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.

SEE WHAT TODAY BRINGS

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 MON OCT 06,2008

09:30 AM -126.48
10:00 AM -294.77
10:30 AM -403.89
11:00 AM -447.54
11:30 AM -402.22
12:00 PM -472.78
12:30 PM -488.08
01:00 PM -549.01
01:30 PM -513.41
02:00 PM -549.72
02:30 PM -721.92
03:00 PM -682.18
03:30 PM -442.12
04:00 PM -369.88 9955.50

S&P 500 1056.89 -42.34

NAS 1862.96 -84.43

GOLD 866.0 +32.8

OIL 89.24 -4.64

TSE 300 -572.92 10,230.43

CDNX -166.13 1,134.10

S&P/TSX 60 -31.08 615.58

PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO BUY INTO THE YEN AS A SECURE CURRENCY NOW, INTERESTING HAPPENINGS.

Russia stops trading twice today.
Dow dips below 10,000 for first time since October 2004.
Dow last closed below 9,800 points in November 2003.
Dow falls as much as 587 points is currently at 524.49 points as of 12:50 PM.
Dow down 750.84 at 2:35 PM
Dow down 800.06 points at 2:45PM
Dow has biggest one day percentage loss since October 1997,Down 7%
Dow dips below 9600 first time since October 2003.
Toronto Stock Exchange was down 924 points at one point.
S&P was down 8.2% at lows
Nasdaq was down 8.8% at lows.
France calls for G8 emergency meetng.

FINAL STATS FOR THE DAY

New York Stock Exchange 1621 New Lows, 1 New high.
All 30 Dow stocks lower today.
Dow was off 7.8% at lows.
Dow on track for lowest close in 4 years.
S&P closes down 3.4% today.
S&P on track for lowest closein almost 5 years.

WACHOVIA: PARTIES AGREE TO COOPERATE IN GOOD FAITH TILL WED AT 12PM EST.

ANOTHER DIFFICULT DAY

Final hour rally cuts losses by more than half.

Lack of Bids.

Most participants early on forced sellers.

Volume:moderate: 7 billion shares.

DO TECHNICALS MATTERS

Traditional signs of capitualationappear, but do they matter?

-New lows blow out: 50% stocks at NYSE hit lows today.
-VIX hits historic highs.
-defensive stocks sell off.

Dow plunges as much as 800 before closing down 369 By JOE BEL BRUNO and TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writers OCT 6,08 4:28 PM

NEW YORK - Wall Street suffered through another extraordinary and traumatic session Monday, with the Dow Jones industrials plunging as much as 800 points — their largest one-day point drop — before recovering to close with a loss of 370. The catalyst for the selling, which also took the Dow below 10,000 for the first time in four years, was investors' growing despair that the spreading credit crisis will take a heavy toll around the world. Investors have come to the realization that the Bush administration's $700 billion rescue plan and steps taken by other governments won't work quickly to unfreeze the credit markets.That sent stocks spiraling downward in the U.S., Europe and Asia, and drove investors to sink money into the relative safety of U.S. government debt. Fears about a global recession also caused oil to drop below $90 a barrel.The fact is, people are scared and the only thing they're doing is selling, said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. Investors are cleaning out portfolios and getting rid of everything because nothing seems to be working.The selling was so extreme that only 264 stocks rose on the NYSE — and 2,986 dropped. That's a telling sign considering the stock market is considered a leading economic indicator, with investors tending to buy and sell based on where they believe the economy will be in six to nine months.Monday's stock trading extended what has been an extraordinary stretch of volatility, in which triple-digit drops in the Dow are becoming almost commonplace. The steep decline indicates that investors are becoming more convinced that the country is leading a prolonged economic crisis that is shifting to other nations.The market view is shifting from looking just at the misery of the financial sector to the global economy, said Georges Ugeux, chairman and chief executive of New York-based Galileo Global Advisors. "There are enough indication that two things are happening: The crisis is spreading to other sectors, and that it is becoming global.

Ugeux believes Monday's rout had little to do with any short-term problems facing the market, such as paralyzed credit markets or ailing financial companies. He believes that, regardless of the late-day rebound in stocks, the reaction is clearly giving a downtrend and that there is a lack of confidence of investors into the future growth of the U.S. and the world economy.The Dow fell as much as 800.06, then recovered in erratic trading to a loss of 369.88, or 3.58 percent, to close at 9,955.50, dropping below 10,000 for the first time since Oct. 29, 2004. The Dow surpassed its previous record for a one-day point decline — 778, which the blue chips suffered a week ago when investors feared the bailout package might not pass Congress.Broader indexes also tumbled. The Standard & Poor's 500 index shed 42.34, or 3.85 percent, to 1,056.89; and the Nasdaq composite index fell 84.43, or 4.34 percent, to 1,862.96. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies dropped 23.49, or 3.79 percent, to 595.91.

Europe governments go their own way on crisis By PAN PYLAS, AP Business Writer OCT 6,08

LONDON - Individual European governments issued a cascade of deposit guarantees to shore up their banks but fell short of any coordinated action Monday to deal with the crisis sweeping financial markets, even as stock markets crashed and the euro sank to its lowest level for over a year. Though Europe's officials appeared to be paying lip service to the need for working together, they continued to make key announcements on deposits on a go-it-alone basis.France, which holds the rotating leadership of the European Union, said its 27 governments have each pledged to take all necessary measures to ensure the stability of the financial system but no joint action was forthcoming, fuelling the belief that the crisis would be handled differently by each country.Germany's Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck made clear his government's opposition to the idea that the euro zone's single largest economy should put up money to prop up institutions outside his country.He said Monday that he and Chancellor Angela Merkel were considering creating a shield that would protect the country's entire financial sector, and that a Europe-wide shield or bailout was out of the question. The chancellor and I reject a European shield because we as Germans do not want to pay into a big pot where we do not have control and do not know where German money might be used, he said in a separate interview with WDR 2 radio.

Germany deepened the sense that events were beginning to run out of control when German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday that her government would guarantee all private bank savings and CDs held in the country. We want to tell people that their savings are safe, she said.Iceland and Denmark followed Monday with a deposit guarantee, in the former's case only once trading in the shares of six of its banks had been suspended.Markets responded to the disarray by sinking rapidly, following selloffs in Asia. Russia shut down both its stock markets after they fell more than 15 percent.At the close, Germany's DAX was down 410.02, or 7.1 percent, at 5,387.01, while the FTSE 100 index in Britain was 391.06 points, or 7.9 percent, lower at 4,589.19. The worst performing major European index was France's CAC-40, which shed 368.77 points, or 9.0 percent, to end at 3,711.98 — its worst performance since it was initiated 20 years ago.Wall Street took its cue from Europe, with the Dow Jones industrials down 489.03 points, or 4.7 percent, at 9,836.35, amid growing fears that the credit crisis is spreading around the world.Meanwhile, the euro slid around 2 percent against the US dollar and was trading just above the $1.35 mark, its lowest level for over a year.Faltering onfidence in the financial system following a series of bank bailouts forced governments to offer deposit guarantees, analysts said, since failure to match those offered by Ireland, France, Greece and Sweden could risk a massive funds outflow.Yet the guarantees themselves raised questions about their potential impact on government finances and showed that European governments were still unable to find a unified approach despite a weekend summit where they agreed to do just that.Even if bank guarantees are not made explicit, it seems very unlikely that any European government would stand by and allow private depositors to lose their savings, said Jennifer McKeown, an economist at Capital Economics.

