Drugs or meditation

Have you ever used hallucinogenic drugs for inspiration, or have you done it entirely through meditation? I have smoked marijuana. But I don’t smoke it any more. And I was pretty lucky—and it’s a true thing. You know, I went to art school in the ’60s. So you can imagine what was going on. And yet my friends were the ones: they said, “No, no, no, David: don’t you take those drugs.”

How do ideas become a script?

How do you find your ideas, and how do you form them into a script? That’s a beautiful question. I think a desire for an idea is like a bait. And I say it’s like fishing. You desire an idea. And when you go fishing, you know you have to have patience. And you bait your hook, and then you just kind of wait. But the desire is that bait that pulls those fish in—those ideas. And the beautiful thing is: when you catch one fish that yo [...]

Music and consciousness

Can you explain how you use music to transform consciousness within your story? But it doesn’t expand—music doesn’t expand consciousness. The only thing that expands consciousness… You know, they have these so-called “consciousness raising” groups. What they’re doing is sharing information, or giving information. It doesn’t raise consciousness. Consciousness can be raised only by experiencing that d [...]

Does meditation protect you?

How can you just so fully commit to the violent, dark nature of life—mostly in Twin Peaks, I think, and all of them—how can you be so committed to that darkness without being harmed by it? And how does meditation help you with that? In a way—this is a strange thing, but it’s a true thing in my experience–bliss is like a flack jacket. Bliss is like a protecting thing. If you have so much bliss, they say it’s [...]

Where to meditate, even on location

Could you share your technique for being able to meditate twice a day while you’re shooting your films? Yes. I wanted this meditation. And I think that the key is this desire for it. And where it came from, you know, I don’t know for sure, but I wanted it. And so I have never missed a meditation in those 32 years, twice a day, morning and afternoon. You wake up, you do your meditation, and then you go about your business. And in the ev [...]

On the way to Enlightenment

Have you been enlightened? I’m not enlightened, I have to tell you. But on the way to enlightenment, the good news is: every day gets better. When you experience this consciousness, this ocean of consciousness has qualities. And those qualities are bliss. They call it sometimes “bliss consciousness.” And you can dive in and get wet with this bliss consciousness. And it expands. Inner happiness grows. It’s so beautiful. It&r [...]

Transcendental Meditation over the years

How has your meditation evolved over the years—from a different experience each time, or gone back to the same thing? With Transcendental Meditation, it’s been my experience, and talking to others their experience as well, you’re an expert from your first meditation. And we could start talking about consciousness. Consciousness is this quite abstract thing. And it’s—yet the number one i [...]

The start of Transcendental Meditation

How did you get interested in meditation?When I first heard about meditation, I had zero interest in it. And I’d hear it, but I wasn’t even curious about it. I was not for it nor against it; I just didn’t care to know about it.And I had these phrases coming that we all hear, that “True happiness doesn’t exist out there; true happiness lies within.” And that phrase always got me. But in that [...]

The truth is the truth

When I listen to you talk about Transcendental Meditation, I like everything about it. But I am a devout Christian, and Transcendental Meditation comes from a tradition totally different from Christianity—Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was a Hindu monk. I feel I’m ready to learn TM, but I can do it only I reconcile it with my beliefs. I was raised Presbyterian. I respect people who are religious, and I think they find something there that’s beautiful. There’s truth there [...]

David Lynch on being the Master of Darkness and Mystery

Most of your movies are full of negativity, violence—the more shadowy things in life. And yet you promote Transcendental Meditation, which seems to give you so much bliss. How are these opposites reconciled in your mind? There are many, many dark things flowing around in this world now, and most films reflect the world in which we live. They’re stories. Stories are always going to have conflict. They’re going to have highs and lows, and good and bad. I fall in [...]

