, with the aim to maintain a maximum 5,000 Russian troops on its territory, Mr Gunjia told EUobserver.

EU can't guarantee peace

What the conflict proved, in the Abkhazians' view, is that the EU cannot give any substantive guarantees to stop or prevent a conflict.People only rely on the weapons at home and the Russian military bases, Mr Gunjia told the roughly 30 people in the audience.He insisted that the only way out was for the EU to promote a maximum de-militarisation of the region, referring to the Georgian army, but not the Abkhazian paramilitary or Russian troops.Mr Gunjia also would like to see EU funds from the bloc's neighbourhood policy coming to his country, claiming that Abkhazia is committed to implementing EU standards, as it would otherwise be unable to trade with Europe over the Black Sea.Asked by a German MEP who would be an acceptable partner in Tbilisi, if President Mikheil Saakashvili was to leave office, Mr Gunjia didn't want to give names, but said that a party or political group rather than one single person would be preferable.

Sarkozy pushes Barroso to kill internet piracy decision
ELITSA VUCHEVA Today OCT 7,08 @ 18:07 CET

The European Commission has rejected a request from the French president that commission head Barroso work to overturn the European Parliament's decision banning the cutting of internet access to websurfers who illegally download copyrighted films or music.President Nicolas Sarkozy last week wrote to the EU executive asking Mr Barroso's personal commitment to rejecting an amendment buried within the parliament's vote on a telecoms bill approved by a large majority of lawmakers on 24 September.It is fundamental that the amendment adopted by the European Parliament be rejected by the commission, Mr Sarkozy wrote. (Photo: © European Community, 2008 )

The amendment expressly forbade maneouvres such as the cut-off of internet service as a way of addressing piracy - something currently being considered by the French government. The European bill following the vote includes language declaring: No restriction may be imposed on the fundamental rights and freedoms of end-users without a prior ruling by the judicial authorities.This would in effect make a draft law on internet use planned by the French government null and void, as the latter stipulates that users who use the web for illegal downloading would see their internet access cut after two warning letters.It is fundamental that amendment number 138 adopted by the European Parliament be rejected by the commission. This amendment tends to exclude the possibility for member states to implement an intelligent strategy of piracy dissuasion, Mr Sarkozy wrote in a letter to commission President Jose Manuel Barroso last Friday, French media report.In order to have this amendment rejected, I request your personal commitment, as well as that of the commissioner in charge of the dossier [Viviane Reding], reads the letter first published on Ecrans.fr, part of French daily Liberation's website.The commission subsequently said it takes note of Mr Sarkozy's letter, but rejected the French president's demand.The European Commission respects this democratic decision of the European Parliament. In [our] view, this amendment is an important restatement of key legal principles inherent in the legal order of the European Union, especially of citizens' fundamental rights, a spokesperso for the institution told journalists on Monday (6 October).Additionally, according to commission, The language of the amendment is deliberately drafted in order to leave member states scope for reaching a fair balance between several fundamental rights, namely the right for the respect to privacy, the right to property and effective remedies, and the right of freedom of information and expression.The commission can therefore accept the amendment proposed by the European Parliament.In September, 573 MEPs voted in favour of the amendment tabled by French Socialist MEP Guy Bono, while 74 voted against.Mr Bono welcomed the commission's response to Mr Sarkozy's demand, stating: it is only by resisting political pressure from the member states that the European construction will advance and that Europe will at last become closer to its citizens.

The bloc's telecoms ministers will meet to discuss the telecoms package, including the issue in question, on 27 November.For its part, the French law was scheduled to be voted upon earlier this year, but this was later postponed until 2009. It is already highly controversial in France and critics say that, among other things, it could harm users whose IP addresses have been hacked, or others using multiple-user accounts.But Mr Sarkozy – himself married to singer Carla Bruni – has invested much personal effort in such policies, whose main goal is seen to be the protection of the creative industries against illegal downloading.

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Russia: Arms sales to Venezuela are defensive Tue Oct 7, 7:09 AM ET

MOSCOW - Russia's foreign minister says the country's arms sales to Venezuela are meant for defensive purposes. Russia has stepped up ties with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and is sending a naval squadron to Venezuela for exercises next month in a show of force near the United States. Russia has sold Venezuela weapons worth more than $4 billion since 2005 and announced a $1 billion credit for arms purchases last month.Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke Tuesday after a meeting in Moscow with Venezuela's foreign minister.Lavrov also told a state-run newspaper that Russia and Venezuela have no plans to attack anybody, suggesting a joint attack on the United States was unimaginable.

Russia, Venezuela exercises not aimed against US Tue Oct 7, 1:28 AM ET

MOSCOW, (AFP) - Military exercises due to be held by Russian and Venezuelan navy are not aimed against the United States, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview published Tuesday. Russia and Venezuela have no plans of attacking anybody, they cooperate on the basis of international law, Lavrov told the state Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily, slamming hypothetical scenarios of unimaginable attacks on the United States.Among the US leadership and that of several other countries that chose absolute loyalty to Washington's way of thinking, the geopolitical ideology of doing everything possible to rein in Russia prevails, the minister deplored.A fleet of Russian warships, led by the nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky, are due to take part in joint exercises next month with the Venezuelan navy near US waters, something which has not been done since the Cold War.The deployment follows the arrival of two Russian Tu-160 nuclear bombers in Venezuela last month also for exercises, an event that Chavez branded a warning to the US empire.