Whether they bail out banks as and when they fail or act pre-emptively to boost bank capital, as has been suggested in Britain, the pressure on government finances will be severe, she added.The crisis engulfing Europe and its markets has fuelled talk of co-ordinated interest-rate cuts from the world's leading central banks, possibly as early as Monday.Analysts said they wouldn't be surprised if the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England instigate the first joint action on interest rates since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S.

I think at this point (a coordinated cut is) quite likely with the current spread of problems at full strength on the European financial system, said Luca Cazzulani, a strategist with UniCredit in Milan. So far, the banks have continued to flood the money markets with additional liquidity. On Monday, the ECB injected another $50 billion into money markets while the BoE added another $10 billion. Additionally, the Fed said that 28-day and 84-day cash loans being made available to banks will be boosted to $150 billion each, effective Monday. Those increases will eventually bring the amounts outstanding under the program to $600 billion. EU finance ministers have an opportunity to discuss the crisis sweeping the Continent as they sit down for two days of talks in Luxembourg. This is a very serious situation and one that needs to be addressed ... but it's true that there is not one single magic bullet that will solve this, said EU spokesman Johannes Laitenberger. The latest attempt at finding a common response came after a weekend commitment by Europe's four leading economic powers — Germany, France, Britain and Italy — fell apart when Merkel announced Sunday that all 568 billion euros ($786 billion) worth of private deposits held in Germany would be guaranteed alongside a new 50 billion euros ($69 billion) bailout package for Hypo Real Estate AG, Germany's second-biggest mortgage lender. The EU is liable to be exposed as a fair weather construction, lacking the means of swift response and the hold over its citizens' loyalties to survive really adverse conditions, said Stephen Lewis, an analyst at Monument Securities. In response to the German move, the Danish Economy Ministry said commercial lenders had agreed to contribute up to 35 billion kroner, or about $6.4 billion (4.6 billion euros), over two years to a fund that will help insure account holders from losses. Austrian officials have indicated that they might join in as well. That was followed this afternoon by Iceland's guarantee of all deposits after trading was halted in six bank stocks. Icelandic banks' assets dwarf the rest of its economy and its currency has fallen sharply in the past week. Associated Press writers Matt Moore in Stockholm, Angela Doland in Paris, Patrick McGroarty in Berlin and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

U.S. calls for united front as crisis wrecks markets By Daniel Trotta
OCT 6,08 1:25 PM

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Governments and central banks around the world grasped at measures to contain the fast-spreading financial crisis on Monday, but global stocks still plummeted as investors bet the $700 billion bailout could not avert a recession. The response in Europe was fragmented, leading top U.S. officials to call for a forceful and coordinated global reaction as the Dow industrials fell below 10,000 for the first time since October 2004.Like the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq dropped more than 4 percent, and European stocks buckled even more with FTSE 100 and the FTSEurofirst indexes down more than 6 percent each.Emerging markets, which had gained most from the boom in commodities demand and surging global expansion in the last three years, were also sucked into the vortex. Trading was halted in markets as far afield as Brazil and Russia when indexes in there nose-dived 15 percent.This is a stampede, said Valerie Plagnol, chief strategist at CM-CIC Securities in Paris.French President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a statement from the 27 member states of the European Union saying individual countries would do all they could to safeguard the financial system.The EU pledged to protect people's savings and maintain financial stability while euro zone finance ministers gathered in Luxembourg in an attempt to attack the crisis in unison. But some analysts were pessimistic that European powers could stop the rot.The $700 billion bailout approved by the U.S. Congress on Friday failed to provide shelter as investors appeared convinced a recession was inevitable and fled to safe havens.The banking upheaval that began on Wall Street has effectively shut down interbank and other loan markets, pushing industrialized countries closer to recession. Conditions remained poor for interbank lending.

Even as Sweden, Austria and Denmark followed Germany's lead by offering guarantees to savers, investors from Tokyo to London continued to slash risk from portfolios and positioned for a further tightening of credit and bank lending.South Korea said it wanted crisis talks with Japan and China while Gulf equities crumbled under concerns the fallout would strike the region.With the U.S. presidential election less than one month away and the financial system coming to grips with a massive government intervention in America's proud free markets, the country was sorting out how it would confront the worst financial crisis since the 1930s Great Depression.

Still unresolved was who would run the U.S. Treasury Department's $700 billion program to buy up degraded debt in a bid to free up new lending by financial institutions that have been crippled by underperforming mortgages. The Wall Street Journal reported that Assistant Secretary for International Affairs Neel Kashkari would oversee it.The Federal Reserve announced it was paying interest on excesses reserves from depository institutions to address conditions in credit markets.Lost in the avalanche of bad news for struggling families was the continued drop in oil prices, which fell below $90. That was a dose of relief amid deteriorating macroeconomic signs including another 159,000 jobs lost in September, the ninth straight monthly reduction and the deepest in 5-1/2 years.

EUROPEAN BANKS TRANSFORMED

In Europe's sudden transformation of its banking sector, France's BNP Paribas agreed to scoop up assets in Belgium and Luxembourg of banking and insurance group Fortis for 14.5 billion euros ($20.1 billion) to become the euro zone's biggest deposit bank.Germany abandoned plans to handle its domestic banking problems on a case-by-case basis and is now considering a nationwide umbrella to shield its entire financial industry. On a frantic weekend, Germany clinched a revised rescue deal for lender Hypo Real Estate in which commercial banks and insurers will provide extra billions of euros of liquidity. Sweden became the latest European Union country to act, with the government saying it would expand bank deposit guarantees and the central bank raising the amount of loans offered to banks. It followed Germany's pledge on Sunday to guarantee private deposit accounts, a move that spurred similar action by Austria and Denmark. Ireland issued the first such guarantee last week, prompting criticism of a fragmented European Union response. We have a seriously weak and fear-driven market on our hands, said Tom Hougaard, chief market strategist at City Index in London. Trading in shares of Italy's UniCredit was suspended several times as volatile trading greeted the bank's abrupt U-turn decision to boost capital by 6.6 billion euros amid what it called unprecedented market turmoil. For its part, the Federal Reserve was pushing Citigroup Inc and rival Wells Fargo & Co to compromise over their competing bids for hobbled U.S. bank Wachovia Corp that could result in them carving up its assets. (Reporting by Reuters bureaux worldwide; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Europe governments strive to avoid bank meltdown By PAN PYLAS, AP Business Writer OCT 6,08 1:20 PM

LONDON - European governments struggled to find a coordinated response to the crisis sweeping financial markets Monday, as countries one after the other announced sweeping deposit guarantees on their own to try and shore up their banks. Stock markets plunged. Iceland and Denmark became the latest countries to declare a deposit guarantee Monday after a startling announcement by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday that her government would guarantee all private bank savings and CDs held in the euro zone's largest economy. We want to tell people that their savings are safe, she said.Faltering confidence in the financial system, undermined by a series of bank bailouts, was precipitating the measures, analysts said, since a failure to match guarantees by Ireland, France, Greece and Sweden could risk a massive fund outflow. Yet the guarantees themselves raised questions about their potential impact on government finances, and showed European governments were unable to find a unified approach despite a weekend summit where they agreed to do just that.Governments have no choice but to give the guarantees on deposits, otherwise we will see runs on banks and a complete loss of business and consumer confidence, said Neil Mackinnon, chief economist at ECU Group.The stakes have never been higher, he added.Markets responded to the disarray by sinking rapidly, following selloffs in Asia. Russia shut down both its stock markets after they fell more than 15 percent. Germany's DAX was down 428.04, or 7.4 percent, at 5,368.99, while France's CAC-40 was 350.74 points, or 8.9 percent, lower at 3,730.01. The CAC's fall in afternoon trading exceeded the record one-day decline of 7.39 percent from Sept. 11, 2001.