Spirituaity, Christianity and Eraserhead

You speak a lot about spirituality, and I heard that you were raised Christian. Did the Bible ever inspire you? Eraserhead is my most spiritual movie. No one understands when I say that, but it is. Eraserhead was growing in a certain way, and I didn’t know what it meant. I was looking for a key to unlock what these sequences were saying. Of course, I understood some of it; but I didn’t know the thing that just pulled it all together. And it was a struggle. So I got o [...]

How to balance success and failure

It’s easy to speak about success through Transcendental Meditation when you are a successful movie director. Do you mean to say that people who practice TM never fail? You have to learn to find balance in success and failure. Success can kill you just as failure can. And the only way to have balance in success and failure is to function on that Unified Field level. There’s your friend. You can’t fake it—you’re either in that field or you’re not. And [...]

Withdrawing from the world

You sound like a very responsible person, socially involved and aware of the needs of others. But you speak a lot about meditation, and I used to think that meditation is a way to achieve personal peace by withdrawing from the world, from other people, by dodging our responsibility towards each other and the society. I’d like to hear your point of view on that. Meditation is not a selfish thing. Even though you’re diving in and experiencing the Self, you’re not closin [...]

Hidden College Costs: Rising Fees

Compared to pricey private colleges, state schools can be a bargain. But extra fees are adding to the financial burden

Fewer US Med Students Choosing Primary Care

Only 2% of graduating medical students say they plan to work in primary care internal medicine, raising worries about a looming shortage of the first-stop doctors who used to be the backbone of the American medical system

U.S. Colleges' Green Grade: C-

Campuses may be getting greener, but college curriculums are falling behind in teaching students the basics of global warming and sustainability

A Homeschooling Win in California

In a stunning reversal of its own ruling, a California court says it's O.K. for uncredentialed parents to homeschool their kids. But regulatory questions remain

Tips for minimum wage earners

The Federal minimum wage is increasing to $6.55 an hour today. But for most folks facing higher prices on everything from a gallon of milk to a gallon of gas, it's still getting harder to make ends meet.

Study: Medical students show racial bias

Edna sits on an examining table ready and alert -- she wants answers about the lump in her breast.

More colleges move toward optional SATs

Jen Wang of Short Hills, New Jersey, took her first SAT when she was in sixth grade, long before she would start filling out college applications.

MBA students go for Google

Where do MBA students most want to work when they get out of school? Investment banks and consulting firms are still popular choices, but for the second straight year, the most coveted employer is Google, a recent survey found.

A chance to compare MBA schools

Dan Berger, a 26-year-old aide to New York Congressman Charles Rangel, knew he wanted to get an MBA but, he says now, he was overwhelmed by the number and variety of programs available: "I knew I needed to gather a lot of information before choosing a school, but I really didn't know where to start."

Wake Forest Drops SAT Requirement

Wake Forest University will no longer require applicants to take the SAT and ACT exams, boosting a movement to lessen the importance of standardized tests in college admissions

Commentary: Tax-free hypocrisy from higher education

There is an industry in this country that is making billions in profit while average Americans are struggling to fill up their gas tanks.

Wall Street - land of job uncertainty

Last fall, as bad news about the credit crisis began to pile up, MBA student Brendan McHugh started to wonder about his chances of securing a coveted internship at a top securities firm.

Taking the kids: Exploring the heart of college country

Secretly, I'm congratulating myself.

California Resists Home School Ruling

In the wake of a surprise court decision, the state says that its home schoolers are "legal" pending appeal

Criminalizing Home Schoolers

A child-abuse lawsuit ruling may have created a horde of truants in California, affecting as many as 200,000 children

7 qualities you need to be a great parent to a preschooler

What's it really take to parent a preschooler? It's pretty simple, once you realize what kids this age can and can't do (and what sets them off and what keeps them happy!). Here are seven qualities that make it much easier to manage all that, and why they're so crucial when you've got an independent-minded, boundary-testing picky eater on your hands.

