Euro satellite launches European space rocket Ariane 5 is due to launch this week from Kourou, French Guyana. It will send digital broadcasting and data satellites into orbit.
Biodiesel review European Biodiesel 2008 in Brussels provides a comprehensive two-day review of the biofuel industry’s policy, strategy and technology
IAEA committee The International Atomic Energy Agency’s technical assistance and co-operation committee begins a two-day meeting in Vienna. The IAEA’s board of governors meets on Thursday.
Genome developments More than 300 scientists gather for the European Vascular Genomics Network annual conference in Badgastein, Austria, for three days of discussions.
Demographic future The Berlin Institute for Population and Development, a German think-tank, releases its report on Europe’s Demographic Future.
Landmine ban talks The 156 states that signed up to the 1997 ban on landmines meet for four days of talks at the United Nations in Geneva.
IMF board meeting The International Monetary Fund’s executive board meets in Washington DC. The agenda includes a discussion of Togo’s enhanced initiative for heavily indebted poor countries.
Russia-Venezuela exercise Russian ships and troops begin joint manoeuvres with Venezuela’s forces. Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s president, will met Hugo Chávez, Venezeulan president, for talks on Wednesday. On Thursday, Mr Medvedev will go to Cuba for a one-day visit.
Women’s role in Islam The Organisation of the Islamic Conference holds its second conference (to November 25) in Cairo, aiming to promote the role of women in Islamic society.
FT reports Doing Business in Austria 2008; China 2008
TUESDAY 25
FDIC briefing Sheila Bair, US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chairman, gives details of third-quarter bank and thrift earnings in Washington DC.
FSA chief addresses Lords Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, addresses the House of Lords’ European Union subcommittee on economic and financial affairs.
Construction expo Bauma China, a four-day showcase of construction and building machinery and vehicles, takes place in Shanghai (to November 28).
EBRD report The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development unveils its economic forecasts for 2008-2009 and considers how the global financial crisis will affect the EBRD region.
European space policy Future European Space Agency policy and funding will be debated at a two-day conference of ministers in The Hague.
Economic outlook The latest OECD Economic Outlook will be unveiled by Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel, the organisation’s chief economist, in Paris.
Freight’s future Denis Douté, freight vice-president for the French railway company SNCF, is among the speakers at the Future of Rail Freight in Europe conference in Brussels (to November 26).
Gas conference The European Autumn Gas Conference (to November 26) in Como, Italy, considers the industry’s strategies for the year ahead.
Czech treaty decision The Czech Republic’s constitutional court in Prague delivers its opinion on the accordance of the Lisbon Treaty with the country’s constitution. Czech ratification of the treaty is suspended until a decision has been made.
Wage study The International Labour Office in Geneva launches a new study, entitled Global Wage Report 2008/09: Minimum wages and collective bargaining: Towards policy coherence. This examines trends in wages worldwide over the past decade, and provides a forecast of wage evolution in 2009 because of the global financial crisis.
FT reports Senegal 2008; Middle East Banking and Finance
WEDNESDAY 26
Financial stimulus plan José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, unveils plans to help the European Union recover from the effects of the financial crisis.
Foreign minister speaks Eka Tkeshelashvili, Georgia’s foreign minister, addresses the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. The war with Russia and Georgia’s relations with Europe and Nato will be discussed.
Icelandic update Iceland’s central bank publishes a snapshot of the country’s macroeconomic position.
FT reports Corporate Finance 2008; Doing Business in the Thames gateway
THURSDAY 27
Council presidency Spain assumes the presidency of the Council of Europe for the next six months.
Trade agreements The World Trade Organisation’s committee on regional trade agreements in Geneva considers individual regional agreements and the implications of these on multilateral trade.
US Thanksgiving holiday Businesses close early on Wednesday as Americans travel to their family homes for the holiday. The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, is the traditional start of the US Christmas shopping season.
FRIDAY 26
Romanian elections Parliamentary elections take place in Romania, during which 137 senators and 332 members of the chamber of deputies will be elected under a proportional representation system.
SATURDAY 29
Monterrey review A United Nations conference in Doha, Qatar, (to December 2) reviews the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus. In 2002, nations including the US and the members of the European Union agreed to eradicate poverty and work towards achieving sustained economic growth.
Miliband in the Middle East David Miliband, UK foreign secretary, will visit Syria, Israel and Lebanon during a four-day tour to strengthen regional ties.
Euro parliament plenary More fruit and vegetables for school children and the threats facing continental Europe’s bees are among items on the agenda at the European Parliament plenary in Strasbourg (to November 20).