The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 269.30 points, or 5.5 percent, at 4,601.04.Wall Street took its cue from Europe, with the Dow Jones industrials down 430.81 points, or 4.2 percent at 9,907.55 amid growing fears that the credit crisis is spreading around the world.Meanwhile, the euro slid below the $1.36 mark for the first time in over a year.The crisis engulfing Europe and its markets has fueled talk of coordinated interest-rate cuts by the world's leading central banks, possibly as early as Monday.Analysts said they wouldn't be surprised if the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England instigate the first joint action on interest rates since the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S.I think we will see interest-rate cuts this week, said ECU Group's Mackinnon.

So far, the banks have continued to flood the money markets with additional liquidity. On Monday, the ECB injected another $50 billion into money markets while the BoE added another $10 billion. The Swedish Central Bank increased its lending to 100 billion kronor ($14.2 billion).Additionally, the Fed said that 28-day and 84-day cash loans being made available to banks will be boosted to $150 billion each, effective Monday. Those increases will eventually bring the amounts outstanding under the program to $600 billion.British Prime Minister Gordon Brown planned a call to Merkel to discuss the crisis, and Britain's Treasury chief, Alistair Darling, was due to make a statement to Parliament later. So far, Britain has raised its deposit guarantee only to 50,000 pounds ($87,900), but was under pressure to guarantee all deposits.French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke by telephone in the morning with Brown, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and was due to speak to Merkel later too.We need a coordinated response, Sarkozy said during a visit to a Renault car plant in Normandy. Meanwhile European Union finance ministers were set to begin two days of talks on the crisis in Luxembourg.This is a very serious situation and one that needs to be addressed, said EU spokesman Johannes Laitenberger. Obviously there is a great effort under way. Nobody is suggesting that this is business as usual, but it's true that there is not one single magic bullet that will solve this.The renewed effort to coordinate a response came after the weekend commitment by Europe's four leading economic powers — Germany, France, Britain and Italy — to work together. That commitment fell apart on Sunday when Merkel announced that all 568 billion euros ($786 billion) worth of private deposits held in Germany would be guaranteed, alongside a new 50 billion euros ($69 billion) bailout package for Hypo Real Estate AG, Germany's second-biggest mortgage lender.

The EU is liable to be exposed as a fair weather construction, lacking the means of swift response and the hold over its citizens' loyalties to survive really adverse conditions, said Stephen Lewis, an analyst at Monument Securities. In a joint statement Monday, Merkel and Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said the guarantee was an important step at the right moment.In response to the German move, the Danish Economy Ministry said commercial lenders had agreed to contribute up to 35 billion kroner, or about $6.4 billion over two years to a fund that will help insure account holders from losses. Austrian officials have indicated they might join in as well.

That was followed this afternoon by Iceland's guarantee of all deposits after trading was halted in six bank stocks. Icelandic banks' assets dwarfs the rest of its economy and its currency has fallen sharply in the past week. The markets are skeptical that Europe's piecemeal response to the crisis so far will work to stem the selling tide. The main problem for Europe is that a coordinated response has proved impossible to reach, and the case-by-case approach that has so far been applied has clearly failed to restore confidence, said Dragana Ignjatovic, European analyst at Global Insight. Meanwhile, Iceland halted trading in six bank stocks while the government drafted a crisis plan. Icelandic banks' assets dwarfs the rest of its economy and its currency has fallen sharply in the past week. Associated Press writers Matt Moore in Stockholm, Angela Doland in Paris, Patrick McGroarty in Berlin and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

Wall Street tumbles amid global sell-off By JOE BEL BRUNO, AP Business Writer OCT 6,08 1:20 PM

NEW YORK - Financial markets took a bleak view of the future Monday, seeing contagion in a credit crisis that threatens to cascade through economies globally despite government efforts to provide relief. The Dow Jones industrials skidded more than 400 points and fell below 10,000 for the first time in four years, while the credit markets remained under strain. Investors around the world have come to the sobering realization that the Bush administration's $700 billion rescue plan won't work quickly to unfreeze the credit markets. Global banks, hobbled by wrong-way bets on mortgage securities, still remain starved for cash as credit has dried up.That's caused stocks to plunge in the U.S., Europe and Asia, and drove investors to sink money into the relative safety of U.S. government debt. Fears about a global recession also caused oil to drop below $90 a barrel; and the benchmark index that gauges fear in the market jumped to the highest level in its 18-year history.The fact is people are scared and the only thing they're doing is selling, said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. Investors are cleaning out portfolios and getting rid of everything because nothing seems to be working.

The selling was so extreme that only 98 stocks rose on the NYSE — and 3,092 dropped. That's a telling sign considering the stock market is considered a leading economic indicator, with investors tending to buy and sell based on where they believe the economy will be in six to nine months.Monday's steep decline on Wall Street indicates that investors are becoming more convinced that the country is leading a prolonged economic crisis that is spreading to other nations. Over the weekend, governments across Europe rushed to prop up failing banks, while the governments of Germany, Ireland and Greece also said they would guarantee bank deposits.As the U.S. tries to shore up its battered banking system, the German government and financial industry agreed on a $68 billion bailout for commercial-property lender Hypo Real Estate Holding AG. And France's BNP Paribas agreed to acquire a 75 percent stake in Fortis's Belgium bank after a government rescue failed.The Fed also took fresh steps to help ease seized-up credit markets. The central bank said Monday it will begin paying interest on commercial banks' reserves and will expand its loan program to squeezed banks.In midday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 476.13, or 4.61 percent, to 9,849.25, dropping below 10,000 for the first time since Oct. 29, 2004. At one point, the Dow was down nearly 600.Broader indexes also tumbled. The Standard & Poor's 500 index shed 53.12, or 4.83 percent, to 1,046.11; and the Nasdaq composite index fell 101.86, or 5.23 percent, to 1,845.53. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies dropped 26.33, or 4.25 percent, to 593.07.In Asia, the Nikkei 225 closed 4.25 percent lower. Europe's stock markets also declined, with the FTSE-100 down 5.20 percent, Germany's DAX down 7.07 percent, and France's CAC-40 down 9.04 percent.The anxiety was again obvious in the credit markets. The yield on the three-month Treasury bill slipped to 0.42 percent from 0.50 percent late Friday. Demand for bills remains high because of their safety; investors are willing to take extremely low returns just to have their money in a secure place.Investors also moved into longer-term Treasury bonds. The yield on the 10-year note fell to 3.49 percent from 3.60 percent late Friday.On the Net:New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

Brussels gives nod to German bank guarantee plan
ELITSA VUCHEVA Today OCT 6,08 @ 18:15 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission on Monday (6 October) said Germany's announced plan to guarantee all its bank savings seemed in line with EU competition regulations, adding the situation was different from that of Ireland, which took a similar decision last week.The [German] measures seem to be limited to retail bank deposits and so less liable to give rise to distortions of competition, commission spokesperson Jonathan Todd told journalists in Brussels.In general, retail deposit guarantee schemes for savers can be an appropriate policy response regarding the stability of the banking system, he added.The comments came after Germany on Sunday vowed to guarantee the deposits of all private savers, in addition to announcing a €50 billion plan to save Hypo Real Estate, the country's second biggest property lender.Prior to this, a €400-billion plan by the Irish government to guarantee the deposits and debts of six Irish banks had prompted protests from foreign-owned banks operating in Ireland, and from Brussels.But Mr Todd said that one should differentiate between the German and the Irish measures.The thing we are looking at with the Irish measures is their scope because they go beyond retail deposits and the extent to which they may be open to non-Irish banks present on the Irish market, he stressed.But our understanding is that the precise details of the measures are still being worked out by the Irish authorities … So, we're not going to reach any definitive opinion until such time as the definitive arrangements are finalised.