VIDEO: Will Smith Planning to Start a School

Video courtesy Buena Vista EntertainmentHaving immersed himself in educational theories while home-schooling his kids, Will Smith says he and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, plan to put that knowledge to greater use by teaming with like-minded parents and creating a full school.

10 secrets for getting into a top B-school

Getting accepted into a top MBA program is an arduous, time-consuming process, with plenty of potential pitfalls along the way. Witness that the most prestigious and selective schools - Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, and their ilk - say they accept only 10% of all those who apply.

Young doctors in debt

It's Wednesday evening and Megan Reis can't remember when she last saw her husband Chris. Small wonder. Since Sunday morning, Meg has worked more than 60 hours at Advocate Hope Children's Hospital, the Chicago-area facility where she is training in pediatrics.

From six figures to student loans

After nearly 20 years in the energy industry, Jay Mulki was earning a handsome six-figure salary and managing a department of 50 employees. But Mulki longed to work fewer hours and pursue another dream: to teach marketing at a university.

Commentary: Integrative medicine is 'new way of healing'

In a recent column, Emily Breidbart, a second-year medical student at New York University School of Medicine, expressed concerns about her medical education and the frustrating health-care system she will soon enter.

Teacher Who Fled With Boy Arrested

A female schoolteacher and the 13-year-old boy she allegedly ran away with have been arrested in Mexico, a prosecutor said Saturday

Russia's business school battle

The big question right now in Russian politics is who will succeed Vladimir Putin as President in the 2008 election. As it turns out, the two front-runners -- first deputy prime ministers Sergei Ivanov and Dmitry Medvedev -- are also squaring off in a contest for business-school supremacy in Russia.

College costs keep rising

The average total cost of a private four-year college rose to $32,307 for the current school year, but the rate of increase has slowed compared to public school prices, according to a report released Monday.

Kids use yoga to learn mythology, fight pre-test jitters

Fourth-grade teacher Elisabeth Beckwith wants her students at Fernbank Elementary School in Decatur, Georgia, to pay attention to a lesson on Greek mythology.

They want to sell your kid

To improve her chances of getting into a good college, Caitlin Pickavance, a 17-year-old high school senior from Danville, Calif., has been working with a private college coach since her freshman year (cost: $800).

Sixth Graders Take on Wall Street

A trailblazing Chicago school starts economic education early to give inner-city black kids a leg up

Better Bedside Manners

A new study shows that a standardized test of doctor communication skills can help create a nicer, better doctor of the future

The do-gooder's MBA

Omar Yaqub didn't want a conventional 9-to-5 job after business school. He wanted to help save the world. So the 28-year-old MBA went to Nigeria to tackle an impossible task: creating demand for a product no one wanted.

Med student struggles to preserve her idealism

"Two minutes!" yells our course coordinator.

Taking the kids: Touring college campuses

Laurel Herter wishes she'd canceled the college tour trip as soon as she heard the dismal forecast.

Many American colleges balk at U.S. News rankings

If presidents of some of the nation's top liberal arts colleges get their way, they will no longer be included in the U.S. News and World Report's influential collegiate ranking system.

How Nebraska Leaves No Child Behind

One maverick state devised its own education strategy that bucks the trend toward high-stakes tests and federal control

25 Top MBA Employers

Think of it as a popularity contest for companies. Each year, research firm Universum surveys MBA candidates on where they'd most like to work for an exclusive Fortune.com list.

Sallie Mae's private side

The lure for private-equity firm J.C. Flowers' $25 billion buyout of student-loan giant Sallie Mae may be its fast-growing and lucrative business providing private education loans -- loans that exi...

The trouble with MBAs

When Jack Welch gave a guest lecture at MIT's Sloan School of Management in 2005, someone in the crowd asked, "What should we be learning in business school?" Welch's reply: "Just concentrate on ne...

Top colleges get more affordable

A college education may be getting less expensive at some of the most prestigious schools.

The race to bring more diversity to business

There's a hole in higher education that you probably haven't heard about.

