Business news with words added+group. 60 or more news.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Delta Air Lines and ExpressJet Holdings saw their shares rise 2.1% and 3.6%, respectively, to pace a broad advance in the airline sector on the last trading day of the year. The Amex Airline Index added almost 1% to 34.69 points on Monday even as crude advanced toward $97 a barrel. Frontier Airlines , Mesa Air Group and JetBlue Airways were the only decliners among the 14 components in the benchmark index.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Standard Life said Monday that it's increased its stake in Indian joint venture Standard Life Insurance Co. to 26% through acquiring roughly 7.15% of the joint venture from its partner Housing Development Finance Corp. Standard Life said it paid around 25.7 million pounds ($51.3 million) in cash for the stake. The group added it now owns the maximum stake allowed under Indian law.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The Financial Services Authority is probing a jump in the share price of U.K. waste services group Biffa ahead of an announcement in November that it had received a 1.2 billion pound ($2.4 billion) takeover bid, according to a report in the Times (of London) newspaper. The report said the FSA has written to various parties involved in the talks to ask what they knew about any possible bid before buyout groups HgCapital and Montagu Private Equity revealed their offer. The inquiry is a part of a continuing focus at the regulator on insider trading ahead of major announcements, the newspaper added.

SHENZHEN Ping An Bank expects lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises to grow 50 percent next year, according to the lender. The Shenzhen-based bank expects the growth of loans to SMEs will outpace the corporate banking's growth of 18 percent in 2008, said Ye Wangchun, vice president of the bank. "The focus and support on the SME business is quite clear," said Ye. The bank's SME business will be run relatively independently to develop more interest among employees to grow the business, he added. The bank set up eight sub-branches in Shenzhen. In Shanghai, it will set up two SME service centers - one opened yesterday - to woo qualified clients. A similar center will be set up in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian Province. China is encouraging SME financing to help small businesses, a group which has little track record and collateral to get credit from banks. Ping An Bank offers a one-year non-collateral loans of up to 500,000 yuan (US$68,212.82) to SMEs. The

INDUSTRIAL and consumer stocks lifted the Shanghai index today on speculation these companies will be most resistant to government plans to rein in economic growth and asset prices. The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, inched up 0.62 percent, or 32.17 points, to 5,233.35 at 3pm today. Winners in the Shanghai market outnumbered losers 664 to 93 and 89 were unchanged. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which covers the smaller mainland stock market, gained 1.65 percent, or 23.25 points, to 1,433.06. Datang Power, China's second-biggest electricity producer by market value, led the gain among industrial stocks today. Datang Power surged 8.55 percent, or 1.48 yuan (20 US cents), to 18.79 yuan, extending a six-day, 12 percent gain. Huaneng Power International Inc, the listed unit of China's largest power group, added 0.16 percent, or 1.1 yuan, to 15.01 yuan. Consumer companies also rose today as investors switched stocks

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian stocks traded mixed Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei ending the morning session higher on gains in automotive shares such as Toyota Motor Corp, while Singapore's Straits Times Index also rose, lifted by gains in financial stocks such as DBS Holdings Group. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 ended midday 0.2% higher at 15,552.59. The broader tracking Topix index added 0.4% to 1,501.26. Singapore's Straits Times Index was up 0.6% at 3,454, South Korea's Kospi index fell 0.4% to 1,910 and Taiwan's Weighted Price Index shed 1% to 8,086. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.6% to 5,170. Markets in Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia were closed for holidays. Shares of Toyota Motor added 1.8% and DBS firmed 1.9%.

JAPANESE stocks rose for a third day, led by financial shares, after a decline in interbank borrowing costs signaled a global credit-market slump is easing. "The chaos in short-term financing markets has calmed down and that is a big reason why shares are moving today (Tuesday)," said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees US$468 million in assets at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co in Tokyo. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc and Mizuho Financial Group Inc gained the most in two weeks after the London interbank offered rate, a global benchmark, dropped to the lowest since March 2006. Mitsui & Co, which generates most of its profit from commodities trading, had its steepest gain this month after crude oil advanced to a two-week high, Bloomberg News said. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 295.59, or 1.9 percent, to 15,552.59 at the close in Tokyo. It has fallen 9.7 percent so far in 2007, its first decline in five years. The broader Topix index added 26.83, or 1.8 percent, to