Earlier, the bloc's commissioner in charge of competition, Neelie Kroes, had urged Dublin to change parts of its plan to assure it was not in breach of EU rules, adding she had information that this was going to be done.My people were in Dublin on Friday and Saturday, and returned with positive news that there will be corrections to the plan. They will correct the discriminatory elements which we don't like, Ms Kroes told Dutch television programme Buitenhof on Sunday (5 October), the Irish Times reported.You can't introduce something like that, it is not allowed. And a guarantee without any limits isn't allowed either, she added.

Russian stock markets plunge at opening The Associated PressPublished: October 6, 2008

MOSCOW: Russia's biggest stock market plunged by nearly 12 percent in the first hour of trading Monday amid dropping oil prices and the failure of the U.S. bailout plan to ease fears over the global economy.MICEX — where most trading takes place — was down 10.2 percent, or 830.2 points, at 11:50 a.m (0750GMT). The benchmark RTS tumbled to its lowest point since August 2005 with a fall of nearly 9 percent and drop below the 1,000-point mark at 978.3 points.Russia's stock market in recent years has boomed amid high prices for oil and natural gas. But the market began falling sharply in midsummer amid concerns about government interference with businesses, and the drop accelerated as the global economic crisis intensified. Oil prices, the backbone of Russia's economy, have been sharply down in recent days — dropping to US$90 a barrel — and investors have also been spooked by August's five-day war between Russia and Georgia.After trading closed for the weekend in Russia, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a US$700 billion bailout plan at the second attempt. But it provided little relief to investors, who are focused on deepening financial woes in Europe that threaten to derail global growth.The bailout does not look set to bring much immediate relief to suffering markets, Russia's Alfa Bank in a note to investors. With investors transfixed by the events in the U.S., buyers are scarce, and Russian markets are lurching downward on a day-by-day basis.Banking stocks were among the worst hit in Russia. State-controlled Sberbank, the country's largest lender — which at one point had plummeted 20 percent in early trading — shed 15 percent on MICEX, while the state-backed VTB banking concern also shed 15 percent. Mining firm Norilsk Nickel plunged by 24 percent on the RTS.

Asian markets plunge on fears crisis is spreading By ALEX KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer OCT 6,08

SINGAPORE - Asian stock markets plunged Monday as government bank bailouts in the U.S. and Europe failed to alleviate fears of a global financial crisis that would depress world economic growth. Investors took scant comfort from Washington's passage of a $700 billion bank bailout on Friday, focusing instead on a dismal U.S. jobs report that suggested the U.S. economy — a vital export market for Asia — could slide into a recession.As the financial turmoil deepened in Europe, Germany on Sunday announced a bailout package totaling 50 billion euros ($69 billion) for Hypo Real Estate, the country's second-biggest commercial property lender, after a rescue plan by private lenders fell apart. The move was part of a scramble by European governments to save failing banks.Across Asia, all markets were in the red. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index fell to its lowest level in 4 1/2 years, sinking 4.25 percent to 10,473.09.Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slid 4.3 percent to 16,927.87. Markets in mainland China, Australia, South Korea, India, Singapore and Thailand also fell sharply.In Russia, the RTS stock index tumbled more than 7 percent in first 20 minutes of trading.This credit crunch looks like it's not going away any time soon, said Alex Tang, head of research at brokerage Core Pacific-Yamaichi in Hong Kong. Apart from a credit crunch in Europe, investors are quite concerned about the worsening outlook on the U.S. economy.Investors appeared spooked by a series of developments out of Europe over the weekend.

Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme said Sunday that France's BNP Paribas SA had committed to taking a 75-percent stake in troubled European bank Fortis NV. British treasury chief Alistair Darling also said he was ready to take pretty big steps that we wouldn't take in ordinary times to help the country weather the credit crunch.The outlook for the U.S. economy darkened after figures released Friday showed that 159,000 jobs in the U.S. were lost last month, the fastest pace in more than five years.Such concerns overshadowed any investor optimism over the U.S. House of Representatives' approval Friday of a massive bailout plan that will allow the U.S. government to buy distressed mortgages and securities backed by mortgages from banks and other financial institutions.Investors questioned how long it would take for the package to unfreeze credit markets, restore bank lending and generally shore up the U.S. economy.The market had already figured in the package's passage, said Yukio Takahashi at Shinko Securities Co. in Tokyo. There are strong doubts about its implementation.Japanese financial companies and industries dependent on exports, such as steel, were especially hard hit Monday. Nippon Steel Corp. stock tumbled 9.8 percent, while Mizuho Financial Group was down 8.3 percent in morning trading.

Trading in mainland China resumed after a weeklong holiday break with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index sinking 5.2 percent to 2,173 by midafternoon.Banks and other financial shares saw heavy declines. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank fell 7 percent and Bank of China slipped 3.6.Shares of Ping An Insurance Co. rose even after it said Monday it will record a $2.3 billion loss on its stake in European bank Fortis in the biggest blow yet to a Chinese institution from the global credit crisis. Ping An's shares were up 1.6 percent.U.S. stock index futures were nearly 2 percent lower, suggesting Wall Street would open lower Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 157.47, or 1.5 percent, to 10,325.38 on Friday. In currencies, the euro slid to $1.3570 from $1.3774 late Friday. But the dollar was weaker against the yen, falling to 103.66 from 105.30 yen late Friday. Oil prices tumbled on speculation that slower global growth will cut crude demand. Light, sweet crude for November delivery was down $3.23 to $90.65 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this story.

Oil falls below $90 as financial turmoil spreads By ALEX KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer OCT 6,08

SINGAPORE - Oil prices have fallen below $90 a barrel on worries that the spreading financial crisis will exacerbate a global economic slowdown and cut demand for crude oil. Light, sweet crude for November delivery was down $4.69 to $89.19 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by late afternoon in Singapore.Oil prices have tumbled nearly 40 percent since peaking in July.The drop came as world stock markets plunged amid growing investor anxiety of a global financial crisis triggered by the bad debt mess in the U.S.Oil demand in the world's richest countries had already begun to slow since May, before the worst of the financial turmoil erupted last month.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil prices have fallen below $90 a barrel on worries that the spreading financial crisis will exacerbate a global economic slowdown and cut demand for crude oil.Light, sweet crude for November delivery was down $4.69 to $89.19 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by late afternoon in Singapore.Oil prices have tumbled nearly 40 percent since peaking in July.The drop came as world stock markets plunged amid growing investor anxiety of a global financial crisis triggered by the bad debt mess in the U.S.Oil demand in the world's richest countries had already begun to slow since May, before the worst of the financial turmoil erupted last month.

Paris summit fails to stop unilateral action by EU states
LUCIA KUBOSOVA Today OCT 6,08 @ 09:27 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Despite a display of unity and call for a confidence in the financial system by leaders of Europe's four biggest economies at a mini-summit in Paris, Germany took emergency measures to save one of the country's key mortgage providers and unilaterally moved to guarantee all private deposits to prevent further deepening of the banking crisis.On Sunday (5 October), Berlin hammered out a €50 billion plan to save Hypo Real Estate, Germany's second biggest property lender, after a previous bail-out deal of €35 billion fell apart. The country also announced it was guaranteeing the deposits of all private savers.The collapse of the earlier rescue arrangement - approved by the European Commission last week - was caused by a decision by commercial banks and insurance companies to withdraw from the deal. They were originally supposed to cover €8 billion of the savings costs.

