- January 2
- Price of crude oil in the USA reaches US$100 per barrel for the first time. [35] [106.5] [310]
- In London, England, price of gold reaches a record US$861.10 per troy ounce, closing at $856.70, passing the previous high of $850 in January 1980. Platinum also rises to a record high $1,544 per ounce. [35] [106.89] [771.1]
- Death of George MacDonald Fraser, writer of Harry Flashman novels, at age 82. [111.78]
- January 3
- Rare snow flurries in southeast Florida, USA. [290.15]
- In Iowa, USA, the Democratic caucuses choose Barack Obama as candidate for the presidential election on November. National front-runner Hillary Clinton places third, behind John Edwards. The Republican caucuses choose Mike Huckabee over Mitt Romney. [35] [111.11]
- In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez announces a major cabinet reshuffle, naming Ramon Carrizales vice-president, and making 12 other cabinet changes. [35]
- A car bomb detonates, killing at least 4 and injuring 68, in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Police blame Kurdish rebels. [310]
- January 4
- In the USA, Warner Bros studio announces it will drop support for the HD DVD video disc format on June 1, and will exclusively release high-definition DVDs in Sony's Blu-ray format. Warner Bros is Hollywood's biggest seller of DVDs, representing about 19 percent of sales in the United States. [35] [111.56]
vvv advertisement vvv
^^^ advertisement ^^^
- January 5
- Georgia presidential election: 52 percent vote for Mikhail Saakashvili. [111.43]
- January 7
- General elections in the Marshall Islands. With 18 seats of the 33-member administration, Litokwa Tomeing defeats Kessai Note to become new president. [111.32]
- January 8
- An attempted assassination of Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is thwarted after a Boy Scout grabs the attacker's knife. The Boy Scout is injured, but after a scuffle police arrest the attacker. [310]
- January 9
- (to January 12) to be At the FUN 2008 convention in Orlando, Florida, Heritage Auction Galleries conducts the auction of the Madison Collection. Some highlights:
- US 1792 fusion alloy cent pattern, VF-30 PCGS: $603,750;
- US 1796 $2.50, no stars, MS-65 PCGS: $1,725,000;
- US 1796 $2.50, with stars, MS-65 NGC: $1,006,250.
[454.1] [548.79] [763.37] [781.1,76]
- The government of China announces tighter price controls on a range of products. [111.69]
- 70-car pileup along Interstate 4 in Florida, USA, due to fog and smoke. Five deaths. [290.17]
- Death of Sir John Harvey-Jones, British chairman of Imperial Chemical Industries, at age 83. [107.94]
- January 10
- In Colombia, FARC releases two former Colombian politician women hostages held captive in the country for six years: Clara Rojas and Consuela González de Perdomo. [107.39]
- January 12
- Parliamentary elections are held in Taiwan, resulting in a landslide victory for Ma Ying-jeau's Kuomintang party. [107.19]
- In Venezuela, the Unified Socialist party for Venezuela is launched, under leadership of Hugo Chávez. [111.32]
- A Macedonian Army Mil Mi-17 helicopter crashes in thick fog southeast of Skopje, killing all 11 military personnel on board. [310]
- January 13
- Cunard Line's Queen Victoria cruise ship (90,000 gross tons, 2000 passengers) makes its maiden voyage from New York for a 23-country, 36-port world tour. [73.13]
- Toshiba America Consumer Products cuts prices of its HD DVD players by between 40 and 50 percent, putting its range of prices at US$149 to US$399. [35]
- January 14
- Israel and the Palestinians open peace negotiations, the first final-status talks since 2001. [35]
- A group of Taliban suicide bombers attack Serena Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing eight staff and guests. [107.46] [108.44]
- In London, England, price of gold reaches a record US$910 per troy ounce, Platinum also rises to a record high $1,590.50 per ounce. Silver reaches US$16.80 per ounce, highest in 27 years. [35]
- In Scotland, the University of Edinburgh unveils the fastest computer in the United Kingdom, the HECToR (High-End Computing Terascale Resource). It can make 63 million calculations per second. The computer was made by American manufacturer Cray, at a cost of 113 million pounds. [35]
- At the New York International Numismatic Convention, Stack's Rarities conducts the auction of the Kroisos Collection. Some highlights:
- German Cologne City 1516 gold real, choice VF, unique: US$230,000;
- Italy circa 1763-78 gold 50-zecchini coin, AU: US$299,000;
- Poland 1621 gold 100-ducat coin, Polish victory over Turks, one of two known, EF or better: US$1,380,000, a world record for a non-US coin.