Duke addresses bankers Elizabeth Duke, Federal Reserve board governor, speaks in New York at the Institute of International Bankers on managing financial crises in a globally competitive world.
Morales at the UN Evo Morales, Bolivian president, addresses the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Support for Pakistan Friends of Pakistan – a group including the US, China and the European Union set up to give the country political and economic support – meets in Abu Dhabi.
African forum The Africa Partnership Forum meets (to November 18) in Addis Ababa to discuss “strategic, political and socio-economic issues relating to African development”.
Armenian aid The International Monetary Fund’s executive board meets in Washington DC to discuss Armenia’s request for a three-year loan.
Nuclear future Dennis Spurgeon, assistant secretary for nuclear energy in the US Department of Energy, speaks at a Chatham House conference (to November 18) in London examining the power source’s global future.
NZ inauguration John Key, leader of New Zealand’s centre-right National party, hopes to be sworn in as prime minister after securing 59 seats in parliament after elections.
FT report Mexico Trade and Investment 2008
TUESDAY 18
Merkel meets Berlusconi Angela Merkel, German chancellor, is due to hold talks with Silvio Berlusconi, Italian prime minister, in Trieste on the next G8 summit.
Australia short selling ban Australia’s Securities and Investments Commission is expected to lift the restriction on short selling of the nation’s stocks.
Policy innovation The OECD and World Bank’s Paris conference (to November 19), entitled Innovation and Sustainable Growth in a Globalised World, looks at innovation in policy areas such as science and technology, and education.
UN food meeting Ministers and officials from member nations of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation assess efforts to reduce by half the world’s undernourished people by the year 2015.
FT reports Risk Management 2008; Belarus 2008
WEDNESDAY 19
Retail real estate expo Investors and retail real estate developers meet (to November 21) in Cannes for Mapic, a yearly gathering. Mipim, the trade show’s Asian equivalent, takes place in Hong Kong at the same time.
Chief rabbi speaks Sir Jonathan Sacks, chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth, addresses the European Parliament as part of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.
FOMC minutes The US Federal Reserve publishes minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s October 28 and 29 interest rate meeting.
FT report Digital Business 2008
THURSDAY 20
Female director numbers The Cranfield School of Management publishes the 2008 Female FTSE report. Other research shows just 12 per cent of FTSE board directors are women.
Chief executive summit Lima hosts an annual meeting of Asia-Pacific region business leaders.
Fannie and Freddie hearing A US House of Representatives oversight committee investigates the collapse of federal mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Witnesses include Daniel Mudd, former Fannie Mae chief.
FRIDAY 21
Kosovo president at LSE Fatmir Sejdiu, Kosovo president, gives a lecture entitled the Independent Kosovo: partner for peace and stability in the region, at the London School of Economics.
Financial experts gather Developments in Global Financial Markets, a two-day conference at Wilton Park, West Sussex, gathers financial market practitioners, regulators and experts to discuss global regulatory, economic and pensions developments.
Spotlight on social economy The two-day European Conference on Social Economy in Strasbourg promotes entrepreneurship, competitiveness and economic growth in the European Union.
Ethiopian withdrawal Ethiopian troops are scheduled to begin a phased pull-out from Somalia after a ceasefire between the Somali transitional government and a main opposition faction.
Dublin franchise showcase The Irish Franchise Exhibition, in Dublin to November 22, is a showcase for business opportunities in the sector, with seminars and professional advice.
SATURDAY 22
Apec summit Lima hosts the annual meeting of leaders from the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation bloc (to November 23). Apec’s 21 member economies include the US, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Russia and South Korea.
Palestinian investment An investment conference to boost Palestine’s economy and peace talks takes place in the West Bank city of Nablus (to November 23).
SUNDAY 23
Islamic banking conference The World Islamic Banking Conference takes place in Bahrain, organised with the support of the country’s central bank.
Russia on EU agenda The European Union’s relations with Russia are likely to be discussed at the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council (to November 11) ahead of Friday’s EU-Russia summit.
Hamas-Fatah talks Cairo hosts a meeting aimed at restoring Palestinian unity between the Islamist Hamas and secular Fatah parties.
Economic leaders meet The Global Economy Meeting of central bank governors or officials of large industrial and emerging market economies enters its second day in São Paulo.
Icelandic compensation The UK government is to provide £800m of compensation to people who lost money in Icelandic bank Landsbanki. The financial services compensation scheme aims to pay most claims by the end of this month
European budget report The European Court of Auditors publishes its annual report, reviewing implementation of the European Union budget for 2007.