Forced to follow Dublin

At a meeting with her colleagues from France, Britain and Italy in Paris on Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged those who were responsible [for the financial crisis] to be accountable, confirming Berlin's previous line suggesting that it should not only be governments and public money that comes to the rescue of the financial sector.Ms Merkel also criticised unilateral moves by EU member states to guaranteeing all deposits in banks as Ireland and Greece had done. She pointed out that Brussels would look into the issue and hold talks with Dublin and Athens.

However, only a day later, Berlin decided to take the same measures, announcing an unlimited guarantee for all private savings. We are telling all savings account holders that your deposits are safe. The federal government assures it, said the German chancellor after an emergency meeting with the central bank.

Snowball effect

Shortly after the Germany's move, Austrian finance minister Wilhelm Molterer said he would propose that Vienna also raise its deposit guarantee, in a bid to to ensure Austrian savings are not withdrawn and transferred to Germany, he told ORF TV. Denmark later also followed suit, with the country's finance ministry stating that the current situation is regarded with great concern, as it threatens financial stability in Denmark and, if unaddressed, it may cause significant disruptions to firms and households.Under the plan referred to as historic in the Danish financial history, the country's banks will over the next two years provide €4 billion in a so-called liquidation fund that would allow the ceiling on deposit guarantees to be removed, so that all deposits are secured irrespective of size, Danish daily Politiken reported.Britain and other large economies are now under pressure to consider the same move in a bid to calm bank clients, while Iceland's government agreed to sell off some foreign assets after struggling to find the cash needed to rescue the country's entire financial system.

EU4 message from Paris

The Sunday turbulence in EU capitals came following a desperate attempt by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his guests at an emergency mini-summit to boost confidence in the European financial markets. An EU-wide reponse to the crisis however was rejected - apart from co-ordination between countries, with moves to be left to member states themselves.We have taken a solemn vow as chiefs of state and government to support banks and financial entities to face the crisis. Every government will use its own system for that, but in co-ordination with other member states, he told journalists after a three-hour debate.The main message of today is that liquidity will be assured with a view to restoring confidence, said Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg's premier and finance minister, also invited to the meeting as the chair of the Eurogroup, a gathering of eurozone finance ministers.The mini-summit agreed on a list of initiatives that the four countries will present to other EU member states at a meeting of the bloc's finance ministers on Tuesday (7 October), and to their partners in the G8 club of world's leading industrial nations meeting in Washington on Friday (10 October).The list confirms their support for a change in accounting standards and rules governing rating agencies, sanctions for executives of failing banks as well as more flexibility for member states in meeting the budgetary criteria included in the EU's Stability and growth pact.However, the Paris meeting made no hint of a possible Europe's version of a bail-out plan for the financial sector similar to the $700 billion package adopted by the US House of Representatives on Friday (3 October).

Iceland unions push government to join euro
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today OCT 6,08 @ 09:22 CET

Iceland's trade unions want the country to join the euro in return for help in an economic rescue plan, as the island state's government holds emergency talks to shore up its teetering economy. The trade unions' Pension Fund Association (PFA) has told the government it is ready to repatriate some 200 billion krona (€13 billion) from overseas funds back into Icelandic banks, according to Icelandic public radio.

But the quid pro quo demanded by the unions is that the government apply to join the European Union and adopt the euro, according to reports in the Morgunbladid newspaper.A PFA memorandum argues the country's deepening financial crisis cannot be solved so long as Iceland holds on to the volatile krona, which has fallen 20 percent against the euro in the last month.Therefore we should aim for EU membership and the adoption of the euro as soon as possible, the Times of London quotes the document as saying.Membership in the bloc has long been opposed on the small North Atlantic island - whose population numbers only 320,000 - largely due to concerns over loss of control over fishing grounds under the EU's Common Fisheries Policy.

In 1994 Iceland signed the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement with the European Union, allowing it to participate in the European Single Market without having to join the EU.On 23 September, Iceland's European Committee, a body of government, trade union and industry representatives, met with EU officials to find out whether there were any legal blocks to Iceland adopting the euro unilaterally without joining the bloc.But enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said the euro can only be adopted through European Union membership after he met with the delegation, the Frettabladid newspaper reported.Mr Rehn added that if Iceland were to apply for membership, negotiations would take less than a year to be completed.In a separate move, the Icelandic government is expected on Monday (6 October) to announce an injection worth several billion euros into the country's central bank.

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.

Many dead in Tibet earthquake OCT 6,08

At least 30 people are said to have been killed in two earthquakes that struck Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, and surrounding areas, Chinese state media reports.

According to the US Geological Survey, the first earthquake on Monday measured 6.6 on the Richter Scale and struck at 4.30pm (0830 GMT), 80km west of Lhasa.The second tremor, measuring 5.1, hit about 15 minutes later, approximately 96km west of Lhasa.

The Xinhua news agency said that 30 people had died after the first quake struck, and that houses had collapsed near the epicentre.China's state Seismological Bureau said the initial earthquake occurred in Dangxiong county, which has a population of about 42,000 people, mostly herdsmen.I felt the building shaking a little bit and saw a bench overturn, said Ge San, an employee at the Baima Hotel in Dangxiong, who was sitting in a room with about five other employees.The shaking was not heavy. We stayed in the room and were not frightened.

Earthquake prone

China's far west is quite earthquake prone.A magnitude-5.7 earthquake shook on Sunday the Xinjiang region, which borders Tibet, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.Tibet, a remote, sparsely populated region, has been hit by several moderate earthquakes in recent weeks.Last month, a magnitude 6 earthquake struck near its border with Nepal but there were no reports of damage or casualties.

5.9-magnitude earthquake jolts central Afghanistan
www.chinaview.cn 2008-10-06 13:45:38

KABUL, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake of moderate strength shook central Afghanistan in the wee hours of Monday when people in the capital city of Kabul also felt the trembling of glass-windows and doors. There has been no report of life or property losses yet from local authorities. The quake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale jolted central Afghanistan at 03:26:29 a.m. Monday local time (GMT 22:56:29 Sunday), the United States Geological Survey said on its website. The depth of the earthquake is 10 km and its epicenter lies 70 km south-southeast of Kabul, it added.

One last earthquake measuring 5.3 occurred on Sept. 24 in northeast Afghanistan's Hindu Kush region, where in the past month has seen several such moderate shocks. Editor: Yao

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 Norbert strengthens off Mexico OCT 6,08

MEXICO CITY - Tropical Storm Norbert is growing toward hurricane force off Mexico's Pacific coast and forecasters say it might bring weekend rains and wind to the Baja California Peninsula. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says Norbert is centered about 325 miles (525 kilometers) south of Manzanillo and is moving west at near 8 mph (13 kph). Maximum sustained winds are near 65 mph (100 kph).It's expected to strengthen and turn toward the northwest. Forecasters say it may near southern Baja California on the weekend, but it's likely to slip below hurricane force first.

Meanwhile Monday, former Tropical Storm Marie faded to a tropical depression far out in the Pacific.