Israelis see delay in Iran-Russia missile deal By Dan Williams
Sun Oct 5, 1:13 PM ET

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Iran has not received Russia's advanced S-300 anti-aircraft system yet though the countries are still discussing a purchase, Israeli defense sources said on Sunday, revising earlier statements that a deal was imminent. The S-300 would help Tehran fend off any Israeli or U.S. air strike against its nuclear facilities. Analysts believe a purchase of the system by the Iranians could accelerate the countdown to military action designed to deny them the bomb.Israeli defense sources said last July that Iran was set to take delivery of the S-300 by year's end, and possibly as soon as September -- assessments not supported by the United States, which has led a diplomatic drive to rein in Iran's atomic plans.

Iran's Defense Ministry, which already has Russian TOR-M1 anti-aircraft missiles, said in December the S-300 was on order. On Sept 1, Iran's Foreign Ministry said there was no such order.We know that, as of now, nothing has been shipped, an Israeli defense source said on Sunday. There seems to be some kind of hold-up. The Russians and Iranians are discussing this, but we have also been speaking to Russia about our concerns.Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert flies to Moscow on Monday for talks in which he is expected to ask Russia to curb defense sales to Iran and Syria, another of the Jewish state's enemies.Russia has denied intending to sell Iran the S-300, the best version of which can track 100 targets and fire on planes 120 km (75 miles) away. The system is known in the West as the SA-20.A second Israeli source who has access to intelligence briefings said Iran appeared to be vacillating on whether to buy the newest version of the S-300 or a less advanced model.Delivery schedule will greatly depend on which version they eventually settle on. If the new one, then it's years away. The other version is readily available, the source said.

Neither source agreed to be identified given the sensitivity of the subject. Olmert told his cabinet that his Moscow visit would address both the supply of weapons to irresponsible elements, the actions of which greatly disturb us, and the Iranian problem, in which Russia has special weight.Israel, which is believed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, describes Iran's nuclear programme as a potential threat to its existence.Iran says its nuclear work is a peaceful project to generate electricity, but has stirred war fears by predicting the Jewish state's destruction.

Like Israel, the United States has alluded to military force as an option against Iran. Yet the allies have often differed on when Iran's uranium enrichment plants might yield enough fissile material for warheads. Israel's timeline is routinely shorter.(Editing by Dominic Evans)

Russia's Jerusalem land claim worries Israelis By TIA GOLDENBERG, Associated Press Writer Tue Oct 7, 6:59 AM ET

JERUSALEM - The Russians are coming to downtown Jerusalem, reclaiming ownership of a landmark with the approval of the Israeli government, just as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visits Moscow to try to iron out serious policy differences between the two countries. After years of contacts, Olmert's Cabinet agreed Sunday to hand over the small tract known as Sergei's Courtyard. The area, which once accommodated Russian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land, now houses offices of Israel's Agriculture Ministry and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.The property includes a lush garden and the massive buildings around it — a turret-like structure at the intersection of two downtown streets and the sand-colored fortress-like wings leading from it.The timing of the gesture is clear. After years of relatively smooth relations, serious problems have cropped up between Israel and Russia. One concerned Russia's summer invasion of Georgia, which has become a close ally of Israel in recent years. More importantly, Israel is concerned about Russia's role in helping, or not stopping, the nuclear program of Israel's archenemy, Iran.Olmert hopes to talk through those issues during his two-day trip to Moscow. He was scheduled to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday before returning to Israel.

Not everyone is happy about Israel's Jerusalem goodwill gesture. Hardline groups bridle at any transfer of control in Jerusalem, because they oppose Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts that would require sharing the city.Israel TV described the transfer as Russian autonomy in downtown Jerusalem. The Cabinet decision says no major changes can be made at the site without approval of both governments.The official transfer may be delayed because of an appeal filed by the nationalistic Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, which said the deal is a breach of Israeli sovereignty.Nachi Eyal, the group's director, warned the deal could set a precedent for other land claims.A Russian official denied accusations it seeks greater influence in the Middle East through the acquisition of Sergei's Courtyard, calling its desire to own the place a matter of historical significance.This has nothing to do with what is being called imperial ambitions because it's not a military base or something that can serve those purposes, said Alexei Skosyrev, a political counselor at the Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv. He said the building will be used as a Russian cultural center to promote bilateral relations between the two countries.The site, named for Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, a son of Czar Alexander II, was built in 1890 and is part of the larger Russian Compound, most of which Israel purchased 45 years ago. It paid in oranges because it lacked hard currency.Negotiations over the site began in the 1990s. In 2005, after years of lagging progress on the deal, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promised former Russian President Vladimir Putin the land would be returned.

Hamas in Egypt to talk Palestinian reconciliation By ASHRAF SWEILAM, Associated Press Writer OCT 7,08

RAFAH, Egypt - A high-level Hamas delegation has crossed into Egypt for talks with the country's intelligence chief as part of Egyptian efforts to mend the rift between Palestinian factions. The delegation is led by Hamas' strongman Mahmoud Zahar and senior officials Siyad Siam and Khalil al-Haya.Hamas' deputy leader Moussa Abu Marzouk is also heading Tuesday to Egypt from Damascus to join the talks.Hamas has been in control of Gaza since its violent takeover of the coastal strip in June 2007. Fatah leader and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been left in charge of the West Bank.Egypt hopes bilateral meetings will lead to direct talks between Palestinian factions.