A compilation of brief news reports for Friday, November 7, 2008.
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Friday, November 7, 2008
Labour Party candidate Lindsay Roy defeated the Scottish Nationalist candidate by 6,737 votes, to win the UK parliamentary seat for Glenrothes in Scotland. Opinion polls had predicted a close race, but personal campaigning by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and a high turnout of 52% in Thursday’s vote, secured a high margin for the UK’s governing party.
- Agence France-Presse. “Labour snatches unlikely victory in Glenrothes by-election” — Google News, November 7, 2008
- “Glenrothes by-election: ‘The win has bought Brown some time'” — The Scotsman, November 7, 2008
- “Labour victorious in Glenrothes” — BBC News, November 7, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
28 people were wounded and at least 11 are dead after an explosion in the centre of Vladikavkaz, capital of the North Ossetia region of Russia.Local authorities suspect that Thursday’s explosion was caused by a female suicide bomber.
- Tony Halpin. “Suicide bomber in North Ossetia kills 11” — The Times, November 6, 2008
- Haroon Siddique and agencies. “North Ossetia bus stop bomber kills 12” — guardian.co.uk, November 7, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
At 0719 UTC (6.19 on Friday evening local time) a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 120 kilometres (75 miles) north east of the South Pacific island of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu.It was followed by several less powerful aftershocks. Reports from the US geological service placed the focus of the quakes at a depth of 35 km.Press reports say that no tsunami warnings were issued.
Vanuatu experienced a similar earthquake on Wednesday, near the island of Efate. That event had a magnitude of 6.3.
- “Tanimbar Islands of Indonesia hit by earthquake” — Wikinews, November 7, 2008
- “Two strong earthquakes rock Vanuatu” — Wikinews, August 1, 2007
- “Strong earthquake hits near Vanuatu” — Wikinews, August 7, 2006
- “Magnitude 6.4 – VANUATU 2008 November 07 07:19:39 UTC” — US Geological Survey, November 7, 2008
- “Latest Earthquakes Magnitude 5.0 and Greater in the World – Last 7 days” — US Geological Survey, November 7, 2008
- “Earthquake strikes near Vanuatu” — The Australian, November 7, 2008
- Agence France-Presse. “Quake strikes off Vanuatu” — Google News, November 7, 2008
- “Magnitude 6.3 – VANUATU 2008 November 04 18:35:45 UTC” — US Geological Survey, November 4, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008 17:46:00
American car manufacturer General Motors has lost 2.5 billion US dollars in its third quarter of 2008. The hemorrhage of cash has prompted GM to suspend talks of a “strategic acquisition” that some business analysts say may be referring to a possible buyout of Chrysler. Revenue has fallen nearly 5.8 billion dollars, greatly due to the recent global economic crisis which has caused consumers to sharply cut back on spending. The report indicates that GM could go bankrupt in 2009 without government assistance.
- Matthew Dolan and Jeff Bennett. “GM Posts Loss, Warns of Cash Squeeze” — Wall Street Journal, November 7, 2008
- Associated Press. “GM reports $2.5B 3Q loss, says it’s running out of money, suspends Chrysler takeover talks” — Newsweek, November 7, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
World stock markets posted another drop at close of trading yesterday.Blue chip indices showed losses of 3.55% in Tokyo and 6.84% in Frankfurt.Oil prices echoed the trend, falling to $60.77 per barrel, down 6.94%.
| Index | Country | Wednesday close | Thursday close | Change +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAC 40 | France | 3618.11 | 3387.25 | -6.38 % |
| DOW JONES | USA | 9139.27 | 8695.79 | -4.85 % |
| Nasdaq Comp | USA | 1681.64 | 1608.70 | -4.34 % |
| SBF 120 | France | 2590.99 | 2426.35 | -6.35 % |
| Dax Xetra | Germany | 5166.87 | 4813.57 | -6.84 % |
| FTSE 100 | UK | 4530.73 | 4272.41 | -5.70 % |
| Nikkei 225 | Japan | 8899.14 (Thu) | 8583.00 (Fri) | -3.55 % |
| Crude oil | USA | 65.30 | 60.77 | -6.94 % |
- This story incorporates translated text from a story in French Wikinews: “Crise financière : nouveaux replis des places boursières le 6 novembre 2008” (November 7, 2008) which has a license that is compatible with English Wikinews.
- “Nikkei” — Les Échos, November 7, 2008 (French)
- “FTSE” — Les Échos, November 6, 2008 (French)
- “cours du brut” — EuroInvestor.fr, November 6, 2008 (French)
- “Vue générale des marchés” — EuroInvestor.fr, November 6, 2008 (French)