Tropical Depression 13 Forms in Gulf Kevin Roth OCT 6,08

Tropical Depression 13 formed in the Bay of Campeche in the extreme southern Gulf of Mexico Monday morning. As of 10 am CDT Monday the center of the depression was located 140 miles east of Veracruz, Mexico and was moving to the west-northwest near 10 mph. The depression is forecast to strengthen and could become Tropical Storm Marco later today or tonight. As a result tropical storm warnings have been issued along the Mexican coast from Tuxpan to Punta El Lagarto. Landfall of the system is expected to occur Tuesday morning along the Mexico coast near Veracruz. From there it should move inland and rain itself out over the mountains. Tropical Depression Marie.

Marie has been downgraded to a tropical depression as of 8am PDT Monday. It was located over 900 miles to the west-southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and was drifting to the west at around 2 mph. Marie should continue its weakening cycle and could dissipate in the day or two. Tropical Storm Norbert.

Tropical Storm Norbert continues to spin off the Mexico coast in the Pacific Ocean. As of 8am PDT Monday top winds were estimated to be near 65 mph. Norbert could become a hurricane tonight or Tuesday. It was located over 300 miles from the Mexican coast as of 8am PDT and was moving off to the west near 8 mph. A gradual turn to the west-northwest is expected tonight with a northwest turn expected later Tuesday. Norbert could move toward Baja California later in the week or over the weekend, so interests there should monitor the progress of the system.

ELECTION 2008 3 in 5 voters: Boot every congressman,59 percent say they'd kick out all members of House, Senate October 05, 2008 9:29 pm Eastern 2008 WorldNetDaily

If given the choice, a new poll reveals, 59 percent of Americans would sweep Capitol Hill clean of the current batch of senators and representatives to elect an entirely new Congress.Only 17 percent of those polled said they would be willing to keep the current Legislature.Rasmussen Reports conducted the national telephone survey on the heels of Congress passing a widely unpopular financial bailout bill, revealing a significant amount of voter dissatisfaction with the nation's current legislators.

The polling firm records a mere 30 percent of voters approved of the bailout, while 45 percent were opposed, and yet Congress passed it, leaving behind some highly critical voters.The new poll shows only 23 percent of Americans have even a little confidence in the ability of Congress to address the nation's economic problems, and 76 percent doubt that most federal legislators even understand bills before they vote on them.Further, less than half (49 percent) believe the current Congress is any more capable than a group of people plucked from the phone book, and nearly a third (33 percent) think the phone book congress would do a better job.Despite the Legislature's dismal 11 percent approval rating, Rasmussen Reports pointed out that 90 percent of Congress is likely to remain following this November's election.

Rasmussen Reports dug into history to reveal that for well over 100 years after the U.S. Constitution was adopted, congressional turnover in national elections averaged about 50 percent. Following the New Deal era, however, those numbers began to decline. Since 1968, no national election has managed to muster even a 10 percent turnover.The poll showed, however, that despite overall dissatisfaction, Democratic voters were more hesitant to throw the out the current, Democrat-controlled Congress.

Only 43 percent of those polled from Barack Obama's party were willing to sweep Capitol Hill clean. Among Republicans, 74 percent wanted to throw the whole batch out, and 62 percent of unaffiliated voters were willing to join in.Even so, when asked if they would vote to keep the current Legislature, only 25 percent of Democrats polled wished to retain the current Congress.

Obama-led US would protect eastern Europe
VALENTINA POP 05.10.2008 @ 22:20 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - If elected president of the US, senator Barack Obama would not trade eastern European security for Russian help on Iran, his senior foreign policy advisor, Gregory B. Craig, told EUobserver in an interview. Any notion that the US tried to sabotage the Lisbon treaty is silly, he added. Mr Obama would be a much more pro-European president than his Republican predecessor if elected on 4 November, said Mr Craig - a lawyer who led former president Bill Clinton's defence against impeachment and also worked as foreign policy advisor to former secretary of state Madeleine Albright.The US and Europe will have to co-operate with Russia in areas where they have common objectives and common ground, especially on non-proliferation - reduction of the global nuclear arsenal, security of nuclear materials and challenges such as North Korea and Iran - senator Obama's foreign policy man explained. [But] that doesn't mean that you trade away our security commitments to the new members of NATO, that's not even thinkable. I always remember the notion that the expansion of NATO was not a threat to Russia, that this was a decision not by NATO to move east, but a decision by the new democracies from the former Soviet space to integrate with the West.The notion that you choose to co-operate with Russia vis-a-vis Iran at the expense of central and eastern Europe, I just don't accept that. That's not viable and it won't happen that way, Mr Craig said.

Russia's aggressive stance toward neighbours who want to be part of NATO and the EU is a historical throwback, he added. I think the notion that Russia has a veto over what they decide inside of Ukraine or Georgia is very 19th to 20th century. In a 21st century world, with global impacts, global trends, Russia suffered enormously economically as a result of its intervention in Georgia.The Obama advisor underlined that new members of NATO are protected by a solemn security commitment, while NATO aspirant states can look to the United Nations charter that requires nation states to respect the sovereignty of other nation states.Although a country like Ukraine is not a member of NATO, Russia does not have under international law the right to violate the sovereignty of Ukraine. Even if there is no security obligation, the people of Europe and US will be supportive of the freedom and independence of the Ukrainian people to make their own decisions, to choose democracy and affiliate themselves with Western institutions if they want to.Mr Craig said that senator Obama would also stick to plans to build parts of the US global missile shield in Poland and the Czech republic, despite fierce Russian criticism. The new Democratic president would not turn his back on that agreement as it is a solemn commitment signed by Washington, Prague and Warsaw. The timing, pace and scope of the implementation of that agreement is going to be a matter left to the discretion of the president of the United States, he added, however. US military facilities in Romania and Bulgaria - also disliked by Moscow - are not up for discussion either, Mr Craig said. Democracies from the former Soviet space have every right to make their own decisions, he explained, calling the notion of a Russian veto a relic of the Soviet past.

Obama good for EU-US ties

The Obama camp believes America-bashing is decreasing in the EU in a trend that would be accelerated by a Democratic victory in November.The European Parliament president's recent request for an investigation into alleged CIA funding of the irish No-campaign against the Lisbon treaty is a freak event resulting from the parliament's own upcoming elections in 2009, Mr Craig said. Every election has its silly season ... this speculation or rumour that the CIA would support the No vote in Ireland is preposterous.It seems to me that the European Union has some problems with its public relations, not just in Ireland, but also elsewhere where the [EU] constitution has been defeated. That should not, in my view, deter the Europeans from continuing on the course of consolidating its institutions, the rule of law, economic trading agreements and greater co-operation. This has been the policy of many, many US presidents and it will be the policy of president Obama to support that.Asked why senator Obama didn't stop in Brussels during his European tour in July - which included Berlin, Paris and London - his advisor said it was just a question of limited time.We couldn't include every capital that we wanted to visit. We regretted not being able to go to Brussels for many reasons - because it's the European Union, it's NATO, it's a capital in itself of importance. And there is no doubt that at some point early in his administration, if elected, senator Obama would visit Brussels.

No League of Democracies

Senator Obama also disagrees with Republican candidate John McCain's idea of creating League of Democracies, a new global institution excluding Russia and China designed to escape the perceived deadlock of the United Nations Security Council, Mr Craig said.We would not want to exclude governments and nations from where their participation is required to solve problems. Creating another organisation that draws a line between us and them is not productive in solving the great challenges that face the world's democracies today, he explained. As flawed as it is, [the UN] is still the place people go to solve their problems. Not only about war and peace, but also about poverty and development, disease and the future of the planet. Creating yet another institution called the League of Democracies won't get us where we want to go, Mr Craig said.

