Recent for 10/21/08

• India Prepares First Moon Mission · India began countdown to the launch of its first mission to the moon scheduled to launch Wednesday. The spacecraft, called Chandrayaan-1, will orbit the moon for two years, compiling a 3-D atlas of the lunar surface and probing for natural resources. (NYT)
• Citic Pacific Shares Fall 55% Amid Forex Losses · Citic Pacific lost 55% of its market value Tuesday after disclosing a board-level executive made unauthorized trades that could cost the firm $2 billion. The Chairman's daughter was removed from her post in the finance department to mitigate damages. (WSJ)
• HSBC Acquires Major Stake In Indonesian Bank · HSBC announced it will acquire an 88.9% stake in Indonesia's Bank Ekonomi for $608 million in an effort to further expand its commercial banking footprint in fast-growing Asian economies. (FT)
• Thailand's Thaksin Found Guilty Of Corruption · Exiled Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was found guilty in abstentia of corruption and sentenced to two years in prison for helping his wife secure a land deal at a knock-down price. (WSJ)