Wikinews:Briefs/October 12, 2008
Audio Wikinews Brief for October 12, 2008
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From Wikinews, the free news source, this is the Audio Wikinews Brief for Saturday, October 12, 2008. I'm Kevin Fields, and here are today's current stories.
In the midst of the intensifying global financial crisis, finance ministers and central bankers of the G7 nations - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom - met in Washington, D.C. Friday evening and released a joint statement. With failures of large financial institutions in the United States, the crisis rapidly evolved into a global crisis resulting in bank failures in Europe and the Americas, and sharp reductions in the value of stocks and commodities worldwide. The crisis further lead to a liquidity problem and the de-leveraging of world assets, which further accelerated the problem. The crisis has roots in the subprime mortgage crisis and is an acute phase of the financial crisis of 2007-2008. After the meeting, a joint statement was released with a commitment to "stabilize financial markets and restore the flow of credit."
George W. Bush, the President of the United States, has attempted to reassure Americans on the economy in his weekly radio address on Saturday. "Over the past few days, we have witnessed a startling drop in the stock market -- much of it driven by uncertainty and fear," he said, introducing the address. "Many Americans have serious concerns about their economic well-being."
"The Fed has joined with central banks around the world to coordinate a cut in interest rates -- a step that should help free up credit."
"Second, some Americans are concerned about whether their money is safe," continued the president. "So the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National Credit Union Administration have significantly expanded the amount of money insured in savings accounts and checking accounts and certificates of deposit. That means that if you have up to $250,000 in one of these insured accounts, every penny of that money is safe."
Bush then said that there was an issue with fraud in the economy. He stated that, to address this issue, "the Securities and Exchange Commission is launching rigorous enforcement actions to detect fraud and manipulation in the market."
Thailand's People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) announced a planned rally this coming Monday at the national stadium and march to police headquarters in protest at action taken against demonstrators last Tuesday. Tuesday's protest, where attempts were made to block MPs access to and from parliament, turned ugly when police employed tear gas and other measures to disperse the PAD crowd. Two protesters died, over four hundred were injured, and reports indicate that as many as ten may be missing. The ongoing protests and demonstrations are aimed at toppling the governing People's Power Party (PPP) who are accused of being a proxy for deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's outlawed Thai Rak Thai party. Thailand's troubles saw the Prime Minister, Somchai Wongsawat, cancel a number of foreign visits. The beleagured PM had planned to visit five ASEAN partner countries in a tour that would have started next week. Additional trips to Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar (formerly Burma) were cancelled. According to a member of the PPP this is due to the current unrest.
An Alaskan legislative investigation, nicknamed 'Troopergate', concluded Friday that Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin had abused her power during her time as Alaskan governor. The report, released by a bipartisan investigative committee, found that Palin had violated the state Ethics Act when she allowed her husband to pressure former Commissioner of Public Safety Walt Monegan into firing state trooper Mike Wooten; however, she was well within her rights to fire Monegan because of disagreement on budget cuts. Sarah Palin had "knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda," the report went on to say. While the investigative committee had agreed unanimously to release the report, a few Republicans on the panel had attempted to halt the investigation, citing political bias.
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