[394.2] [395.48] [455.84] [464.58] [470.94] [560.34] [781.77]
- U.S. researchers in Chicago, Illinois, report that new genetic evidence supports the theory that Christopher Columbus brought syphilis to Europe from the New World, in 1495. [35]
- The U.S. space agency's MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) probe passes about 126 miles over Mercury. This is the first spacecraft since 1975 to fly past the planet. [35] [310]
- January 15
- In India, Reliance Power raises a record 115 billion rupees (US$2.9 billion) in the first minute of stock trading. [107.84]
- In Michigan, USA, the Rupublican caucuses choose Mitt Romney as candidate for the presidential election on November. [35]
- The governments of Singapore, Kuwait, and South Korea invest US$21 billion in American finance companies Citigroup and Merrill Lynch through sovereign-wealth funds. [107.11]
- A general election is held in Barbados. David Thompson and the Democratic Labour Pary win with 20 of the 30 parliamentary seats. [107.40]
- The Federal Court of Australia orders a Japanese whaling company to stop research whaling within their Exclusive Economic Zone. [310]
- January
- Stanford Coins and Bullion of Houston, Texas, sells the Louis Eliasberg specimen of the 1870-S Seated Liberty dollar for US$1.3 million to Certified Acceptance Corporation. [482.10]
- January 16
- In Boston, Massachusetts, USA, Oracle Corp announces it will acquire BEA Systems for US$8.5 billion in cash. [35]
- January 17
- Israel closes the border with Gaza due to a rise in Qassam rockets hitting towns. [108.45]
- January 18
- Reverend Ian Paisley resigns from the Free Presbyterian Church which he founded 56 years ago. [108.55]
- In New York City, New York, a federal judge sentences Canadian Mohammed Mansour Jabarah to life in prison for plotting to bomb U.S. embassies in Singapore and the Philippines. [35]
- January 19
- French bank Société Générale discovers that stock trader Jérôme Kerviel had managed to defraud the bank of 4.9 million euros (US$7.1 billion) through bad bets on stock futures. This is the biggest trading scandal in banking history. [35] [108.73]
- January 21
- Stock market share prices worldwide drop in the worst day of trading since September 11, 2001. [108.11] [310]
- Death of Marie Smith (native name Udachkuqax*a'a'ch), last speaker of the Egak language, at age 89, in Alaska. [112.92]
- January 22
- The U.S. Federal Reserve reduces the federal funds rate by 0.75 points, to 3.5 percent, the largest single drop in 23 years. [35] [108.11]
- Russia stages the largest naval exercise since the fall of the Soviet Union in the Bay of Biscay. The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, along with 11 support vessels and 47 long-range bomber aircraft, practises strike tactics off the coast of France and Spain, and test-launches nuclear-capable missiles in foreign waters. [310]
- January 23
- At the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, New York, Virgin Galactic unveils the design of its next generation of space vehicles, named White Knight Two, and SpaceShipTwo, intending to take paying passengers into space on a regular basis next year. [35] [108.12,66]
- Palestinians blast holes in the metal wall along Gaza-Egypt border. Tens or hundreds of thousands of Palestinians pour through to buy supplies in Egypt. [108.45] [310]
- Polish Air Force EADS CASA C-295 crashes on approach to the 12th Air Base near Miroslawiec. All 20 personnel on board die. [310]
- January 24
- Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi resigns after losing a no-confidence vote in the Senate. [35] [145.58]
- A peace deal ends the Kivu war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [310]
- January 25
- In Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino is evacuated due to a fire which engulfed parts of the upper floors, facade and roof before being brought under control. [35]
- In South Africa, several large producers of gold, platinum, coal, and diamonds shut down their underground mines due to uncertainties in the electricity supply. [138.75]
