Here is the Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 edition of what’s making news and interesting reads from around the world. Also please note that off to the left there are two widgets with updates on news from Asia and the world in a separate page: Around Asia & Around the World New Feeds.
Canada Goes to the Polls
Canadians vote in a national election that may not decide much at all. An opinion poll published on the eve of the general election gave Stephen Harper’s party 34.8 per cent of the vote, which would translate, into 136 seats in the 308 seat House of Commons. That would be a gain of 9 seats from the previous election, but not enough for a majority. More from the UK Telegraph.
US Treasury to Invest $250 Billion in Banks
The Treasury Department, in its boldest move yet, is expected to announce a plan on Tuesday to invest up to $250 billion in banks, according to officials. The United States is also expected to guarantee new debt issued by banks for three years — a measure meant to encourage the banks to resume lending to one another and to customers, officials said. And the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will offer an unlimited guarantee on bank deposits in accounts that do not bear interest — typically those of businesses — bringing the United States in line with several European countries, which have adopted such blanket guarantees. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 936 points, or 11 percent, the largest single-day gain in the American stock market since the 1930s. More from the New York Times and Euro News.
The Nikkei Soars 14.2%
Markets across Asia rebounded in dramatic fashion today after global efforts to shore up ailing banks sparked similar recoveries in US and European markets. Japan’s Nikkei 225 soared by 14.2%, its biggest one-day gain in its 58-year history. The benchmark surged 1171 points to close at 9447, surpassing its previous record jump of 13.2% on October 2 1990. The gains, however, covered only just over half the losses the Nikkei sustained last week, when it lost almost a quarter of its value. On Friday alone it plunged 9.6%, its biggest one-day fall since the stockmarket crash of 1987. More from the UK Guardian.
Cambodian-Thai Border Dispute
Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has given Thailand an ultimatum to withdraw from a disputed border area he described as a “life-and-death battle zone”. More from the BBC.