Three people have been killed and more than 30 injured in a stampede at a supermarket sale in China.
The stampede happened at a branch of the French chain Carrefour, in the city of Chongqing, state media said.
The shop was offering large discounts on cooking oil. A crowd that had been waiting hours for the store to open then burst through the doors.
Carrefour entered the Chinese market in 1995 and has since opened more than 100 supermarkets.
Prices soar
Queues at the store reportedly began at 0400 local time (2000 GMT Friday).
State media Xinhua said bargain-hunters were crushed underfoot in a sale to mark the 10th anniversary of the store's opening in the south-western city.
Some of those trying to get in reportedly slipped and were trampled.
At least seven of the injured are in a serious condition, Xinhua said.
An investigation has been launched by local authorities.
Cooking oil prices have soared by more than a third in the past year.
In Chongqing, Carrefour was reportedly offering 20% off rapeseed oil.
Carrefour, which is the world's second-biggest retailer, has been keen to expand in China as it booms and recently opened its 101st hypermarket in the country.
Cambodia's prime minister has promised to resign if he cannot stop the children of the rich from misbehaving.
Hun Sen says he is tired of young men causing chaos on the streets of the capital, Phnom Penh, by racing their expensive cars and motorbikes.
He has ordered the police to detain parents if they come to collect their errant sons from custody.
If they are government or military officials they will be sacked. If not, Hun Sen says he will quit himself.
It is not just that Phnom Penh's traffic is getting worse. The quality of it is changing too.
Just a few years ago the streets were dominated by old Toyota Camrys and barely-functioning Daelim motorbikes - cast-offs from the United States and South Korea.
Impromptu racetrack
These days you are more likely to be forced into the gutter by a giant Hummer SUV, Mercedes S-Class, or at the very least a high-performance motorbike. And many of the drivers are little more than teenagers.
They are enjoying the benefits of Cambodia's rapid economic growth - thanks to their wealthy parents. But the only thing the rich kids are earning is a reputation for anti-social behaviour.
Come the late afternoon, groups of them turn public roads near the riverside into an impromptu racetrack. There have been a number of serious crashes - and some drivers have threatened local journalists for reporting on their antics.
The tuk-tuk drivers who look for passengers along the racers' route are fed up with the speed merchants.
"They don't drive slowly, they drive very fast. So it's very dangerous. The police are not here... they're never afraid of the police," one driver said.
Prime Minister Hun Sen is not the only one to notice that many of the boy-racers are related to government and military officials.
China's Guangdong province is likely to join a planned libel suit against the US toy giant Mattel, according to the China Daily.
Mattel recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made toys this summer, but later said that 85% of the recall was due to its own design faults.
Many of the toy factories involved were based in Guangdong in southern China.
Lida Plastic Toy Co, based in Foshan City in Guangdong, is also reported to be planning to support the suit.
No details were given of when the suit might be filed with a US court.
"The incident has stained the reputation of Chinese toy manufacturers and made a large number of toy factories in Guangdong lose a great deal of money," Chen Lipeng, director of the province's fair trade bureau, was quoted as saying.
"A simple apology cannot compensate for the losses," he added.
The Chinese government has suspended all exports of a toy found to have been coated with a toxic chemical, China's official Xinhua news agency says.
The move comes after the authorities in the United States, Australia and a number of other countries removed the Bindeez and Aqua Dots toys from sale.
The toy has been blamed for causing illness among a number of children.
The Chinese authorities are reported to have sealed stocks where they were produced, and ordered an investigation.
It is the latest in a number of scandals which have questioned the quality of Chinese-made products.
Date rape drug
Seven more children in the US are reported to have fallen sick after swallowing the toy's bead like parts - which have been found to contain a substance linked to the date-rape drug GHB.
That brings the total of US children needing treatment after swallowing the product to nine. Four children in Australia and two in New Zealand have also fallen sick.
The victims all suffered from dizziness and drowsiness and two of the US children slipped into comas. They have since recovered.
The craft toy has proved extremely popular in both the US and Australia. In 2007, Bindeez was named Australia's Toy of the Year.
It consists of hundreds of brightly-coloured beads that can be arranged into a piece of art and sprayed with water to set.
The beads are meant to be coated in a non-toxic glue, but a batch in Australia was found to be covered with a substance that did not match the approved formula.
Tests showed they were coated with the industrial chemical 1,4-butanediol - which transforms into the banned drug GHB when swallowed.
About 4.2 million units of the toy will be recalled in the US, officials said, and about one million in Australia.
Neither the toys' maker, Australia-based Moose Enterprises, nor the Chinese government have identified the factory or factories where the toys were produced.
The US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are costing nearly double the amount previously thought, according to a report set to be released by Congress.
Democrats say the wars have cost $1.5 trillion - almost twice the requested $804bn (£402bn) - because of "hidden costs", the Washington Post reports.
That figure would amount to $20,000 for an average US family of four, it adds.
And some of the figures cited in the report were labelled speculative by funding experts, the Post says.
Among the indicators contributing to the higher cost of the conflicts are higher oil costs and payments to war veterans.
'Lost earnings'
The report is expected to be presented to Congress later on Tuesday.
The Democratic authors included the costs of treating wounded veterans and mounting interest payments on money borrowed to finance the wars.
The report calculates that the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost the average US family of four more than $20,000.
It adds that the amount could rise to $46,300 over the next decade, the Washington Post says.
The committee's Democrats estimate that treating veterans could add more than $30bn to war costs, including disability payments and lost earnings for veterans affected by post-traumatic stress disorder.
Republicans have not yet commented officially on the report.
A rail dispute over pay in Germany has escalated into what train operator Deutsche Bahn has called the biggest strike in its history.
Train drivers launched a 62-hour strike on Wednesday targeting freight trains and have now begun a 48-hour action affecting passenger services.
Regional and suburban services have been hit, with severe disruptions in Berlin, Stuttgart and Frankfurt.
Deutsche Bahn said its 10% pay offer, which unions have rejected, was fair.
Widespread disruption
The GDL union is seeking a 31% pay rise for its 34,000 workers, saying they are significantly underpaid compared to their counterparts in other leading European countries.
Thursday's stoppage - the sixth in the past three months - is the most serious yet in a dispute which German ministers have warned could do serious damage to its economy.
Deutsche Bahn, which has drafted in temporary workers to keep some services running, has said that each day of strike action would cost it 50m euros ($73m; £36m).