FAITH UNDER FIRE Top insurer forces employees to study Buddhist teachings,Managers' retreat requires chanting om in dark room October 06, 2008 1:00 am Eastern By Bob Unruh 2008 WorldNetDaily

Buddhist book required for a Prudential Realty managers' seminar

A former Prudential Insurance manager is preparing legal action against the company, claiming she was fired after blowing the whistle on mandatory Eastern religious exercises that included chanting the Hindu mantra om in darkened rooms.Prudential Insurance Co.'s southern California real estate division also required managers to read a Buddhist book, charges the Christian ex-employee, whose name has been withheld pending formal action.The former manager's lawyer, Richard Ackerman of Ackerman Cowles & Associates, has written a letter to Prudential demanding the company stop requiring participation in the religous practices and warning he has been retained to pursue claims of religious discrimination, hostile environment and harassment against his client that led to her termination.Ackerman told Prudential California Realty, a Berkshite Hathaway affiliate, it must stop the discriminatory practice of segregating Christians from other employees and forcing employees to adopt and practice Buddhist theology as an implied or express condition of their ... employment.Ackerman told WND his client was instructed to go to a managers' seminar and was given a book, Buddha: 9 to 5, to study beforehand.The book, boasting it was "based on the Buddhist practice of the Eightfold Path, provides a hands-on set of tools to reawaken yourself, your employees, and your organization.Using the Buddhist concepts of Intention, Mindfulness, and Right Action, you'll be able to reap prosperity not just in profits but in stronger connections with your employees and your customers, the book instructs.

It was written by Nancy Spears, who was described in the book as a former marketing executive who embraced spiritual practice as a means of survival in the corporate workplace, who now is on the board for the Shambhala Mountain Center in Aspen, Colo., where she lives.Officials with Prudential California Realty did not return a WND message requesting a comment.Buddhist teachings introduced at a Prudential Realty managers' seminar Ackerman told WND his client was in the management ranks for the organization and was required to attend a management conference that focused on the Buddhist book. He said managers also were required to be in 13-minute sessions in darkened rooms where everyone was instructed to sit in the lotus position with hands held overhead while the om chant was performed.The om chant actually is more often associated with Hinduism, and an online information resource for the religion states, The goal which all the Vedas declare, which all austerities aim at, and which men desire when they lead the life of continence ... is om. ... Whosoever knows this syllable obtains all that he desires. ... Whosoever knows this support is adored in the world of Brahma.At the seminar, after the lights were turned back on, those who felt uncomfortable with the stunt were required to stand and explain. The participation in the mysticism conflicted with the religous and moral principles of the law firm's client, the wife of a local evangelical Christian pastor, Ackerman said.Basically what they did was made her life miserable [following her objections], Ackerman said.Ackerman's letter to the real estate company cited its 2007 Fall Leadership Conference - Rise Above Lake Arrowhead event.The event was, by all accounts, a required part of employment, Ackerman's letter said. Part of the event included an unexpected and rather shocking indoctrination into Buddhist theology and actual meditation/prayer practices.Both the speakers and the content of the conference required employee acceptance of anti-Christian theology, practices and beliefs, Ackerman wrote. While our office can conceptually understand the perceived need for acceptance, equality, and diversity, it is certainly unusual to require employees to engage in actual prayer/meditation exercises. Had employees been required to participate in Bible study, management-led compulsory prayer to the Holy Trinity, or other similar Christian practices, one can rest assured that complaints would be aplenty.He said the pastor's wife and other workers who objected to the mandatory religious activity were made to feel as though they were just not getting along with the intended program.Aside from the prayer activity, the program participants were also bombarded with Neuro-Linguistic Programming ideology, Ackerman wrote. He explained to WND the ideology is a basic part of New Age religion.

The uncomfortable employees were disregarded and treated as outsiders as a result of their discomfort with the infusion of religion and new age spirituality into the workplace, he continued. While it should have been apparent to anyone at the conference that mandating religious activity in a workplace is discriminatory, hostile, and inappropriate under California and federal law, the process went on anyway. In fact, the conduct toward my client was so shocking that she was caused to literally choke at the event and had to be rescued by a coworker, Ackerman said.

Following the conference, Prudential CEO Steve Rogers continued to cause management meetings to be opened with the Buddhist prayer rituals, the letter said.The manager's ultimate termination was on a false pretense last month, the letter said.

JERUSALEM DIVIDED

ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.

JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

ZECHARIAH 14:1-9 King James Bible
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE (THE EU DICTATORS TEMPLE)

REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

REBUILT 4TH TEMPLE (THE TRUE MESSIAHS TEMPLE)

ZECHARIAH 6:12-13
12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:
13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

ISAIAH 60:9-10
9 Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.
10 And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.

ISAIAH 2:1-5
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

MARK 11:9-10,15-17
9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:
10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.

EZEKIEL 40 TO 48 IS THIS 4TH TEMPLE TO BIG FOR THE MOUNT I BELIEVE TO BE BUILT 25 MILES FROM JERUSALEM.

FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU Palestinian leader, Islamist chief discuss Temple Mount takeover,Conspirators seek to solidify control over Judaism's holiest site October 05, 2008 8:37 pm Eastern By Aaron Klein 2008 WorldNetDaily

JERUSALEM – Meeting with an Islamist leader here, the Palestinian Authority's chief negotiator this past weekend discussed ways to solidify Islamic control over the Temple Mount and block Jews from purchasing real estate in areas surrounding the holy site, according to a source involved in the talks.The Palestinian Maan news agency quoted chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei as saying there can be no agreement with Israel unless it forfeits Jerusalem, and that postponing an agreement on the issue will only provide the Jewish state more time to Judaize the city.The Palestinian Authority will not negotiate and will not sign on any agreement with Israel that does not include Jerusalem, Qurei reportedly said during a meeting with Raed Salah, chief of the Islamic Movement in Israel, Sheikh Raed Salah, whose organization seeks for Islam to takeover the Temple Mount.The Palestinian leadership is decisive (in its stance) not to negotiate and conclude matters with the Israelis without Jerusalem, Queri said. The postponement of the discussion of this issue is aimed at continuing the Israeli plans to Judaize the holy city, especially the Al-Aksa mosque.A source involved in the talks told WND that Queri and Salah also discussed ways to solidify PA control over the Mount and to purchase strategic real estate surrounding the holy site.The sources said Queri and Salah also discussed ways for the PA to compete with Jordan for more control over the Temple Mount.

Jordan continues to maintain a major influence over the Temple Mount. Sheik Azzam Khateeb, who was installed in February 2007 as the new manager of the Waqf, is known to be close to the Jordanian monarchy. The previous Waqf manager, Sheik Adnon Husseini, was loyal to Palestinian Authority although toward the end of his rein, he seemed to be warming to Jordan.In a gesture to Jordan, in January 2006, Israel granted Jordan permission to replace the main podium in the Al Aqsa Mosque from which Islamic preachers deliver their sermons. The podium, which was partially funded by Saudi Arabia, is considered one of the most important stands in the Muslim world. Muslims now believe it marks the exact spot Muhammad went up to heaven to receive revelations from Allah.The new stand bears the emblem of the Jordanian kingdom. It replaced a 1,000-year-old podium believed to have been shipped to Jerusalem by the Islamic conqueror Saladin.That stand was destroyed in 1969, when an Australian tourist set fire to the Al Aqsa Mosque.In recent years, Jordan quietly has been purchasing real estate surrounding the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in hopes of gaining more control over the area accessing the holy site, according to Palestinian and Israeli officials speaking to WND.The officials disclosed the Jordanian kingdom in 2006 and 2007 used shell companies to purchase several apartments and shops located at key peripheral sections of the Temple Mount. The shell companies at times presented themselves as acting on behalf of the Waqf custodians of the Temple Mount, according to information obtained.The officials said Jordan also set up a commission to use the shell companies to petition mostly Arab landowners adjacent to eastern sections of the Temple Mount to sell their properties. They said profits from sales at any purchased shops would be reinvested to buy more real estate near the Mount and in eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods.