Dollar auction The Bank of England conducts a forward auction of dollars under the swap facility with the US Federal Reserve. Settlement takes place on December 22, and the option matures on January 8.
UN quizzes China China answers questions on its human rights record at the United Nations Committee against Torture hearings in Geneva.
Klaus visits Ireland Vaclav Klaus, Czech president, begins three days of talks with Brian Cowen, Irish prime minister. They will discuss the Lisbon Treaty ahead of the Czech Republic’s taking over the EU presidency in January.
FT summit The FT hosts Innovate 2008, an international conference in London for chief executives and innovation leaders (to November 11).
Saudi ruler in US King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia visits the US. On Thursday he meets President George W. Bush in New York and attends a United Nations meeting on interfaith dialogue.
FT reports Global Traveller 2008; Global Legal Education 2008
TUESDAY 11
Knesset to dissolve The Israeli parliament dissolves pending elections in February after Kadima party leader Tzipi Livni failed to form a coalition.
Commonwealth trade Commonwealth tourism ministers meet for two days in London to discuss boosting two-way trade between member countries.
Maldives swears in president Former political prisoner Mohamed Nasheed is sworn in as president of the Maldives after winning the October 29 election run-off. His victory removes authoritarian ruler Maumoon Abdul Gayoom after 30 years in power.
Focus on pensions The UK and Irish Pension and Investing Summit starts in Dublin (to November 12). Topics include opportunities for institutional investors.
First world war anniversary European Union president Hans-Gert Pöttering will join Nicolas Sarkozy, the European Council president-in-office, and president of the Commission José Manuel Barroso for a ceremony in Verdun, France, on the 90th anniversary of the end of the first world war.
Tourism ministers’ summit As part of the World Travel Market in London (November 10-13), the UN World Tourism Organisation hosts a one-day summit. Tourism ministers will discuss the downturn, climate change and poverty reduction.
Tobacco expo The World Tobacco China and Asia 2008 exhibition and conference in Macau (to November 13) focuses on the world’s largest cigarette market – 350m smokers who consume a third of the world’s tobacco.
FT report Bahrain 2008
WEDNESDAY 12
Bank boss leads debate Stephen Green, HSBC chairman, talks about the economies of China and India during a London School of Economics debate.
EU budget plans Dalia Grybauskaite, commissioner of the EU, presents results of a consultation about the union’s future budgetary priorities for 2008-9 in Brussels.
Nato ministers gather Nato defence ministers meet in Estonia for two days of talks with Ukraine’s defence minister, Yuri Yekhanurov.
WTO considers crisis Large providers of trade finance gather at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva to discuss the financial crisis.
Credit rating regulation Charlie McCreevy, EU internal markets commissioner, will brief the media in Brussels on plans to regulate credit ratings agencies.
EU special debates Two special debates are taking place in the European Parliament. One focuses on citizenship and representation in Europe ahead of EU elections in June 2009, the other on how a range of current issues affect the EU’s relationship with its citizens.
Call for bank oversight The US House of Representatives financial services committee considers oversight of legislation passed to loosen credit markets.
EU satellite policy The European Satellite Operators Association meets the European Parliament in Brussels to decide future policy options for the industry before the telecoms package review.
Cigarette regulation A World Health Organisation study group meets in Durban to advise Margaret Chan, WHO director-general, on recommendations to member states regarding tobacco regulation.
African conference The African Economic Conference in Tunis (to November 14) focuses on trade, migration, finance issues and climate change.
Gender inequality report Progress on lessening inequality between men and women is measured in the World Economic Forum’s global gender gap report 2008. It ranks 130 economies according to the size of their gender gap, based on economic and other criteria.
FT report Doing Business in the Isle of Man 2008
THURSDAY 13
Avian flu risk The Bird Flu Summit in Las Vegas (to November 14) will discuss international responses to the illness.
Somalia deadline The deadline falls for the rulers of conflict-ridden Somalia to form a cabinet.
Soros to speak George Soros gives testimony to a US House of Representatives committee on hedge fund regulation.
FRIDAY 14
G20 meeting An extraordinary meeting of the G20 begins with a White House dinner. On Saturday, G20 leaders will “review progress” of efforts to stem the financial crisis.
Energy outlook Nobuo Tanaka, International Energy Agency chief, gives a briefing on the world energy outlook for 2008 in Tokyo.
Tarp deadline Qualifying US companies have until today to register to benefit from the part of Treasury’s troubled asset relief programme under which it will buy up to $250bn of preferred stock in institutions that ask for aid.
Nato parliament assembles The Spanish parliament in Valencia hosts Nato’s 54th parliamentary assembly (to November 18).
- Gila
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