We want a negotiable offer
Manfred Schell, GDL union
Only half of normal regional services were running in the west of the country while in the east, this figure was down as low as 10%.
Only a third of suburban trains were operating in Frankfurt, Germany's financial capital, and Stuttgart, while commuters in Berlin faced severe delays as only 20% of trains departed.
Traffic on city centre roads quickly built up to much-higher than normal levels.
But mainline inter-city services were less badly affected, with more than 70% of services running normally.
'No surrender'
In a series of newspaper advertisements, Deutsche Bahn called on GDL union officials to "stop this madness".
"If we were to cave in now, the damage to the economy would ultimately be far greater," Deutsche Bahn executive Karl-Friedrich Rausch said.
"They are trying to force us to an unconditional surrender. That is not going to happen."
But union officials said management had failed to put forward an improved offer which could persuade them to return to the negotiating table.
"The Bahn management board must once and for all stop provoking strikes," GDL chairman Manfred Schell said in a statement. "We want a negotiable offer."
Train drivers are holding out for a much better deal than other Deutsche Bahn employees have received, arguing they merit a separate settlement on pay and working conditions.
In July, two other rail unions representing 195,000 workers agreed a 4.5% pay deal.
Former England defender Paul Parker believes failure to qualify for Euro 2008 could be the wake-up call the English game needs.
If Russia beat Israel on Saturday, England will be all but eliminated from the qualification race for the finals.
"I hope England do not qualify because we really need to have a look at our game," Parker told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"Youngsters are not coming through. We are told they are not good enough but they are not getting opportunities."
Parker was part of the last England side that failed to qualify for a major tournament, the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
We deserve to be in the finals because we've lost only once and that sums up our consistency
Russia striker Alexander Kerzhakov
And he says the authorities must address the issue of foreign players and English players coming through the ranks.
"We keep using the excuse that there are no players coming through which I think is feeble," he added.
"Despite that, we want to jump on plans and drag players in from abroad and yet they are good enough.
"Football has become a must-win business. Managers can't take gambles because they are being put under pressure for their jobs due to the amount of money in the game.
"There is something wrong with England as a whole that we are not producing players. We are not bothered about looking for talent here.
"If England do not qualify, I would like to think there would be a review of the game.
"Hopefully, we would start right at the very bottom and try to improve our game by using English players at the top clubs rather than seeing them being sent out on loan.
"We can't look at it and just hope. If Israel get some kind of result and England get through, do we just sweep it under the carpet? I think that will be completely wrong because we need to get it sorted out."
Meanwhile, Russia striker Alexander Kerzhakov says England are struggling to qualify for Euro 2008 because money has diminished the work ethic of the players.
"England have a team of big stars who earn an awful lot of money from playing with their private deals," he said.
"Russia have a compact group of players who don't have anywhere near as much money, but with far more hard workers on the field. That's the difference between the countries.
"That's why we are in a strong position and England have been left just hoping."
England need Israel to pick up at least a point against Russia, or for Macedonia to beat Croatia, if they are to realistically stay in with a chance of qualifying.
606: DEBATE
And Kerzhakov says he has little sympathy for England's plight.
"I understand that the Euro 2008 finals without players like Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney would be strange," he said.
"But England have not performed on the field and Russia have more points, so that is how it should be.
"It isn't always the superstars who win football matches. We deserve to be in the finals because we've lost only once and that sums up our consistency."
England take on Austria in a friendly on Friday before their final qualifying game against Croatia next Wednesday.
Starbucks, the world's largest coffee chain, has warned of a tough 2008, saying it expects hard-up US consumers to buy fewer lattes and espressos.
The coffee chain reported a 35% jump in quarterly profits but lowered sales and earnings forecasts for next year after a drop in US customer visits.
Rising dairy costs would also dent the company's bottom line, Starbucks said.
For the three months to the end of September, Starbucks posted net earnings of $158.5m (£77.6m).
The news knocked the company's shares lower in after hours trading on fears that US consumers, concerned about higher food and energy costs, would opt to go to cheaper places for their morning cup of coffee.
It said it would open 2,500 stores in its 2008 financial year, beginning in October, 100 fewer than its original target.
Same-store sales, a key measure of a retailer's health, increased 4% in the quarter.
Business in overseas stores was healthier, with traffic rising 5% and average transaction value increasing 1%.
Foreign tourists to many of India's most famous landmarks will no longer be able to pay the entrance fee in dollars, the government says.
The ruling is aimed at safeguarding tourism revenues following the recent falls in the dollar.
Until now, foreign tourists to sites such at the Taj Mahal have had the option of paying in dollars or rupees.
The ruling will affect nearly 120 sites of interest run by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Of these, at least 27 are World Heritage sites, including the Taj Mahal.
'International practices'
The ruling is due to be implemented next week. Entrance fees to the sites in question will be either 250 rupees ($6.35) or 100 rupees ($2.54).
"These rates have been fixed in line with international practices, and in order to take care of the fluctuation in the dollar rates," a spokesman for the Ministry of Tourism told the BBC.
Officials say the ministry wanted to act fast so that the revenues are not hit.
Indians only pay 20 or 10 rupees to enter ASI sites, a difference often questioned by foreign tourists.
But officials say there is nothing wrong with this because most Indians earn far less than the foreign visitors.
"The uniform rate applied by most foreign countries are often too high for most Indians anyway," the tourism ministry official told the BBC .
However, the Indian government has also decided that nationals from the regional South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation will not have to pay the higher rate.
Nor will people holding a government-issued People of Indian Origin (PIO) card.
India earned more than $6.5bn in foreign exchange from more than four million foreign tourists to the country last year.
Former England defender Paul Parker believes failure to qualify for Euro 2008 could be the wake-up call the English game needs.
If Russia beat Israel on Saturday, England will be all but eliminated from the qualification race for the finals.
"If England do not qualify, I would like to think there would be a review of the game.
"Hopefully, we would start right at the very bottom and try to improve our game by using English players at the top clubs rather than seeing them being sent out on loan.
"We can't look at it and just hope. If Israel get some kind of result and England get through, do we just sweep it under the carpet? I think that will be completely wrong because we need to get it sorted out."
Meanwhile, Russia striker Alexander Kerzhakov says England are struggling to qualify for Euro 2008 because money has diminished the work ethic of the players.
"England have a team of big stars who earn an awful lot of money from playing with their private deals," he said.
"Russia have a compact group of players who don't have anywhere near as much money, but with far more hard workers on the field. That's the difference between the countries.
"That's why we are in a strong position and England have been left just hoping."