- China's worst snowstorm since 1954 kills 133, delays traffic, and causes massive power outages in central and southern parts of the country. [310]
- January 26
- In South Carolina, USA, the Democratic caucuses choose Barack Obama as candidate for the presidential election on November. The Republican caucuses choose John McCain. [35]
- January 28
- In Florida, USA, the Rupublican caucuses choose John McCain as candidate for the presidential election on November. The Democratic caucuses choose Hillary Clinton. [35]
- January 29
- Iran's judiciary sentences to prison 54 Bahá'í Faith followers for 'anti-regime propaganda'. [310]
- January 31
- Microsoft offers to buy Yahoo for US$44.6 billion: US$31 per share in cash and stock. [35]
- February 1
- In Dambulla, Sri Lanka, a bomb explodes on a civilian bus, killing 18 people and wounding 50. [35]
- In Baghdad, Iraq, two suicide bombers kill 72 people, wounding another 149. [35]
- February 2
- Rebels attack the capital of Chad, N'Djamena. [310]
- French President Nicolas Sarkozy marries model Carla Bruni. [112.58]
- February 3
- Boris Tadic is re-elected president of Serbia. [112.55]
- February 4
- U.S. President George W. Bush unveils a record US$3.1 trillion spending plan for fiscal 2009, including US$515 billion for military spending, and US$70 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan for just part of 2009. Domestic programs would be deeply cut. The budget is the first to be presented electronically. [35] [112.32]
- In Colombia, over one million people protest in the streets against FARC, the largest demonstration in the country's history. [112.41]
- Iran opens its first space center and launches a rocket into space. [310]
- A Palestinian suicide bomber kills one and wounds 13 in a Dimona, Israel shopping center. [310]
- Death of Harry Richard Landis, at age 108 in Sun City Center, Florida, the second-last American soldier survivor of World War I. [118.8]
- February 5
- In Kenya, the death toll reaches 1000 in the crisis over a disputed election in December. [35]
- In the USA, 24 states hold Republican and/or Democratic caucus elections for presidential nominee. This day is referred to as "Super Tuesday". For the Democrats, Barack Obama wins in 12, Hillary Clinton wins in 7 For the Republicans, John McCain wins in 8 states, Mitt Romney wins in 6, and Mike Huckabee wins in 5. [35]
- U.S. stock market indices plunge more than 3 percent after a report shows signs of economic recession in the service sector. The S&P 500 fall 3.2 percent, The Dow Jones Industrial Average 370 points. [310]
- (to February 6) A tornado outbreak, the deadliest in 23 years, kills 58 in the Southern United States. [310]
- Death of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, guru and tycoon, at about age 91. [113.95] [310]
- February 6
- Over 60 tornadoes across the US South in two days kill 48 and injure over 150. [35]
- February 7
- New lunar year 4705, Year of the Rat to the Chinese system of Earthly Branches. [239.1]
- STS-122: Space Shuttle Atlantis launches to deliver the European-built Columbus science laboratory to the International Space Station. [310]
- February 8
- In the USA, the Supreme Court of Nebraska rules the electric chair is unconstitutional (cruel and unusual). This is the last state in the country to have allowed death by the electric chair. [113.39]
- February 9
- In Oceanside, New York, Philip Weiss Auctions conducts the auction of the Newport Collection of US inverted center error stamps. Some highlights:
- US 1918 24-cent Jenny airmail stamp, inverted center: US$271,200;
- US 1869 15-cent Landing of Columbus stamp, inverted center, unused without gum, one of three known unused: US$757,100;
- US 1869 24-cent Declaration of Independence stamp, inverted center, unused without gum, one of four known unused: US$1.27 million, a new record for a single US stamp;
- US 1869 30-cent Shield, Eagle, and Flags stamp, one of seven known unused: US$248,600.
