July 14: Japanese prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto resigns after his party is humiliated in elections.
July 30: Keizo Obuchi takes over; the yen drops to 140 against the US dollar.
End of July, first week of August: Bad corporate results; low stock market turnover (about $3 billion to $4 billion); unemployment surges; weak retail sector; rumours of peg breaking, yuan devaluation; 'market riggers' sell US$2 billion (HK$15.4 billion) worth of Hong Kong dollars in New York, Sydney, Hong Kong and London.
Second week of August: US$4.2 billion sold; number of futures contracts surges; Hang Seng Index drops below 7,000 points. Officials said interest rates would have jumped to 50 per cent and the index would have plunged by up to 3,000 points if they did not act. Tung Chee-hwa agrees to intervene.
August 14: Government intervenes.