England need Israel to pick up at least a point against Russia, or for Macedonia to beat Croatia, if they are to realistically stay in with a chance of qualify
And Kerzhakov says he has little sympathy for England's plight.
England gifted lifeline by Israel
England earned a Euro 2008 qualifying reprieve with their fate again in their own hands after Group E rivals Russia dramatically lost 2-1 in Israel.
England are now two points ahead of Russia and need a draw against Croatia in their final qualifier on Wednesday to secure a Euro 2008 place.
Israel took the lead through Elyaniv Barda before Diniyar Bilyaletdinov levelled as Russia started to dominate.
Russia hit the post late on before Omer Golan netted a winner for Israel.
The goal would have been the cue for celebrations from England boss Steve McClaren and his players who were relying on Israel to do them a favour.
McClaren's job would also have been in jeopardy if Russia had won but his belief that the campaign would go into the Croatia game proved correct.
There were plenty of England fans at the Ramat Gan stadium to cheer on Israel, while a strong Russian contingent were also evident to provide support for their team.
Russia started off nervously and went behind when Barda was slipped in on goal by a slide rule pass and he did the rest by dinking over on-rushing Russia keeper Vladimir Gabulov.
Israel had chance to add to their lead before Russia finally settled and grabbed an equaliser after the break when Bilyaletdinov fired after an Andrei Arshavin cross.
Russia grew in confidence and threat as the game progressed with England nerves jangling, especially when Sychez struck the outside of the post with a long range shot.
But the visitors were caught out on the break when Golan raced through to score.
The result meant that group leaders Croatia , who lost 2-0 in Macedonia , have qualified for Euro 2008.
That result also gives England the prospect of overtaking Croatia to finish top of the group depending on next Wednesday's scoreline.
European Championship Qualifying : Group E Table
17 November 2007 20:59
P W D L F A GD PTS
1 Croatia 11 8 2 1 25 6 19 26
2 England 11 7 2 2 22 4 18 23
3 Russia 11 6 3 2 17 7 10 21
4 Israel 11 6 2 3 19 12 7 20
5 FYR Macedonia 11 4 2 5 12 11 1 14
6 Estonia 12 2 1 9 5 21 -16 7
7 Andorra 11 0 0 11 2 41 -39 0
Key fixtures:
21 Nov: England v Croatia (2000 GMT)
21 Nov: Andorra v Russia (2000 GMT)
The lowdown:
England's qualification is back in their hands. Russia's last-gasp defeat in Israel means Steve McLaren's men will make it to Euro 2008 if they avoid defeat at Wembley against Croatia in their final game.
If England do somehow lose, Russia would still need to win in Andorra.
Despite their defeat in Macedonia, Croatia have qualified by virtue of Russia's defeat in Israel and can afford to lose by a single goal at Wembley and still finish top of top Group E.
US shares have risen in early Tuesday trading on Wall Street, lifted by bargain hunters buying up cheap stocks following Monday's sharp falls.
With analysts saying sentiment had also been lifted by strong results overnight from Hewlett-Packard, the main Dow Jones index was up 71 points to 13,029.
However, gains were limited by ongoing US mortgage and credit market concerns.
Home loan group Freddie Mac was the latest to warn of woe in the mortgage sector, posting a $2bn (£1bn) loss.
The company made the loss in the three months to 30 September, and said it had needed to set aside $1.2bn to cover bad mortgage debt.
It is one of the two government-sponsored enterprises that lend money to banks to use for mortgages, and it had been thought that its loan book did not have as much exposure to bad debt as some of the commercial banks.
'Risk aversion'
Analysts said bargain hunters had also helped European shares recover from their Monday falls.
By mid afternoon in Europe, London's main FTSE 100 index was up 0.5%, while Frankfurt's Dax had added 0.9%, and Paris' Cac had advanced 0.6%.
Analysts said US investors remained fearful that ever more global banks would reveal their exposure to bad American mortgage debt and the resulting credit crisis.
"The concern is that if there are unknown losses still to be recorded, the risk aversion that has been present in markets will remain," said Tony Brennan, equity strategist at Deutsche Bank.
"It's a Black November," said Masayoshi Okamoto, head of dealing at Japan's Jujiya Securities.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed up 1.1% on Tuesday after sentiment was buoyed by a takeover bid for one of the country's largest banks.
A group of investors led by US buyout firm JC Flowers are bidding about $1.8bn for just under a third of Shinsei Bank.
Freddie Mac, the company that provides financing and guarantees to US mortgage lenders, has announced huge losses from home loans that may never be repaid.
The firm has set aside $1.2bn (£580m) to cover bad debts between July and September and reported a $2bn loss.
Freddie Mac and its sister company Fannie Mae had been expected to be less hard-hit by defaults because they are less exposed to sub-prime loans.
The company's shares fell 8% in early trading in New York.
Freddie Mac said it was "seriously considering" halving its dividend before the end of the year and has taken on two investment banks to look at ways it can raise more capital in the near future.
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were created by the US government but later privatised. They are still known as government-sponsored enterprises and are still able to borrow at a lower rate of interest because bond markets believe that the US government would not allow them to go bankrupt.
As a result, the bonds that they issue to raise money to buy home loans are considered low-risk.
Both firms have strict rules about what sort of mortgage debt they are allowed to buy, and limits on the size of the total mortgage must be below $417,000.
This part of the mortgage market has not been as hard-hit as sub-prime mortgage sector.
A Chinese mining company has won a tender to develop one of the world's largest copper mines in Afghanistan.
The state-owned China Metallurgical Group says it will invest nearly $3bn in the mine at Aynak in the province of Logar, south of Kabul.
Officials say it will be the largest foreign investment in Afghan history and will employ 10,000 people.
When construction is complete the company will pay the Afghan government $400m a year.
'World-class'
The Afghan government wants to attract foreign companies to make mining a key sector of an economy that is on a slow recovery after three decades of war.
The Aynak copper deposits in Logar province were first explored by Soviet geologists in the 1970s. But then the Soviet invasion of 1979 and years of warfare put an end to plans to develop them.
Officials say the area contains an estimated 13 million tonnes of copper, making it a world-class site.
It is also in a relatively safe area, not far from the capital.
The $3bn that the China Metallurgical Group is to invest in Aynak compares with a total of $4bn which the Afghan government says foreign companies have invested in the country since the overthrow of the Taleban six years ago.
Once it goes into operation in five years' time, the mine will provide hundreds of millions of dollars of much-needed revenue for the cash-starved Afghan government.
