15/10/2013 00:00
TW
0

by MONITOR
NEITHER the passage by Congress of America's $700bn banking bail-out nor emergency measures announced by the British government did anything to halt the crisis in the worlds financial markets. There were some signs of the readiness of leading countries to co-ordinate their actions especially in an internationally timed reduction in interest rates but overall it seemed that the downward storm in stock market prices would have to be left to blow itself out.

In the last months of his presidency George W Bush's approval rating in opinion polls had fallen to below 25 per cent, the lowest of his eight years in office. In the election campaign Barack Obama opened a lead of between 3 and 5 per cent over John McCain in key states and the national vote. The Republican campaign received a blow when an official investigation in Alaska found that Governor Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate, had acted improperly in seeking the dismissal of a trooper whose marriage to Mrs Palins' sister had ended in divorce.

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president and diplomat for peacemaking work in Asia, Europe and the Middle East over 30 years.