[280.8] [774.8] [775.1] [798.3]
- Death of Murlidhar Devidas "Baba" Amte, champion of lepers and the handicapped in India, at age 93. [109.93] [310]
- February 10
- Fire severely damages Namdaemun, the first National Treasure of South Korea. [310]
- In Zurich, Switzerland, masked robbers steal four 19th century paintings valued at US$164 million from a museum, the biggest robbery in Swiss history. The four paintings stolen are Cezanne's The Boy in the Red Vest, Degas' Viscount Lepic and His Daughters, Monet's Poppies Near Vetheuil, Van Gogh's Blossoming Chestnut Branches. [35]
- February 11
- In Timor-Leste, rebels battle presidential guards at the president's home. President José Ramos-Horta is shot and wounded. Rebel leader Alfredo Reinado and another rebel are killed. [35] [113.49] [310]
- February 12
- At the International Space Station, the Columbus laboratory module built by the Europe Space Agency is installed and opened for the first time. [35]
- In the USA, General Motors reports a fiscal 2007 year loss of US$39 billion. [35]
- PDVSA, a state oil company in Venezuela, suspends sales of crude oil to ExxonMobil, in response to a legal challenge by them. [310]
- Bridgestone, under investigation for an alleged price-fixing cartel, uncovers improper payments of at least 150 million Japanese yen to foreign governments and withdraws from the marine hose business. [310]
- In Damascus, Syria, Hezbollah leader Imad Moughniyah is killed by a car bomb attack. Moughniyah was an elusive international terrorist of 25 years, accused or convicted of many high-profile bombings in the 1980s. [35] [113.54] [310]
- February 13
- US President George Bush signs a law for individual tax rebates and temporary investment incentives worth US$168 billion. [113.81]
- Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia delivers a formal apology to the Stolen Generations. [310]
- February 14
- At Northern Illinois University, former student Stephen Kazmierczak fires over 50 shots, killing five students and himself, injuring 16 others. [35]
- Swiss bank UBS announces a fourth quarter 2007 loss of 12.5 billion Swiss Frances (US$11.3 billion). [113.84]
- February 15
- The spot price of platinum closes at over $2000 for the first time, at $2060. [441.91]
- In New York, Wal-Mart Stores announces it will exclusively sell high-definition DVDs in the Blu-Ray format. Sales of HD DVD systems and drives will be phased out until June. [35]
- Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago, Illinois, declares missing millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett legally dead, five months after the airplane he was flying disappeared over Nevada. [35] [136.106]
- February 17
- Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company recalls 143 million pounds of beef, the USA's largest meat recall in California, due to the slaughter of cattle unfit for human consumption. [109.36]
- British central bank chancellor Alistair Darling announces the Northern Rock bank would be nationalized. [136.73]
- Kosovo Albanians declare independence from Serbia. [35] [109.52] [136.18] [149.61] [310] (February 18 [777.24])
- A suicide bombing by a Taliban member kills up to 80 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. [310]
- February 18
- Europe's major powers and the United States recognize the independence of Kosovo. [35]
- General elections are held in Pakistan. The Pakistan People's Party is first by votes (88 of 268 seats), with leader Asif Zardari. Second is the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) with 65 seats, and third is the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) with 42 seats. [109.47] [136.55] [149.53]
- Space shuttle Atlantis departs from the International Space Station, after delivering a European laboratory. [35]
- The British government introduces emergency legislation to temporarily nationalize Northern Rock, the fifth largest mortgage bank in the UK, due to the bank's financial crisis. [310]
- February 19
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average removes Altria Group Incorporated and Honeywell International Incorporated from its index, replacing them with Bank of America Corporation and Chevron Corporation. [113.8] [227][228]
- Armenia presidential elections: Serzh Sarkisian wins 53 percent of votes. [137.60] [139.66]
- Toshiba of Japan announces it is giving up on its HD DVD format. [35]
- A fireball and sonic boom are reported in parts of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia. [521]
- In Cuba, President and commander-in-chief Fidel Castro steps down, turning over power to brother Raul. [35] [310]
- February 20
