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The Occupy protests
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/gallery/files/2011/12/OccupyDameSTreet.jpg2011 was the year the “99 per cent” took to the streets. Starting in New York, the Occupy Wall Street protest spread throughout the US, and even further afield, with protests springing up in the UK and Ireland. Pictured are some of the 99% group taking part in Occupy Dame Street, camp outside the Central Bank in Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/THE IRISH TIMES
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The euro crisis
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/gallery/files/2011/12/euro.jpgA banner depicting German chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy is fixed at the front of an apartment house in Berlin's Mitte district. The euro crisis continued throughout the year, despite numerous attempts to reach some accord with euro zone nations, and several meetings between Germany and France. Photograph:Tobias Schwarz/Reuters
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The Irish bailout
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/gallery/files/2011/12/troika.jpgThe European Commission's Istvan Szekely, and IMF deputy director Ajai Chopra at a Troika press conference following a review of the EU/IMF Programme. Ireland was praised widely for its implementation of the bailout programme this year, and is expected to meet its targets. Photograph: Alan Betson / THE IRISH TIMES
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Sony hacked
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/gallery/files/2011/12/sony11.jpgIt was a tough few months for Sony when it revealed that details of millions of its PlayStation Network and Qiriocity customers had been stolen earlier this year. Around 100 million accounts had been compromised, and the service was shut down for a month, but it was the delay in informing consumers that caused most outrage. Sony wasn't the only target this year, however; Lockheed Martin, Citi and even security firm RSA were targetted. Photograph: Bloomberg
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Apple's bumper year
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/gallery/files/2011/12/iphone4s6301.jpgApple had a good year for product launches, with both the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S selling well. The company also reached a new milestone, briefly overtaking Exxon Mobile and the world’s most valuable company by market capitalisation. The iPhone 4S reached the four million milestone in its first weekend of sales. Photograph: Bloomberg
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Steve Jobs
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/gallery/files/2011/12/stevejobs.jpgHowever, it wasn’t all good news for the company this year. In January, chief executive Steve Jobs took medical leave yet again handing over day to day control of the firm to Tim Cook. In August, that move was made permanent, with Jobs resigning as CEO and taking up the role of chairman. On October 5th, a day after Cook unveiled the iPhone 4S, Apple announced that Jobs had died, prompting tributes outside Apple stores around the world.
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US credit rating
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/gallery/files/2011/12/dollar630.jpgIn a year when the US faced a standoff over its debt ceiling, the ratings agencies turned on the economy too. Standard & Poor’s cut the US’s credit rating from AAA to AA+ in August, the first time it downgraded since it granted it in 1917. And in December, Fitch warned the AAA credit rating was in danger from the US’s rising debt burden.
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Ireland's tech industry
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/gallery/files/2011/12/bioware.jpgThere were a number of jobs announcements throughout the year, particularly in the tech sector. In September, games developer BioWare showed off its new home in Galway, and announced that it planned to expand its workforce by 200. IDA Ireland announced that micro-blogging site Twitter is to set up an office in Dublin. Photograph: Joe O'Shaughnessy.
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HP's changes at the top
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/gallery/files/2011/12/apotheker630.jpgThere was upheaval on the cards for HP this year, with another shuffle at the top. Chief executive Leo Apotheker had only just announced a change in direction for the company – ditching its HP Touchpad device and possibly spinning off its PC unit – when the board decided it wanted its own change. In September, the board appomited Meg Whitman as CEO. Photograph: Ryan Anson/Bloomberg
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Blackberry woes
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/gallery/files/2011/12/blackberry.jpgResearch in Motion has been feeling the heat from rival smartphone makers in recent months. So it didn’t help matters when the Blackberry service went down, and stayed down for four days in October. RIM apologised to its customers after tens of millions of users on five continents were left without email, instant messaging and browsing. However, customers in the US and Canada filed a lawsuit against RIM later that month.
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The Kindle Fire
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/gallery/files/2011/12/kindlefire.jpg2011 also saw the launch of Amazon’s much rumoured tablet. The 7-inch Amazon Kindle Fire, pictured here with Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, is based on Android, but has been heavily modified and has access to Amazon's Cloud storage service for media, games and apps purchased from the online retailer. But what was most attractive about it was the price - $199. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
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Budget 2012
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/gallery/files/2011/12/Budget630.jpgThe Government unveiled its first budget in December to mixed reaction. While Minister for Finance Michael Noonan moved to support the property market through increased tax reliefs for those who bought during the peak and extended interest relief for first time buyers throughout 2012, there were controversial cutbacks too. The Government was forced to rethink some of its decisions, including a plan to raise the age for some disability benefits from 16 to 18. Opposition politicians described the budget as "socially regressive".
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Olympus scandal
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/gallery/files/2011/12/olympus630.jpgWhen Olympus chief executive Michael Woodford began asking questions about transactions related to mergers and acquisitions, the Olympus board fired him. He left Japan, fearing for his safety, but that didn’t stop him from blowing the whistle. In December he returned to Japan to meet with the board, after it admitted a $1.7bn fraud. The company is now embroiled in an investigation into the scandal, and several executives have resigned. Photograph: Bloomberg