Highest paid college presidents

Running a university or college can make for 20-hour days and intense pressure to please a long list of factions from donors, board members and alumni to faculty, students and parents.

Average college cost breaks $30,000

The average cost of a four-year private college jumped to $30,367 this school year, the first time the average has broken the $30,000 mark.

No excuses or short cuts at Atlanta charter school

Students at the West Atlanta Young Scholars Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, are expected to go to college.

10 biggest mistakes b-school applicants make

The application process for business schools is beginning, sparking the annual frenzy of activity - and copious questions.

The legend of Robin Hood

The idea behind one of the most innovative and influential philanthropic organizations of our time sprang from one of the more boneheaded macroeconomic calls ever made on Wall Street. Or as hedge f...

Today's medical training -- better or worse for patients?

The phone rang. It was the middle of the night.

Your Opinion: Flag burning

One story we brought you this week concerned a teacher who, as part of a class exercise, burned the American flag in a civics lesson for seventh graders. We asked for your opinion on the story, and here are a few of your responses, some of which have been edited:

No child left out of the dodgeball game?

As more of America's school-age children are growing fatter, the physical education curriculum that might help them win the fight is gasping for air, says a recently released report.

College costs: Up, up and away

The cost of higher education looks like it's climbing ... again.

Who needs Harvard?

It's the summer before your senior year, and you're sweating.

Healthcare, energy drive up college costs

State university tuition has leaped 40 percent in the past five years, hitting the three out of four American college students who attend public universities.

Healthcare, energy drives up cost of college

State university tuitions have leaped 40 percent in the past five years, hitting the three out of four American college students who attend public universities.

Everything You Know About Kids and Money is Wrong

AMERICAN STUDENTS MAY BE POOR AT MATH, but when it comes to understanding the money in their lives, they are positively bankrupt. A recent national survey testing high school seniors about basic fi...

It's not your mom's PTA

They come from all walks of life to the searing desert heat in Phoenix, Arizona: parents, some who are also teachers; administrators and school board representatives.

Startups On Fire

Protesting on college campuses is back. The object of this generation's rebellion? Traditional jobs. In an era of widespread disenchantment with the often bureaucratic, scandal-ridden world of big ...

Red Cross opens storm shelters

The Red Cross has opened the following emergency shelters in Florida for people affected by Tropical Storm Alberto:

A conversation with economists Laura Tyson and Glenn Hubbard

Following is an interview with Laura Tyson, dean of London Business School and former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton administration, and Glenn Hubbard, dean of the Columbia Business School and chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the first years of the Bush administration.

Ga-ga for Google

With demand for MBAs rebounding, this year's graduating class of B-school students is more likely to get the job offers they desire. And in many cases, that means a job at Google.

Doctor attacks bugs that attack kids

Dr. Blaise L. Congeni has always been in a hurry.

This week in the medical journals

Focused on bird flu

Cheat sheet for parents on testing

MEAP, ITBS, CRCT, TAKS. There are scores of acronyms in educational testing, but these four-letter terms stand for far more than No. 2 pencils and pages of tiny circles.

No school, no books, no teacher's dirty looks

(CNN) -- It's a child's dream. Wake up whenever you want, with nobody telling you what to do and when to do it. And here's the kicker: No school to rush off to.

Professor paychecks

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - A study released by the U.S. Department of Education this week found that full professors at four-year public colleges and universities earned an average of $89,001 in the academic year 2004-05.

A Degree of Respect for Online MBAs

Last year Samantha Kitover reached a critical point in her career. A 25-year-old Chicagoan who works as a sales trainer for Canon USA, Kitover figured she'd boost her salary and increase her option...

College president pay: The $million club

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - For the first time, compensation for private college presidents has broken through the million-dollar barrier.

The 10 most expensive colleges

Tuition at the most expensive four-year college is up only 2.7 percent from last year. But a small increase on an already big number is still gob-smacking.