- In Wisconsin and Hawaii, Democratic caucuses Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton for Presidential candidate. John McCain wins Wisconsin on the Republican side. [35]
- A total lunar eclipse crosses North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia. [310]
- Price of crude oil hist record high of $101.32 per barrel. [136.91]
- A U.S. Navy warship neat Hawaii fires a missile at a defunct spy satellite 153 miles up in the atmosphere, to destroy the fuel tank of hydrazine fuel, to prevent it from being released as a toxic gas if it had fallen to Earth. [35] [310]
- February 21
- In Belgrade, Serbia, rioters storm the US embassy and set it on fire. British, German, Croatian, and Turkish embassies are also attacked. [35]
- Thousands of Turkish troops cross into northern Iraq to hunt Kurdish rebels. This is the largest such incursion in ten years. [35] [109.50]
- Monaco Rare Coins of California sells one of two known US 1861 gold $20 coins with Paquet reverse, graded MS-61 by PCGS, for $2.5 million in a private transaction. [421.108] [786.5]
- February 22
- In a court in Yunan, China, four men plead guilty to producing fake receipts valued at 1.05 trillion yuan (US$147 billion), the largest scam in China since 1949. [109.70]
- Former building society Northern Rock is the first bank in Europe to be taken into state control, due to the U.S. subprime mortgage financial crisis. [310]
- No survivors are found after a rescue helicopter discovers the wreckage of Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518 just northeast of Mérida, Venezuela. The commercial plane had 46 people on board, including crew. [310]
- February 23
- In Saarland, Germany, shifting coal mine workings trigger an earthquake measuring 4.0. Work is suspended pending an investigation of safety of re-opening. [109.71]
- Microsoft announces it will cease making HD DVD players for the Xbox 360. [53]
- February 24
- A man in Yorkshire, England, wins 1 million pounds on a 50 pence bet on horse racing, by selecting all eight winners of races throughout the country. [35]
- In Cyprus, Demetris Christofias of the Communist Akel party wins the presidential election with 53.4 percent of votes. [109.53]
- In Cuba, Raúl Castro is formally designated to succeed brother Fidel Castro as head of the Council of State. [109.41] [310]
- Electronic Arts video game company makes a hostile bid of US$2 billion for Take-Two. [109.68]
- February 25
- Lee Myung-bak is sworn in as South Korea's new president. [35] [109.44]
- February 26
- Sotheby's reports 2007 sales of US$6.2 billion, a 51 percent increase above 2006. A record 748 works sold for over US$1 million each. [109.71]
- February 27
- The European Commission fines Microsoft 899 million euros (US$1.35 billion) for using high prices to discourage software competition, in defiance of a 2004 order from Brussels to provide the information on reasonable terms. [35]
- The US dollar drops to an all-time low against the euro, at 66 cents. [35]
- In the USA, the Fannie Mae government-backed mortgage company reports a loss of US$3.55 billion for the fourth quarter of 2007, due to increased foreclosures. [109.77]
- In the jungle of Colombia, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) free four Colombian hostages taken six years ago to Red Cross helicopters from Venezeula, in a deal brokered by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez. [35] [109.42]
- February 28
- A report by the Pew Center on the United States says the American penal system held more than 2.3 million adults at the start of the year, meaning more than one in every 100 American adults is confined in a prison or jail, the highest ratio in the nation's history. The report also notes that the United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world. [35]
- The European Court of Human Rights rules unanimously that a government may not deport an individual to a state where he may be at risk of torture. [109.63]
- Thaksin Shinawatra returns to Thailand from exile since 2006 military coup deposed him. [109.45]
- In Kenyan, President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga sign a deal setting up a coalition government. Odinga will become prime minister with wide-ranging executive powers, cabinet posts will be shared, and the constitution will be amended to formalize power-sharing. [35] [109.49]
- February 29
- American TV show The Young and the Restless becomes the number one rated daytime drama for 1000 consecutive weeks in the US, since December 1988. [156.13]
- February (month)
- U.S. government budget deficit for the month is a record US$175.56 billion. [35]
|