Eight financial companies - Citigroup Inc, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Wells Fargo & Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co, American International Group Inc, Bank of America Corp and GE Financial - are in greatest need of capital, Miller said. Combined, these eight companies have roughly $12.2 trillion of assets AND ONLY $406 BILLION OF TANGIBLE COMMON CAPITAL, OR JUST 3.4 PERCENT, the analyst said in his note to clients.

Miller said these institutions need somewhere between $1 trillion and $1.2 trillion of capital to put their balance sheets back on solid ground and begin to extend credit again, given their dependence on short-term funding and the illiquid nature of their asset bases. Currently, THE U.S. FINANCIAL SYSTEM HAS $37 TRILLION OF DEBT OUTSTANDING, Miller noted.

"THE PREDICTION THAT AN UNDISCIPLINED ECONOMY WOULD COLLAPSE BY ITS OWN RULES CAN BE FOUND" in an article written by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became pope in April 2005, Tremonti said yesterday at Milan's Cattolica University. German-born Ratzinger in 1985 presented a paper entitled "Market Economy and Ethics" at a Rome event dedicated to the Church and the economy. THE FUTURE POPE SAID A DECLINE IN ETHICS "CAN ACTUALLY CAUSE THE LAWS OF THE MARKET TO COLLAPSE."

Pope Benedict in an Oct. 7 speech reflected on crashing markets and concluded that "money vanishes, it is nothing" and warned that "the only solid reality is the word of God." The Vatican's official newspaper, l'Osservatore Romano, on the same day criticized the free-market model for having "grown too much and badly in the past two decades."

And where do the experts get their information from? "The figures detailing Iran's progress were contained in a routine update on Wednesday from the INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, which has been conducting inspections of the country's main nuclear plant at Natanz. The report concluded that as of early this month, Iran had made 630 kilograms, or about 1,390 pounds, of low-enriched uranium."

First and foremost, Iran would have to further purify the fuel and turn it into a warhead design. The Times report says that this is "a technical advance that Western experts are unsure Iran has yet achieved." One must not forget that the enriched uranium is low grade. For now, it can be used for nuclear power plants. However, it can be further refined into higher grade uranium. To do that, enrichment facilities at Natanz would have to go through major visible reconfigurations. For example, all the piping infrastructure will have to be redone. This would make it very difficult for Iran to hide from the IAEA inspectors.

UNLESS, THAT IS, THERE ARE SECRET FACILITIES where the low enriched uranium is purified, away from the eyes and knowledge of the IAEA. AND THIS IS VERY POSSIBLE.

The price of oil is around two-thirds cheaper than in July, when it hit a record above $147 a barrel. Members of oil cartel Opec are to meet on November 29, after opting to cut output by 1.5 million barrels per day. "The lack of any positive news on the demand front as well as continued global economic turmoil continues to result in a dearth of bullish news," said Jonathan Kornafel, Asia director of Hudson Capital Energy.

Sir Tom said he was "sorry" about the financial and human cost that the bank's troubles have caused. Earlier this month, RBS said it expected to report ITS FIRST FULL-YEAR LOSS IN ITS ALMOST 300-YEAR HISTORY. The chairman said the current crisis was the most difficult experience "in over 40 years of my working life".

He said the challenges the bank - and the banking sector - now faced "were unprecedented. I, as the chairman of RBS Group, both personally and in the office I hold, am profoundly sorry about the position we have reached," he said.

The shareholders' vote means THAT THE GOVERNMENT COULD END UP TAKING A STAKE OF UP TO 60% IN THE TROUBLED BANK. Under the terms of the £20bn capital raising, RBS plans to raise up to £15bn from investors by selling shares at 65.5 pence each. If the shares are not taken up, the government will acquire them. The government will also directly buy preference shares in the bank - worth a total of £5bn.

Wolf argues that membership of the euro area would mean a decade-long grinding adjustment through the real economy, instead of the exchange rate. Ruth Lea argues on Conservative Home that "It is clear that the PRO-EURO BATTALIONS ARE ALREADY MARSHALLING THEIR FORCES FOR ANOTHER ATTACK ON STERLING'S CITADEL. But they are not the battalions of salvation. If anything, they are THE ECONOMIC EQUIVALENT OF THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE."