College costs going nowhere but up

As nervous as college freshmen may be, their cash-strapped parents are probably trembling more.

Colleges across U.S. helping displaced students

Colleges throughout the United States are accommodating students displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Let the MBA Buyer Beware

So you're thinking about getting a master's of business administration, and you want to know which school is the best for you. With tuition at top-tier schools reportedly up 55 percent in the past ...

The ROI on your MBA

You've got dreams--big honking expensive dreams. You want to be a player in a powerhouse corporation or launch a business of your own. Either way, you've decided you'll need an MBA to prepare yours...

The business of dorm decorating

Denim fashions may be all the rage this fall, but Erica Green cares more about dressing up her dorm room than dressing up herself. Green, an incoming junior at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, plans to spend more than $500 on furnishings, from bright blue butterfly chairs and rugs to a TV-DVD combo unit.

An education in organization

Ever made a midnight run to buy poster board for a school project due the next morning? Afraid of what forms, homework and other forgotten but important pieces of paper might be unearthed in a thorough backpack search? Have a Top 10 list of excuses for missed assignments?

Goodbye, Perkins loan?

College students take note - your government loan options might be shrinking.

Should home-schooled have access to public school programs?

A growing number of parents in the United States are home-schooling their children, as an alternative to sending them to public or private schools. For a variety of reasons, these parents believe that they can provide an equal or superior educational experience at home.

The making of a young doctor

The medical year begins on July 1, the day that medical school graduates finish their training as resident physicians and stream out into the real world of shingles and stethoscopes.

FROM MARX TO MARKET

As students in his competitiveness class settle into their seats, the professor lets fly an opening query: "Who can tell me why Estonia was so successful in making the transition to a market econom...

Paying for college

College acceptance letters are coming soon to a mailbox near you. In other words, it's about that time when parents and students begin to get nervous about the final step to the college application process: financial aid.

The new math of college admissions

SALEM, Ore. (CNN/Money) - Here is a pop quiz:

Buying into Harvard

Congratulations, your kid did well on the SAT. But the girl next door did even better.

State lawmakers call for changes in Bush education plan

Federal law has forced the nation's children to meet rigid academic performance standards that create "too many ways to fail," a bipartisan panel of state lawmakers who reviewed the No Child Left Behind Act said Wednesday.

Four Myths about College Costs

THE COST OF A COLLEGE DEGREE continues to climb seemingly beyond the means of many families, rising far faster than incomes or inflation. Total expenses for the 2004-05 academic year shot up 7.8% t...

Race-based affirmative action admissions

A forthcoming law review article by UCLA professor Rick Sander is causing a big stir in the legal academic community. Sander's piece in the Stanford Law Review argues that race-based affirmative action as practiced by American law schools during the past 30 years actually ends up hurting the group -- African American law students -- it is most intended to help.

Bush picks Spellings for education secretary

President Bush on Wednesday nominated domestic policy adviser Margaret Spellings to be the next education secretary, replacing Rod Paige.

Bush has chosen education nominee, official says

President Bush has tapped domestic policy adviser Margaret Spellings to be the next education secretary, replacing Rod Paige, a senior administration official told CNN on Tuesday.

Most expensive colleges

Quick: What will $36,750 buy you?

College costs spike again

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - If only salaries would rise as rapidly - and as consistently - as college costs.

Getting out youth vote registers on campuses

College students are expected to turn out in record numbers to vote in November's election. What you may not know is that it's against the law for colleges and universities to fail to encourage student voting.

An Insider's Guide to America's Top Business Schools The truth about student life in the nation's premier MBA programs.

Quit worrying. If you're choosing among the 25 schools in this guide, you're going to get a great education. These schools attract the best of the best: The professors are top-notch, and the studen...

Paige: 'No Child Left Behind is working'

Education Secretary Rod Paige addressed the Republican National Convention on its second night, touting the No Child Left Behind Act. This is a transcript of his remarks.

