November 17, 2008 (Monday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- The MV Sirius Star, a Saudi-owned oil tanker, is captured off the coast of Somalia by pirates. This is the largest vessel to date to be hijacked by Somali pirates. (BBC News)
Business and economy
- Global financial crisis of 2008:
- Citigroup will cut 75,000 jobs by early 2009. (BBC News)
- The Japanese economy posts consecutive second-quarter contraction for the first time since 2001, officially putting the country in a recession. (CNN-IBN)
- On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil futures contracts fall by 3.7% to close at $US54.95 per barrel, the lowest price in 22 months. (MarketWatch)
- 2008 Russian financial crisis: The Russian Trading System stock exchange is suspended after its nine indices fall by more than 5%. (Forbes)