Ganley attacked the Lisbon Treaty as "an affront to the idea of participatory democracy". He said it was "THE EMBODIMENT OF THE WORST EXAMPLE OF WHAT SO-CALLED ELITISM CAN BRING ABOUT IN EUROPE".

The Irish Times reports that Ganley called for a 15-25 page European constitution as an alternative to the Lisbon Treaty: "EUROPE NEEDS A CONSTITUTION, IT SHOULD BE NO MORE THAN 25 PAGES. IT SHOULD BE UPFRONT AND HONEST." Ganley stated that the Irish No vote "was not a vote against the EU or Ireland's membership. It was a vote against the Lisbon Treaty." He added that the referendum result meant there was an opportunity for "a reinvigoration of the European ideal".

German MEP Jo Leinen said, "A second No would be a No, and then of course you could forget about the Treaty. But a first No is volatile, let's say, because it's not a clear No against Europe. Here you have a diffuse coalition of Nos. WE RESPECT IT, BUT WE HAVE TO RESPECT AS WELL THE YES OF THE OTHER MEMBER STATES."

The paper looks at recent ESA projects such as the EU Satellite Centre to suggest that they form part of an EU security programme. The study argues that these policies are being pushed by the French Presidency of the EU and that the Lisbon Treaty will be significant because space policy will become part of the EU Treaties for the first time.

The country plans to start installing another 3,000 centrifuges early next year, adding to 3,800 that are already enriching uranium and another 2,200 which are being gradually introduced, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said. The IAEA's latest report deepens the dilemma facing the incoming White House administration of BARACK OBAMA, WHO HAS PLEDGED TO TALK DIRECTLY TO IRAN'S LEADERS. Iran insists its programme is solely intended to produce electricity but western countries believe it is nuclear bomb research.

Analysts now say the country could be as little as one or two years away from enriching sufficient weapons grade material to create a nuclear bomb. Alarmingly for western hopes of using persuasion on Iran, the IAEA also revealed that its relationship with Tehran over its non-proliferation investigations had broken down a few months after the Iranians claimed "the matter is over".

"We had gridlock before but then at least we were talking to each other. Now it's worse. THERE IS NO COMMUNICATION WHATSOEVER, no progress regarding possible military dimensions in their programme," said a senior UN official.

The damning report by Ofsted makes clear that the death of Baby P was far from an isolated tragedy. It found that 282 vulnerable children – many of them already known to social services – died in the 17-month period to the end of August. A further 136 suffered serious harm or injury. TWO THIRDS OF THOSE KILLED OR HURT WERE BABIES LESS THAN A YEAR OLD. Children's charities had previously estimated that one child died from cruelty each week.

It is the first time that Ofsted, which regulates children's services in England, has examined the issue of children at risk. Its findings suggest that hundreds of abused children are at risk because councils are failing to learn promptly from previous deaths. The report was presented yesterday by Ofsted's chief inspector, Christine Gilbert. She said: "We are still not learning enough – or fast enough – from serious case reviews which happen when a child has died or been harmed through neglect or abuse."

Caught in the middle of a who-blinks-first standoff are legions of manufacturing firms and auto dealers—and millions of Americans' jobs—after Senate Democrats canceled a showdown vote that had been expected Thursday. President George W. Bush has "no appetite" to act on his own. U.S. auto companies employ nearly a quarter-million workers, and more than 730,000 other people have jobs producing the materials and parts that go into cars. About 1 million on top of that work in dealerships nationwide. If just one of the auto giants were to go belly up, some estimates put U.S. job losses next year as high as 2.5 million.

"If GM is telling us the truth, they go into bankruptcy and you see a cascade like you have never seen," said Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, who was working on one rescue plan Wednesday. "If people want to go home and not do anything, I think that they're going to have that on their hands." The carmakers argue that bankruptcy would devastate their companies, but proponents say it would give them a chance to reorganize and emerge stronger and more competitive.