Paige touts progress of No Child Left Behind

Schools are being held accountable and are progressing under the Bush administration, Secretary of Education Rod Paige told the Republican National Convention on Tuesday.

Moving out of the traditional classroom

Across the nation, on the Web and in the home, classrooms are evolving beyond the traditional learning environment with alternatives that are no longer bound by geography and customary modes of operation.

Put your feet up, it's time for school

It's nearly noon, and 11-year-old student Elisheva Ben-Avraham is just now thinking about breakfast. She's curled up on her family's velvety brown sofa flipping through a book of math problems when the mood strikes. She pulls her bare feet out from underneath her, pads to the kitchen and comes back, pancakes in hand, to her workbook.

Charter schools remain subject of debate

The cheerleading squad and the math team rarely compete for members at most middle schools, but at Fulton Science Academy, they are often second choices to the Chess Club.

An education in goin' old school

There are lots of ways to tell you're officially old. There's a "Sixteen Candles" remake in the works. Madonna's writing children's books. And you go to a David Byrne concert to find yourself surrounded by 50-year-olds. OK, that kind of makes sense since Byrne's hair is now completely gray.

The likely impact of the presidential election on the Supreme Court

During the 2000 presidential election, Democratic nominee Al Gore told voters that the choice between his candidacy and that of Republican George W. Bush would likely determine who named the next three justices of the Supreme Court.

Why An MBA May Not Be Worth It

Somewhere in the world, I'm sure there are many thousands of people who invested loads of time and money in getting a master's degree in business administration and who are now glad they did. Howev...

Bush carries message to college students

President Bush touted his domestic agenda in the key states of Arizona and Ohio on Wednesday, the day after he delivered an optimistic assessment of the state of the union.

Political battle surges over Bush education policy

Gearing up for an election-year fight over the centerpiece of his education agenda, President Bush hailed his "historic" No Child Left Behind Act Thursday and announced he will seek a substantial increase in its funding for 2005.

Education From a family worry to a new career Angela and Dedrick Briggs, Nashville

Like all dads, Dedrick Briggs, 36, wants the best education for his kids. But the public schools in Nashville are in tough shape: 68% of them don't meet standards set by the federal No Child Left B...

Your Next Rivals/Here Comes the Competition The winners of our first annual MBA business-plan contest have

If you think it's not a great time to start a business, you're right. Three years after the tech market crash left the Pets.com sock puppet in the Goodwill bin, investors aren't exactly clamoring f...

Extra Credit THE TEENS WHO MANAGE THE COUNTRY'S RICHEST STUDENT-RUN CREDIT UNION LEARN PLENTY--NOT ALL ABOUT MONEY.

It's lunch hour at the Kent Denver School. The cafeteria is serving chicken over rice. Backpacks lie strewn across the common area. Some students sit and do homework, others sprawl on couches and t...

Eight Questions Every MBA Should Ask Business students are facing the worst recruiting season in recent memory. Suzanne Koudsi d

Alysa Polkes guaranteed a room full of second-year MBA students a hundred grand. As head of the Career Management Center at the John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA, she was tryin...

Asian markets quieter in trading

After dramatic rises earlier in the week, Asian stock markets see small opening losses, after Wall Street ended its day down.

Recession fears hit Wall Street

Fears the global economy may not be able to avoid a recession pushes US share prices lower.

Iceland 'working day and night'

Iceland's government is working "day and night" to solve the country's financial crisis, Prime Minister Geir Haarde tells the BBC.

Daimler to axe 3,500 truck jobs

Thousands of workers at Daimler, one of the world's biggest makers of heavy trucks, will lose their jobs.

Germany 'on brink of recession'

Germany's economy is heading for recession and will only expand by 0.2% in 2009, the country's four leading economic think tanks warn.

Pepsi cuts jobs as profits slide

PespsiCo is to axe 3,300 jobs as part of a cost-cutting plan after profits fell amid lagging soft drinks sales in the US.