It will also provide thousands of jobs in a land where unemployment is one of the most pressing problems.
Kabul hopes to attract more foreign mining firms.
The Aynak tender was hotly contested by companies from Canada, Australia and Russia, as well as China.
Experts say Afghanistan's mountains are rich in minerals, which could become a significant base for the revival of the country's shattered economy.
Apart from copper, there is coal, iron, gas and oil.
There is also a sparkling assortment of gemstones - emeralds, tourmalines and garnets, and the lapis lazuli mines which provided jewelry for the Egyptian pharoahs three thousand years ago.
Global headache
What happened when, as the sub-prime crisis unfolded
Timeline: Sub-prime losses
How did the sub-prime crisis unfold?
November 2007
19 November
Northern Rock says bids to buy bank are "below current market value."
16 November
Goldman Sachs forecasts sub-prime losses for entire financial sector at $400bn (£200bn).
Northern Rock's boss resigns
Nationwide warns of no UK house price growth in 2008
15 November
Barclays says it had written down £1.3bn ($2.6bn) in sub-prime losses.
US House of Representatives passes Predatory Lending and Mortgage Protection Act by lopsided majority.
14 November
HSBC raised its sub-prime bad debt provision by $1.4bn (£670m) to $3.4bn.
Bank of England says that credit crunch caused by sub-prime lending will lead to a sharp slowdown in UK growth
Mizuho, Japan's second largest banking group, saw a 17% drop in first-half net profits to 327bn yen ($2.9bn; £1.4bn) and cut its full-year operating profit forecast 13% to Y830bn, largely as a result of sub-prime-related losses at its securities arm.
13 November
Bank of America writes off $3bn in sub-prime losses.
12 November
The three biggest US banking groups - Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorganChase - agree a $75bn superfund to restore confidence to credit markets.
9 November
US's fourth largest lender Wachovia revealed a $1.1bn loss due to decline in value of its mortgage debt plus $600m to cover loan losses (total $1.7bn, £829m).
8 November
Morgan Stanley unveiled a $3.7bn loss from its US sub-prime mortgage exposure.
BNP Paribas (after temporarily freezing hedge funds with $2.1bn in assets under management in August) revealed it had written down 301m euro ($439m, £214m) because of credit problems.
6 November
Bank of England governor Mervyn King defends his role in Northern Rock crisis in exclusive interview with BBC Business Editor Robert Peston
Sub-prime losses so far
Citigroup: $11bn
Merrill Lynch: $8bn
Morgan Stanley $3.7bn
HSBC: $3.4bn
Bear Stearns: $3.2bn
UBS: $3.4bn
Deutsche Bank: $3.2bn
Bank of America: $3bn
Barclays: $2.6bn
BNP Paribas: $2.1bn
Credit Suisse: $1bn
Wachovia: $1.1bn
IKB: $1bn
Source: Company reports
5 November
Banking giant Citigroup announces fresh losses of between $8bn and $11bn because of exposure to the US sub-prime market. Chief executive and chairman Charles Prince resigns.
1 November
Credit Suisse revealed a $1bn write-down on bad debts.
October 2007
31 October
Federal Reserve delivers second rate cut to boost markets
Deutsche Bank revealed a 2.16bn euros ($3bn, £1.6bn) write-down on bad debts.
30 October
Merrill Lynch takes a $7.9bn hit following exposure to bad debt. Its chief executive, Stan O'Neal, resigns.
17 October
Further falls in US house building signal bad times for builders.
IMF warns that credit crunch will hit world growth.
16 October
Northern Rock executives defend role at Treasury Select Committee
US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warns sub-prime crisis and housing slump will be significant drag on US economy
Confidence among home builders falls to record low.
15 October
Citigroup writes down additional $5.9bn on exposure to the US sub-prime market.
Japanese bank Nomura announced the closure of its US mortgage-backed securities business and takes a $621m (£299m) hit.
14 October
US banks holding secret talks at US Treasury float idea of a new super-fund to revive the frozen credit markets.
9 October
Bank of England and FSA defend role in Northern Rock crisis
5 October
Investment bank Merrill Lynch reveals $5.6bn sub-prime loss
1st October
Swiss bank UBS revealed losses of $3.4bn in its fixed income and rates division, and in its mortgage-backed securities business, while Citigroup admits $.31bn in losses.
September 2007
26 September
Commercial banks shun Bank of England rescue fund
22 September
UK Chancellor Alistair Darling suggests government will consider boosting deposit savings guarantee to £100,000.
20 September
Deutsche Bank boss Josef Ackermann warns of losses from sub-prime exposure.
Bank of England governor Mervyn King defends his role in Northern Rock crisis to House of Commons Treasury Select Committee
US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke says the losses from the sub-prime mortgage crisis are higher than expected
Goldman Sachs makes a profit by betting that mortgage-backed securities will fall despite $1.5bn exposure.
19 September
Bank of England in U-turn on bank lending
18 September
The US Federal Reserve cuts interest rates to 4.75% from 5.25% to try to energise financial markets.
Savers return to Northern Rock after the government guarantees all savings.
15 September
Thousands of depositors queue outside Northern Rock branches to try and get their money out.
14 September
Shares in Northern Rock plummet after news of its Bank of England rescue is announced.
13 September
The BBC revealed that Northern Rock had asked for and been granted emergency financial support from the Bank of England, in the latter's role as lender of last resort.
11 September
ECB president Jean-ClaudeTrichet blames rating agencies for sub-prime crisis but says EU economy sound.
US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson says mortgage lenders are to blame for sub-prime crisis.
6 September
ECB injects fresh cash into markets as credit fears intensify. Total intervention has now reached 250bn euros ($300bn, £150bn).
4 September
Bank of China reveals $9bn in sub-prime losses but Chinese goverment says its foreign exchange reserves will not be affected.
Overnight bank lending dries up as banks fear defaults from each other
3 September
German regional lender IKB recorded a $1bn loss as a result of exposure to the US sub-prime market.
August 2007
31 August
President Bush, flanked by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Fed chief Ben Bernanke, pledges to ease sub-prime lending crisis.
30 August
German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticised credit ratings agencies for not spotting problems on the market.
28 August
The German regional bank Sachsen Landesbank is rapidly sold to Germany's biggest regional bank, Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg. It came close to collapsing under its exposure to sub-prime debt. It received a 17bn euro lifeline.
23 August
Leading sub-prime lender Countrywide gets $2bn cash injection from Bank of America.