The report the PA is looking to purchase real estate near the Mount follows a WND exclusive article in January quoting informed sources stating the PA recently established an intelligence apparatus in Jerusalem to clamp down on Israeli Arabs selling property to Jews in strategic areas of the city.A contingent of Jewish groups, including an organization called Ateret Kohanim, work to strengthen the Jewish presence in Jerusalem by purchasing properties from Arabs, primarily in eastern neighborhoods, including in Jerusalem's Old City. Some of the purchased properties were formerly Jewish until Jews fled during Arab riots in the early 1900s.

The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism. The First Jewish Temple was built there by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Second Temple was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed from Babylonian captivity. That temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 70. Each temple stood for a period of about four centuries.The Jewish Temple was the center of religious Jewish worship. It housed the Holy of Holies, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and was said to be the area upon which God's shechina or presence dwelt. All Jewish holidays centered on worship at the Temple. The Jewish Temple served as the primary location for the offering of sacrifices and was the main gathering place for the Jewish people.According to the Talmud, the world was created from the foundation stone of the Temple Mount. The site is believed to be the biblical Mount Moriah, the location where Abraham fulfilled God's test to see if he would be willing to sacrifice his son Isaac.Jewish tradition holds Mashiach, or the Jewish Messiah, will return and rebuild the third and final Temple on the Mount in Jerusalem.The Kotel, or Western Wall, is the one part of the Temple Mount that survived the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans and stands today in Jerusalem.Throughout all notorious Jewish exiles, thorough documentation shows the Jews never gave up their hope of returning to Jerusalem and re-establishing their Temple. To this day Jews worldwide pray facing the Western Wall, while Muslims turn their backs away from the Temple Mount and pray toward Mecca.The Al Aqsa Mosque was constructed around A.D. 709 to serve as a shrine near another shrine, the Dome of the Rock, which was built by an Islamic caliph.About 100 years ago, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem became associated with the place Muslims came to believe Muhammad ascended to heaven. Jerusalem, however, is not mentioned in the Quran.Islamic tradition states Muhammad took a journey in a single night from a sacred mosque – believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia – to the farthest mosque, and from a rock there ascended to heaven to receive revelations from Allah that became part of the Quran.

Palestinians today claim exclusivity over the Temple Mount, and Palestinian leaders routinely deny Jewish historic connection to the site, but historically, Muslims did not claim the Al Aqsa Mosque as their third holiest site and admitted the Jewish Temples existed.According to research by Israeli author Shmuel Berkovits, Islam previously disregarded Jerusalem. He points out in his book How Dreadful Is this Place! that Muhammad was said to loathe Jerusalem and what it stood for. Berkovits wrote that Muhammad made a point of eliminating pagan sites of worship, and sanctifying only one place – the Kaaba in Mecca – to signify the unity of God.As late as the 14th century, Islamic scholar Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya, whose writings influenced the Wahhabi movement in Arabia, ruled that sacred Islamic sites are to be found only in the Arabian Peninsula, and that in Jerusalem, there is not a place one calls sacred, and the same holds true for the tombs of Hebron.It wasn't until the late 19th century – incidentally when Jews started immigrating to Palestine – that some Muslim scholars began claiming Muhammad tied his horse to the Western Wall and associated Muhammad's purported night journey with the Temple Mount.A guide to the Temple Mount by the Supreme Muslim Council in Jerusalem published in 1925 listed the Mount as the site of Solomon's Temple. The Temple Institute acquired a copy of the official 1925 Guide Book to Al-Haram Al-Sharif, which states on page 4, Its identity with the site of Solomon's Temple is beyond dispute. This, too, is the spot, according to universal belief, on which David built there an altar unto the Lord.

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 accuses Georgia of provoking violence OCT 6,08

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Monday it had written to European Union president France to express concern about a wave of violence in Georgia it said was part of a campaign by Tbilisi to derail a ceasefire agreement. But the Russian Foreign Ministry, in a statement, said it remained committed to implementing its part of the agreement: a pullback of its troops from Georgian territory adjoining the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and a handover to EU ceasefire monitors.

Russia sent in troops and tanks in August in a massive counter-attack to crush an attempt by Georgian forces to retake separatist South Ossetia.Large-scale fighting stopped a few days later, but in the past week there have been a series of low-level attacks, including a bomb explosion on Friday in South Ossetia in which seven Russian servicemen were killed.The impression is forming that certain forces in Tbilisi, who do not want a normal and smooth handover ... to EU monitors, are consciously seeking to worsen the situation in the region and through a series of terrorist acts are trying to provoke new military action, the foreign ministry said.

It said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had written to his French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner, voicing concern about the worsening security in the region. France's holds the EU's rotating presidency.Nevertheless, we are firmly intent on carrying out the agreement ... on the pullout of peacekeeping units from Georgian territory, the statement said.

Israel's Olmert brings security concerns to Russia By JIM HEINTZ, Associated Press Writer Mon Oct 6, 8:59 AM ET

MOSCOW - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will visit Moscow beginning Monday, aiming to focus on Russian arms sales to Israel's enemies. By contrast, Russia hopes the meeting will bolster its image as a Middle East peacemaker. Olmert's trip, which will include a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday, will probably be one of his last diplomatic ventures; he announced his resignation in late September. That leaves him with little apparent influence, and Medvedev's invitation may amount to a respectful farewell.But Olmert said Sunday he would emphasize Israel's security concerns, including the supply of arms to irresponsible elements whose activities worry us very much. He also said he would press for work to resolve the Iranian problem, where Russia plays a special role.Iran says it plans to buy from Russia advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missiles that could detect aircraft sent to destroy its nuclear facilities. Syria, which backs Hezbollah guerrillas who battled Israel in Lebanon in 2006, reportedly has asked to buy them, too.Russia has not confirmed the reports, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said recently his government was prepared to sell Syria arms with a defensive character.On sales to Iran, state weapons exporter Rosoboronexport said only that we do not have such information, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported Monday.Russia, meanwhile, is emphasizing its role as one of the Quartet of international mediators on the Middle East.The situation in the Middle East, the peace process and international priorities for its promotion ... will be among the central issue on the agenda, a Kremlin official said on customary condition of anonymity.

The official also said attention would be given to maximizing the potential of the mutually beneficial business partnership between Russia and Israel, noting that bilateral trade exceeded US$2.5 billion in 2007.Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has frequently called for Israel's destruction, and Israel suspects he means to carry out that objective by developing nuclear bombs with the help of a Russian-built nuclear power plant. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.Israel hopes international diplomacy will persuade Iran to halt its nuclear program but says all options are on the table if diplomacy fails. In 1981, Israeli warplanes destroyed an Iraqi nuclear reactor.The U.N. Security Council has approved three rounds of sanctions on Iran. But Russia, a council member with veto power, opposes tightening the sanctions any further.After four decades of Cold War animosity, ties between Moscow and Israel improved significantly after the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991. Israel is also home to more than 1 million Soviet emigres.But Moscow's position on Iran and arms sales to Syria have strained ties, as have Israeli weapons sales to Georgia, which Russia briefly invaded in August in support of pro-Russia secessionists.