Krugman wins Nobel for economics

American Paul Krugman has won this year's Nobel economics prize for his work on trade patterns, it has been announced.

Morgan Stanley secures investment

Japanese bank Mitsubishi UFJ buys a 21% stake in Morgan Stanley for $9bn after securing more favourable terms..

UK banks receive £37bn bail-out

Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and HBOS fall sharply despite the UK's government's £37bn bail-out package.

US debt clock runs out of digits as growing deficit needs extra zeros

The national debt clock in New York runs out of digits to record the spiralling figure.

Guidelines for financial journalists

Airline turbulence

India's first civil air show comes at a bleak time

Job done?

Will the efforts to revive the banking sector work?

Robert Peston

How to stop the nationalisation of the banks

Alive and kicking

Why US football means more than just David Beckham

German rescue

Finance minister Steinbrueck on the bank bail-out

Immoral lending

UK mortgage broker admits immoral practices

Consumer inflation reaches 5.2%

The annual rate of UK inflation hits a 16-year high of 5.2%, with higher energy bills behind much of the increase.

House sales hit new 30-year low

The UK property market slump is becoming even worse, says the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

No legal case against Rock bosses

Nationalised lender Northern Rock says it will not take legal action for negligence against those in charge before its collapse.

Barclays faces investment lawsuit

Barclays is sued over claims it moved loss-making investments from its own accounts to outside investors.

Libya 'to pull Swiss bank assets'

Libya is to withdraw an estimated $7m of assets from Swiss banks in a row over the arrest of the Libyan leader's son.

Financial crisis 'worries Africa'

The chairman of the African Union appeals against any cut in aid following the global financial crisis.

US unveils $250bn banking rescue

The US government will buy stakes in major banks to try to stabilise the battered financial sector.

US stocks soar after crisis talks

Wall Street shares rocket 11% as investors welcome fresh efforts by governments to deal with the financial crisis.

Fear grips global stock markets

Global stocks fall sharply on one of the worst days of trading in 30 years, despite continuing actions to tackle the crisis.

Japan holds interest rate at 0.5%

Japan keeps its key interest rate at 0.5% for the 20th consecutive month - amid continued worries about the global financial crisis.

Europe acts to strengthen banks

Major European economies announce financial rescue schemes to shore up their banking systems.

UK loan offered to Icelandic bank

A £100m loan is being offered by the Bank of England to collapsed Icelandic bank Landsbanki, which owned Icesave.

Middle East stock markets plunge

Shares on the main Arab stock markets fall sharply amid concern the financial crisis in the US and Europe is spreading to the Middle East.

Oil price dips below $90 a barrel

Oil prices fall to an eight-month low of less than US $90 a barrel and shares on Gulf stock markets fall sharply.

US bans key Indian drug imports

The US FDA says it has banned the import of more than 30 generic drugs made by Indian drug firm Ranbaxy.

Pakistan sees wider trade deficit

Export disruption causes trade gap between Pakistan and the rest of the world to widen in August.

Bleak Numbers Stoke Fears of Recession in Europe

With the financial sector’s problems weighing directly on the broader economy, many economists say Europe is already in recession and will be lucky to get out of it by summer.

Despite Big Rally, Grim Outlook on Profits and Jobs

A day after the stock market staged one of its biggest rallies in history, investors retreated once again.

Lehman’s ‘Certificates’ Proved Risky in Germany

To tens of thousands of German residents with modest investments, the Lehman collapse hit close to home.

Iceland Turns to Neighbors to Prevent a Collapse

As its stock market dropped almost 80 percent, Iceland said it drew $273.2 million from the central banks of Norway and Denmark.

Hong Kong Backs Bank Deposits for 2 Years

Hong Kong’s financial regulators announced on Tuesday that they would provide government backing for all of the territory’s $773 billion in bank deposits through 2010.