Shares slump after Countrywide warns that mortgage slump is getting worse.
Leading US and European banks borrow $2bn from Federal Reserve
21 August
Sharp rise in US home repossessions as sub-prime borrowers default.
Capital One cuts jobs as sub-prime crisis bites.
20 August
Countrywide cuts jobs as sub-prime crisis hits.
US mortgage lender sells assets
UK sub-prime lenders tighten up lending terms.
17 August
The US Federal Reserve cut the interest rate at which it lends to banks (the discount rate) by half a percentage point to help banks deal with credit problems.
BNP Paribas says sub-prime losses in hedge funds will not impact on quarterly profits.
16 August
Countrywide draws on its entire $11.5bn credit line as liquidity crisis looms. Australian mortgage lender Rams also admits liquidity problems.
15 August
Shares plunge in largest mortgage lender Countrywide on fears it will go bankrupt
13 August
Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs said it would pump $3bn into a hedge fund hit by the credit crunch to help shore up its value.
The European Central Bank pumps 47.7bn euros into the money markets, its third cash injection in as many working days. Central banks in the US and Japan also topped up earlier injections.
10 August
Global stock markets stayed under intense pressure over sub-prime fears. London's FTSE 100 index had its worst day in more than four years, closing 3.7% lower.
The ECB provided an extra 61bn euros of funds for banks. The US Fed said it would provide as much overnight money as would be needed to combat the credit crunch.
9 August
Short-term credit markets freeze up after French bank BNP Paribas suspends three investment funds worth 2bn euros, citing problems in the US sub-prime mortgage sector. BNP said it could not value the assets in the fund, because the market had disappeared. The European Central Bank pumps 95bn euros into the eurozone banking system to ease the sub-prime credit crunch. The US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan take similar steps
6 August
American Home Mortgage, one of the largest US independent home loan providers, filed for bankruptcy after laying off the majority of its staff. The company said it was a victim of the slump in the US housing market that had caught out many sub-prime borrowers and lenders.
3 August
Shares fall heavily on fears of sub-prime losses and global credit crunch.
. July 2007
31 July
Bear Stearns stopped clients from withdrawing cash from a third fund, saying it has been overwhelmed by redemption requests. The lender also filed for bankruptcy protection for the two funds it had to bail out earlier.
27 July
Worries about the sub-prime crisis hammered global stock markets and the main US Dow Jones stock index slipped.
26 July
Bear Stearns seized assets from one of its problem-hit hedge funds as it tried to stem losses. Shares fell 4.2% in five sessions, its worst weekly decline in almost five years.
24 July
Rising defaults on sub-prime loans hit profits at Countrywide, largest mortgage lender.
20 July
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warned that the crisis in the US sub-prime lending market could cost up to $100bn.
19 July
Fed comments shake global shares
18 July
Bear Stearns told investors that they will get little, if any, money back from the two hedge funds that the lender was forced to rescue.
13 July
US industrial firm General Electric decided to sell the WMC Mortgage sub-prime lending business that it had bought in 2004. "The mortgage industry has greatly changed since the purchase of WMC," said its chief executive, Laurent Bossard.
10 July
Independent market analyst Datamonitor said UK sub-prime mortgages were set to grow faster than mainstream mortgages, with the market worth some £31.5bn by 2011.
4 July
The UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) said it would take action against five brokers selling sub-prime mortgages, claiming they offered loans to people who should not be given them.
June 2007
29 June
Bear Stearns fires its head of asset management and hires Jeffrey Lane find out what went wrong at its hedge funds.
22 June
Bear Stearns revealed it had spent $3.2bn (£1.5bn) bailing out two of its funds exposed to the sub-prime market. The bailout of the fund was the largest by a bank in almost a decade.
14 June
Senior US legislator Barney Frank says Fed could lose its authority to regulate mortgage business.
May 2007
30 May
UK sub-prime lender Kensington agrees takeover
21 May
Business economists forecast US economic slowdown due to sub-prime crisis
3 May
GM finance unit loses heavily on sub-prime mortgages
UBS closes its US sub-prime lending arm, Dillon Read Capital Management.
April 2007
17 April
US government-backed lenders try to tackle sub-prime crisis
2 April
US home sales fall sharply
New Century Financial filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after it was forced by its backers to repurchase billions of dollars worth of bad loans. The company said it would have to cut 3,200 jobs, more than half of its workforce, as a result of the move.
March 2007
16 March
US-based sub-prime firm Accredited Home Lenders Holding said it would sell $2.7bn of its sub-prime loan book - at a heavy discount - in order to generate some cash for its business.
13 March
Wall Street hit by sub-prime fears
12 March
Shares in New Century Financial, one of the biggest sub-prime lenders in the US, were suspended amid fears it might be heading for bankruptcy.
8 March
Biggest US house builder DR Horton warns of huge losses from sub-prime fall-out.
February 2007
22 February
HSBC fires head of its US mortgage lending business as losses reach $10.5bn.
England failed to qualify for Euro 2008 after losing a sensational game against Croatia at Wembley.
England went 2-0 down when Scott Carson, in for Paul Robinson, helped Nico Kranjcar's shot into the net and then Ivica Olic slipped in a second.
Frank Lampard pulled one back from the spot after Jermain Defoe was fouled, before David Beckham, winning a 99th cap, set up Peter Crouch to level it.
But Mladen Petric fired in from 25 yards to break England's hearts.
The result will surely cost Steve McClaren his job as England manager and after such an abysmal display, he can have few complaints.
He gambled his position and England's participation on two huge selections and dropping Robinson and Beckham proved catastrophic.
Carson's performance will live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons and it may take the 22-year-old some time to recover.
When he stepped out on to the turf to warm-up and saw heavy rain making the pitch increasingly treacherous, he could have been forgiven for wishing Robinson - who was not even on the bench - had not been so unceremoniously dumped.
With eight minutes gone, he must have wanted part of the rain-sodden pitch to open up and swallow him whole.
Kranjcar found space 30 yards out and let fly with a dipping right-foot shot that bounced just in front of the keeper and Carson could only parry the ball into the roof of the net.
The stadium fell silent - and six minutes later, England's world was on the brink of collapse.
Eduardo drove at the heart of the England defence and played a cute pass into the area for Olic, the Hamburg striker coolly dribbling round a shell-shocked Carson and rolling into an empty net.
England embarrassingly appealed for offside, but Wayne Bridge and, ludicrously, Shaun Wright-Phillips - who should not have been that far back - were both clearly playing him on.