It's unclear, though, whether Democrats controlling Congress are willing to risk being blamed for letting one of the Big Three—symbols of the nation's once-mighty manufacturing sector—go under.

Commenting on the results of the recent presidential election, Cardinal Stafford said on Election Day "America suffered a cultural earthquake." The cardinal argued that President-elect Obama had campaigned on an "extremist anti-life platform" and predicted that the near future would be a time of trial.

"If 1968 was the year of America's 'suicide attempt,' 2008 is the year of America's exhaustion," he said, contrasting the year of Humane Vitae's promulgation with this election year. THE CARDINAL ATTRIBUTED AMERICA'S DECLINE TO THE SUPREME COURT'S DECISIONS SUCH AS THE 1973 RULING IN ROE V. WADE, WHICH IMPOSED PERMISSIVE ABORTION LAWS NATIONWIDE.

"Its scrupulous meanness has had catastrophic effects upon the unity and integrity of the American republic," Cardinal Stafford commented, according to The Tower. His theological remarks centered upon man's relationship with God and man's place in society. "Man is a sacred element of secular life," he said, arguing that therefore "man should not be held to a supreme power of state, and a person's life cannot ultimately be controlled by government."

That has raised hackles in diplomatic circles, not just because the meeting appears to compete with a planned gathering of 20 world leaders next April. Sarkozy's aggressive statements have put American officials on edge, with some saying that he seemed determined to turn the global crisis into a referendum on the ills of untrammeled capitalism.

"Sarkozy claimed he put a bell on the American cat," said Simon Johnson, a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund. "He said the U.S. had agreed to a whole range of negotiations on regulations. But he didn't actually come in and negotiate any of these things." Making matters worse, Sarkozy said nothing about his plans to convene a meeting to President George W. Bush or the 18 other leaders while he was here. A senior European diplomat said he found the French proposal "amazing," while an American official said that that would be a charitable description.

French officials said the gathering on Jan. 8 and 9, which is to be co-hosted by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, is merely a conference, intended to bring together political leaders and prominent thinkers TO DISCUSS ISSUES LIKE GLOBALIZATION AND THE VALUES OF CAPITALISM. The surfeit of summit meetings reflects what has become a tense trans-Atlantic contest over the global economy. Much of this is posturing by ambitious leaders, but it also reflects a genuine philosophical debate about how best to fix the fractured global markets.

The stock plunged $11,550, or 12 percent, to $84,000 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading and has slipped 41 percent this year, compared with the 45 percent drop in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. Berkshire, based in Omaha, Nebraska, rose in 17 of the past 20 years.

"There's nothing fundamentally wrong with Berkshire, what's really happening is PEOPLE ARE WONDERING IF THERE'S SOMETHING FUNDAMENTALLY WRONG WITH THE ECONOMY, and Berkshire is in some ways a bit of a proxy for that," said Michael Yoshikami, president of YCMNet Advisors in Walnut Creek, California, which manages $850 million including Berkshire shares.

Berkshire has posted four straight profit declines, the worst streak in at least 13 years, on falling returns at insurance businesses and investment losses. Buffett, ranked by Forbes magazine as the richest American, has committed at least $28 billion this year to acquire companies, finance buyouts and purchase securities as prices fell and competitors were hobbled by limited access to credit. "Many of the companies Berkshire owns, such as American Express, are under pressure," Yoshikami said. "What you're seeing is a systematic de-leveraging process taking all financials down, including good-quality financials."

It takes the number of job cuts threatened in Wales this week to more than 750, including 337 jobs at the Hoover factory in Merthyr Tydfil. The assembly government said it will hold talks with Bosch managers. The company broke the news to the 1,200 strong workforce in Miskin on Tuesday, telling them that it was now entering a 90-day consultation period on the plans.

It also confirmed an earlier decision to reduce agency workers at the site by up to 300 posts. "We were hoping that 2009 would see a return in stability, but unfortunately our customer order reductions continue," the company said in a statement. "As a result we will not have sufficient work to retain our entire existing Bosch workforce in full-time employment."