Daimler to Cut Jobs in U.S. and Canada

Daimler announced plans to eliminate its Sterling truck brand and shift production from the United States to Mexico, moves that will cut about 3,500 jobs.

British Prime Minister’s Stock Rises as His Bank Plan Lifts Stocks Worldwide

After devising a bank rescue plan that has now been endorsed by European and American officials, Gordon Brown is seeing a revival to his political career.

Russian Gas Executives Visit Palin’s Turf

A high-level delegation from the Russian energy company Gazprom met in Anchorage with state official to talk about investing in Alaskan energy projects.

A Host of Measures Across Europe

Britain effectively took control of two of its largest banks, and leaders in other countries offered more than a trillion euros in loan guarantees and other support.

Commodity Prices Tumble

The financial panic and economic slowdown have put at least a temporary end to the commodity bull market of the last seven years.

Sovereign Funds Now Prefer Hoarding Cash to Rescuing U.S. Financial Firms

Some large sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East have been hoarding cash, much like the hedge funds and institutional investment funds that have been running for cover.

Spanish Bank Buys Sovereign

Banco Santander confirmed that it would buy the rest of Sovereign Bancorp, extending a wave of consolidation in the banking industry.

Professor and Columnist Wins Economics Nobel

Paul Krugman, a professor at Princeton and a columnist for The Times, won for his work on global trade patterns.

I.M.F. Says It’s Ready to Help Out Hungary

The International Monetary Fund said that it stood ready to help Hungary as the global financial crisis increased the strains on the Eastern European country’s economy.

Russian Bank Loses $10 Million on Illicit Trades

An equities trader at the Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital lost the company about $10 million by placing unauthorized bets on the stock market just as it collapsed.

U.S. Missteps Are Evident, but Europe Is Implicated

Experts say lenders in Europe all too willingly embraced many of the riskiest practices of their American counterparts.

Stock Slump Imperils Putin’s Effort to Pump Up Russian Wealth, and His Legacy

Vladimir V. Putin is facing a threat to his legacy of bringing growth, stability and a renewed swagger to this nation.

Reaching for a Higher Profile, Abu Dhabi Opens a Hub for Western Media

CNN, The Financial Times and other media companies are setting up shop in the island city that is the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

In Japan, Hope Fades for Disposable Workers

Little is being built in Japan’s stagnant economy, and day laborers and part-time workers are having difficulty finding jobs.

A Power That May Not Stay So Super

Britain overreached imperially. The U.S. has been doing it financially.

Rich Nations Pushing for Joint Financial Rescue

The United States and six other nations agreed to a plan to rescue the financial industry, but fell short of offering concrete steps to backstop bank lending.

Economic Uncertainty Spreads

Around the world, fears of recession have fed a stock market panic, as worries about toxic assets spread from the financial sector to the credit markets and now to the broader economy.

Russia to Spend Billions Buying Shares on Stock Exchanges to Bolster Confidence

The move would support one of the world’s hardest-hit markets from the credit crisis, as the country suffered fresh blows from plunging commodity prices.

Russia Approves $36 Billion Loan Plan

Parliament passed a law unlocking Central Bank lending to private banks in a $36 billion bailout, continuing a strategy that has relied on making government oil profits available to banks.

World Business Briefing | Europe: Spain: Nissan to Cut 1,680 Jobs

A Nissan official said the car maker would lay off 1,680 workers at a plant in Spain because of poor demand.

World Business Briefing | Europe: Luxembourg: Divided on Russia

Nations in the European Union were divided over whether to resume talks on a political and economic pact with Russia that were frozen in protest over its war with Georgia.

World Business Briefing | Asia: Pakistan: Protests at Exchange

The police surrounded Pakistan’s biggest stock exchange to thwart violence by investors demanding a trading halt.

World Business Briefing | Asia: China: Record Trade Surplus

China’s trade surplus in September hit a new monthly high of $29.3 billion, the government said.

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