McClaren's 4-3-3 formation at the start had turned into a 4-5-1 as Crouch was left painfully isolated in attack and his flick-ons were easily dealt with by the Croatians.
The visitors could have been more than 2-0 up by the interval - Carson patting the ball down after a shot from Luka Modric only for the ball to luckily skid away, forcing Kranjcar too wide to shoot.
Booed and jeered off the pitch, McClaren had to act and he brought on Defoe and Beckham, with Gareth Barry and Wright-Phillips making way.
It barely made any difference, before England were handed a lifeline in the shape of a penalty by the eagle-eyed assistant referee, who spotted Josip Simunic tugging back Defoe.
The quiet Lampard, with almost his first kick of the game, clinically dispatched the spot-kick to breathe new life into England's campaign.
England seemed keen to gift Croatia another goal as first Bridge cleared on to the top of his own crossbar and then Carson repaired some of the damage by brilliantly saving Olic's point-blank header.
If the script had been written for Beckham to save his country once again, the former captain seemed keen to follow it.
The LA Galaxy midfielder sent over an inch-perfect cross from the right that Crouch expertly chested down and smashed into the bottom corner from seven yards.
Wembley erupted, but there was more drama to come on a remarkable night at the new stadium.
Croatia sent on Petric and with 13 minutes left, he arrowed a fizzing left-foot shot into the corner of Carson's net from 25 yards.
It was what Croatia deserved for a display full of enterprise and heart - and what England deserved for one of their most inept displays in living memory.
The result, coupled with Russia's slender 1-0 win over Andorra, means England will not be going to next summer's tournament in Austria and Switzerland.
Sports businesses are warning that England's failure to qualify for the Euro 2008 football tournament will hurt their profits next year.
England's kit manufacturer Umbro, and the retailer Sports Direct both issued statements warning of the impact of the team's loss to Croatia on Wednesday.
The defeat may also have a wider impact on the economy, with pubs, travel firms and bookmakers all set to be hit.
One estimate puts the cost to the economy as high as £2bn.
"A successful run to the 2008 final would have led to a £2bn bonanza for the economy," said Simon Chadwick, professor of sport business strategy and marketing at Coventry Business School.
Professor Chadwick also explained that the impact of England not playing in Euro 2008 could even go deeper than just lower retail sales.
"Evidence from previous tournaments also shows that, at another level, worker productivity normally increases as the England national team progresses through major tournaments and the 'feel good factor' takes hold," he said.
Less confident
Shares in Sports Direct tumbled 17% after the retailer warned that it was no longer confident that profits this year would beat last year's level now that England had failed to qualify.
Another sports retailer, JJB Sports, also suffered, with its shares falling 8.2%.
Umbro shares fell 3.7% after it warned that it expected a "substantial reduction" in sales of England shirts.
Umbro said that it was particularly worried about demand for the new England away kit, which is due to be released in 2008.
The decline for Umbro could have been worse, were it not for the fact that it has agreed to be taken over by Nike, analysts said. More details of the takeover are due to be released on Friday.
Wider economy
It is not just businesses directly related to football that could take a hit next summer.
Pubs and bookmakers may all miss out because their business is usually boosted by the major football championships.
Large numbers of England fans usually travel to big tournaments, so the travel companies such as airlines and ferry operators that would have transported them could also lose out.
The law firm that helped investors in failed energy giant Enron secure a $7.2bn (£3.5bn; 4.9bn euros) settlement hopes to earn fees of $700m.
If the judge approves the payout to Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman and Robbins, it will be the largest yet paid in a securities fraud case.
Enron hid billions of dollars in debts, in one of the biggest of a series of scandals that hit corporate America.
Investors won compensation from banks they accused of helping Enron.
These banks included JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup.
Legal deals
Enron went bankrupt in 2001 with debts of $31.8bn, costing more than 5,000 jobs and wiping out hundreds of millions of dollars of pension savings.
As a direct result of the Enron crisis, the US Congress passed a tough new law, called Sarbanes-Oxley, which imposed stricter rules on auditors and made corporate directors criminally liable for lying about their accounts.
The law firm that secured the payout to investors now wants 9.5% of the billions recovered from the energy giant's lenders, according to court documents seen by Reuters.
"The judge has to approve any fee in the case, then we have to pay out all of our counsel and other obligations before any distributions are made, so any set amount is purely speculative," said Patrick Coughlin, co-founder of the firm.
Fellow founder William Lerach has retired from the firm and has pleaded guilty to taking part in a kickback scheme at another law firm.
The Enron case is not the only one where lawyers stand to make large earnings.
Lawyers who secured settlements in cases involving manufacturing firm Tyco International have also pitched for $460m in fees.
This request is awaiting court approval.
Former boss of Tyco, Dennis Kozlowski, was found guilty last year of stealing money from the firm by taking unauthorized bonuses and sentenced to up to 25 years in jail.
Yukos, once Russia's biggest oil company, has now ceased to exist.
A simple entry on Russia's State Companies Register on Thursday marked the company's liquidation.
The final move in the firm's history, it comes four years after its founder and former owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky was arrested on tax evasion charges.
It's been one of the most controversial stories to have emerged from Vladimir Putin's Russia, and is seen by many as a key turning point in his rule.
'Show-trial'
Russia's Federal Tax Service confirmed on Thursday that it had completed Yukos' bankruptcy procedure, and that the company has ceased to exist as a legal entity.
Its major assets have been transferred to Rosneft, Russia's state oil company, through a series of auctions involving what Mr Khodorkovsky's supporters allege were ghost companies.
The saga has been one of the defining stories of the Putin era.
To the company's defenders, it was a process of expropriation, part of an unannounced policy of re-nationalisation of the oil industry.
The Yukos story was also deeply personal, with the treatment of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, which his lawyers said at times resembled a show-trial, drawing a chorus of criticism from human rights activists in Russia and abroad.
Their argument remains that Mr Khodorkovsky was punished for openly pledging to finance the Russian liberal opposition and civil society.
This is strongly denied by the Russian leadership, who allege Mr Khodorkovsky and the other oligarchs effectively robbed Russia during the 1990s.
However, Russian justice appears to have been selective, with the oligarchs who either kept out of politics, or who chose to support Vladimir Putin, left alone.
Legal moves
Both Mr Khodorkovsky and his business partner, Platon Lebedev, remain in a Siberian prison camp.
Elsewhere, the legal wrangling continues.
Over recent weeks, the European Court of Human Rights has ordered Russia to pay Mr Lebedev compensation for illegal detention.
And a court in the Netherlands ruled that the sale of Yukos' foreign assets was illegal, and the result of a politically motivated process.
By Karishma Vaswani
India business correspondent, BBC News, Mumbai
Thakoo Bai Arwar is one of millions of poor Indians who waits for this time of the month, every single month.
It is when she can head to the government ration shop and buy her monthly supply of subsidised kerosene. She and her family depend on the low price of kerosene - a fuel that many low income Indians use for cooking or heating their homes.
Their lives depend on support from the state.
"I have a fixed budget for my monthly expenditures," she says as she stands in line waiting for her turn to buy the precious fuel.
"I can't afford to spend more than this amount for kerosene. We use it for everything, so if the price goes up we would really suffer.
"The government needs to look after poor people like us."
Rising oil prices
At the ration shop, that sentiment is echoed by many others waiting for their turn to buy kerosene. There is a sense here out on the streets that these subsidies are here to stay for good.
It is very, very challenging and we are being really badly affected
Sarthak Behuria, chairman of Indian Oil
This is India's problem. People out on the streets depend on the lower price of essential fuels like kerosene and petrol to survive. But India buys 70% of its oil from international markets - and pays global prices for it.
Selling fuel to its citizens at an artificially low cost is taking its toll on the country's economy. India sells gasoline, diesel and other consumer fuels at below cost - and is now starting to feel the heat as oil prices head towards $100 a barrel.
Global markets
While global oil prices hit record highs, prices at India's petrol pumps stay low.
By comparison, the other big energy guzzling emerging market in the world, China, raised its oil prices by 10% in October. China, like India, makes its state oil firms shoulder the cost of selling oil at a subsidised rate.
India's state run oil firms are worst affected.
Indian Oil, the country's largest state run oil firm, is not allowed to pass on higher oil charges to customers because of government subsidies.
The company estimates it is losing some $50m a day because of this.
"We are being doubly hit," the chairman of Indian Oil, Sarthak Behuria, says.
"We are unable to sell oil at the international prices to our customers. We have to buy this oil from overseas markets because we import seventy percent of our oil. It is very, very challenging and we are being really badly affected."
Electoral concerns
The government compensates state run Indian oil firms for their losses from selling below the international market rate for fuel by issuing oil bonds to them. The bonds only partially offsets those losses.
Eventually the burden of subsidising fuel for its citizen will catch up with the government, and when it does it will be a very expensive burden for the state to bear
Lakshmi Narayan, an independent analyst
Despite the difficulties of India's oil companies, the decision from political leaders in Delhi is that we will see no fuel hike in petrol or kerosene anytime soon.
India's government has been terribly worried about the impact of rising prices on its population.
Although the economy here has seen strong growth, its estimated that almost 300 million people live below the poverty line.
Millions more survive on less than $2 a day, and that is the group of people that the government is worried about most.
They make up the bulk of the country's population, and the bulk of voters here.
India is also facing crucial elections this December, so raising fuel prices would be politically unpopular.
"Basically, you're seeing sensible economics play second fiddle to political realities," says Indranil Pan, economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank.
"Inflation... has been a major concern for this government and although the central bank has been doing a good job by trying to control the general rate of inflation, which does seem stable for now, food inflation is still quite high.
"The government is under pressure to keep food prices low, so it will be a political decision whether to raise fuel prices or not.
"I don't see it happening till the middle of next year, after all the elections are out of the way, even if international oil prices keep soaring."
Economic gamble
But how long can the Indian economy afford to wait?
Oil firms are losing billions of dollars from subsidising poorer Indians with their fuel.
The government's coffers are also being affected because it has to issue oil bonds to these firms, draining their financial resources.
There is an argument, however, that with the US dollar depreciating against the Indian rupee, that India can still withstand the burden of sky high oil prices for now.
"The Indian rupee has strengthened by some 15% against the US dollar this year," says Lakshmi Narayan, an independent analyst.
"That has made it much easier for the Indian government to buy oil from the overseas markets. But yes, this can't continue forever.
"Eventually the burden of subsidising fuel for its citizen will catch up with the government, and when it does it will be a very expensive burden for the state to bear."
But the political imperative is proving to be more of a priority than running the economy in a sensible and efficient manner.
Staying in power means ensuring low prices for the masses who make up the majority of India's voters - even if that means risking the health of India's economic future.
India Business Report is broadcast repeatedly every Sunday on BBC World.
By Bill Wilson
Business reporter, BBC News, Johannesburg
The most powerful man in football has said that the beautiful game offers one of the best business products in the world - one which is fused with entertainment and emotional appeal.
And Fifa president Sepp Blatter told those who make their living from the game - selling products and services from artificial turf to television rights - that football business opportunities were forever growing.
Speaking at the Soccerex convention in Johannesburg he said: "The product is the game. It is a wonderful product.
"It is easy to understand, it is easy to play, and its rules have hardly changed. It is the game for our society."
'Emotions'
More than 5,000 delegates from the international football fraternity, along with over 300 exhibitors from 90 countries, are at the first South African edition of the world's biggest business-to-business football exhibition.
When you look at which is the best product that we can offer businesses it is definitely the Fifa World Cup
Sepp Blatter
"Football is entertainment, but it is more than that, it is about emotions," Mr Blatter said.
"And that means we are 'in business', because to sell a product you need emotion, and if you are a good sales person then use the emotion of football to sell your products and services."
He said the football industry had been transformed over the past 50 years to make it the worldwide market it is today.
"It has been developed with television, and its second big partner is what are generally called sponsors, but which we call partners," Mr Blatter said.
"We want to have partners in our game, and everybody is involved in give and take.
"We try to offer partners a good product and football nowadays is a very good product.
Eyeing India
In return the partners swell Fifa's coffers as they stump up to have their names associated with the most popular game on the planet.
Mr Blatter said Fifa was breaking new ground in signing up their latest sponsor, or partner, for the next two World Cups.
India is a new market in football
Sepp Blatter
Indian software group Satyam will join global giants such as McDonalds and the US brewer Anheuser-Busch as one of six World Cup sponsors.
It is FIFA's first major sponsor from the country, after choosing it as its official IT services provider to the game's ruling body for the next seven years.
The size of the deal has not been disclosed.
"India is a new market in football, a market of more than one billion people. That's not bad!" Mr Blatter said.
"When you look at which is the best product that we can offer businesses it is definitely the Fifa World Cup."
And he said its attraction could be seen in the fact that many countries were looking to host the 2018 World Cup, putting their hats into the ring years before the 2010 event had been played.
"Is that not a sign that we are in a good business if you are in the football business?" he asked.
Mr Blatter also said the global football market, by Fifa's calculations, was one of over one billion people.
"So go into the huge global market for the game, take your products and activities to these one billion people, and at the end of the day you will have lots of orders."
US bank Citigroup has agreed to sell shares worth $7.5bn (£3.6bn) to an Abu Dhabi-owned investment company.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will become the largest shareholder in Citigroup with a stake of up to 4.9%.
Citigroup has been hit hard by US mortgage-market problems and needs a fresh injection of capital to expand its business, the bank explained.
The problems led to the resignation of Citigroup's chief executive this month, and a slump in the bank's share price.
Citigroup's cash reserve has suffered after it had to write down the value of its loans made in the US sub-prime market by $7bn, and the potential for between $8bn and $11bn of further losses.
This investment reflects our confidence in Citi's potential to build shareholder value
ADIA's managing director Sheikh Ahmed Bin Zayed Al Nahayan
"This investment, from one of the world's leading and most sophisticated equity investors, provides further capital to allow Citigroup to pursue attractive opportunities to grow its business," said Win Bischoff, Citigroup's acting chief executive officer.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has agreed not to own more than a 4.9% stake, and will have no special rights of ownership and no role in the management or governance of the bank, Citigroup said.
Worst affected
Citigroup is one of the financial companies that have been worst affected by a crisis in global credit markets, which stemmed from a meltdown in the US sub-prime mortgage market.
The sub-prime sector lends money to people on low incomes or with poor credit ratings, and has suffered record defaults as a result of successive interest rate rises.
Banks had been heavily issuing these loans over the past few years when interest rates in many of the world's main economies were at historic lows.
But the current higher borrowing costs and increased loan defaults have brought this lending to a sudden halt, and banks have been left with billions of dollars of debt that has lost most of its value.
Citigroup's boss Charles Prince was forced to quit his post shortly after the bank revealed a 57% drop in profits during its third quarter because of massive write-downs.
The company's share price dropped below $30 in New York on Monday, almost half the value of their 12-month peak of $57 set on 28 December last year.
Gulf saviour
ADIA will buy securities in Citigroup, which will offer an annual yield of 11%.
The bonds will eventually be converted into shares between March 2010 to September 2011, at a price of between $31.83 and $37.24 each.
This suggests Abu Dhabi is enthusiastic about the bank's long-term future prospects, expecting the share price to climb back to its previous heights, analysts said.
ADIA's managing director Sheikh Ahmed Bin Zayed Al Nahayan said: "This investment reflects our confidence in Citigroup's potential to build shareholder value."
Abu Dhabi's move is the latest example of the financial muscle of the oil-rich Gulf states, which have benefited enormously from booming energy prices and are now looking for new homes for their wealth.
Earlier this week, Dubai's investment arm took a "substantial stake" in Japanese electrical giant Sony, which is nearing the end of a three-year restructuring process.
Luxury carmaker Porsche saw its revenues rise 15% from August to November, driven by strong sales.
The German firm said its sales for the first four months of its financial year increased to 2.36bn euros ($3.5bn; £1.7bn) from 2.05bn euros last year.
Sale volumes at the company, best known for its 911 model, rose 18% to 30,700.
A recent law change means Porsche is able to up its stake in Volkswagen from 31%. Porsche has yet to commit, but many expect a takeover bid next year.
Porsche's four wheel drive Cayenne model enjoyed the biggest increase in sales during the four months, rising 76% from a year earlier to 13,400 vehicles.
Sales of the 911 were up only 3% to 10,800 cars, while those of the cheaper Boxter convertible fell by 17% to 6,500 units.
Porsche now expects total sales for its current fiscal year to be around the same level as the last, when it sold 97,513 vehicles.
'Chess game'
Porsche has yet to publicly commit itself to launching a full takeover bid for its compatriot Volkswagen (VW).
However, Porsche chief executive Wendelin Wiedeking used a briefing to journalists to indicate that he was already seeing opposition from Germany's powerful IG Metall trade union, and its members on VW's works council.
Using a chess analogy, he accused them of "trying to take out at least a rook or a knight on our side".
The law change that enables Porsche to increase its stake in VW came on 23 October, when Europe's highest court ruled that German legislation protecting VW from takeovers was illegal.
Under the so-called "Volkswagen Law", any shareholder could not exercise more than 20% of voting rights, even if their stake in the firm was bigger.
Following the rule change, a Porsche spokesman said the firm currently had "no decision on how we will proceed".
Clothing stores in Thailand have seen a rush to buy pink shirts, thanks to a fashion craze sparked by the country's King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Thais have been queuing in their hundreds to buy the shirts ever since the King left hospital last month wearing both a pink shirt and blazer.
The Phufa fashion chain said it had sold 40,000 pink shirts this month.
"Our factory is making these shirts every day, every minute day and night," said a spokeswoman for the company.
"We had no idea they would be this popular."
Other colours
King Bhumibol spent three weeks in hospital last month having treatment for heart problems and other ailments.
Wearing pink brings the king luck. I don't want him to be sick
Rose Tarin, civil servant
Thai commentators said pink first became an important colour for him earlier this year, when royal astrologers determined it was a good colour for his health.
On that recommendation, a pink royal crest was designed for his 80th birthday on 5 December.
Civil servant Rose Tarin, 56, recently camped outside a clothing store from 4am to ensure she was able to buy one of the latest shipments of pink shirts.
"Wearing pink brings the king luck. I don't want him to be sick," she said.
The King, who has traditionally always worn dark suits in public, has now also taken to wearing a range of other brightly coloured items.
This has led to Thai newspapers predicting runs on green and blue shirts.
The world's longest serving monarch, King Bhumibol is regarded by some as semi-divine and his picture hangs in most Thai homes.
Although he has no official political role, he is seen as the country's moral authority.
Last year he helped to restore calm following the military coup.
The rush for pink shirts is not the first fashion craze he has started.
Since King Bhumibol's 60th anniversary on the throne in 2006, many Thais have worn bright yellow shirts every Monday, because that was the day of the week on which he was born.
AC Milan's Brazilian star Kaka has been named Europe's footballer of the year after winning France Football magazine's Golden Ball award.
The prize was voted for by 96 international journalists from a shortlist of 50 players.
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