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Puerto Rico-based banking group Popular Inc. said Friday that it expects to report a fourth-quarter pretax loss of $90 million to $165 million following the recharacterization of a number of prior mortgage loan securitizations as sales. The company said the move will reduce its $3.1 billion subprime mortgage portfolio by around $2.4 billion. The firm also said it would take an impairment charge of up to $175 million on the goodwill and trademark value of its E-Loan business. Popular added that after the impact of these transactions it would continue to exceed the risk-based capital guidelines under federal banking regulations.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Switzerland's UBS is facing a shareholder revolt over its plans for a cash injection from Singapore and the Middle East, according to a report in the Financial Times Friday. Ulrich Grete, head of the Swiss Social Security Compensation Fund, said the deal would disadvantage existing investors and also called on UBS to name the Middle Eastern investor who will own nearly 2% of the group, according to the report. Another investor has demanded a special audit to look at how the bank made such big losses, it added. The Financial Times also said that the Middle East investor is from Saudi Arabia and added Prince Sultan, the crown prince and defense minister, was believed to be a leading figure in negotiating the deal. UBS announced the capital injection of around $11.5 billion earlier in December after taking a further $10 billion of write-downs.

Group 1 Automotive Inc. has added another dealership to its growing number of acquisitions this week. (GPI)

Some Orkut users had received e-mail messages informing them that they had received a scrapbook message from a friend. When these users would view their Orkut profiles, they would be infected by the worm and be added to an Orkut group 'Infectados pelo V

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Airline shares added to the prior session's gains in early trading Thursday. The Amex Airline Index rose 0.7% with nine of 14 stocks in the benchmark index trading higher. American Airlines parent AMR Corp. led gainers with a 2% rise. Alaska Airways Group shares climbed 1.7% after the company told investors it expected fourth-quarter capacity at its main Alaska Airlines carrier to rise 4% to nearly 6 billion available seat miles while costs per available seat mile come in flat with the same period last year, or fall 1% to 2% excluding fuel. The major indexes rose modestly, while crude oil futures slipped.

Silver Lake Partners has agreed to acquire a quarter of the Gerson Lehrman Group, the upstart Wall Street research firm that has come under scrutiny from regulators, according to The New York Times. The deal values Gerson Lehrman, which was started in 1999 by two 20-somethings, at $875 million, The Times said, which added that [...]

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Tuesday said forth-quarter net revenue in credit products "declined significantly" due to lower results from equity investments. The company said its fixed-income, currency and commodities business "operated in a challenging environment characterized by continued deterioration in the mortgage market and weakness in the corporate credit market." Goldman Sachs added debt underwriting also fell during the quarter "primarily due to a decrease in leveraged finance and mortgage-related activity, reflecting challenging market conditions."

GROUPE Danone SA faces mounting problems in its dispute with China's Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co after the labor union of its estranged Chinese joint venture partner filed lawsuits against the French firm alleging unlawful competition. The labor union sued the French dairy maker and its two wholly-owned subsidiaries in Weifang, Shandong Province, for investing in competitive companies that allegedly damage the interests of their joint ventures and employees, according to a joint statement issued by H&J Vanguard Consulting Group and Dacheng Law Offices. "The move (to invest in competitive firms) is an obstacle to the development of the joint ventures and it also violates the interests of the labor force," the statement added. The labor union has demanded that Danone pay 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) compensation for the alleged infringement and withdrawal of all legal procedures by Danone in the most prominent dispute between a Chinese firm and an overseas investor this

SHANGHAI stocks rebounded today after consecutive days of loses, driven by recovering blue chips among banks, developers and retail giants. The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, wiped out the morning session's 0.86 percent loss and added 1.01 percent, or 49.87 points, to 5,007.91 at 3pm today. Gainers in the Shanghai market outnumbered losers 691 to 79 while 75 were unchanged. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which covers the smaller mainland stock market, jumped 2.26 percent, or 29.49 points, 1,331.74. Property developers eased from previous losses and enjoyed a good day today after the country's statistics bureau said house prices in 70 major cities in China continued to soar last month. China Vanke, the nation's largest publicly traded property developer, increased 1.87 prcent, or 0.55 yuan (7 US cents), to 29.95 yuan. Poly Real Estate Group Co, the second-biggest developer, added 2.04 percent, or 1.22 yuan, to close

CHINA has agreed to let "qualified" foreign companies float their shares on the mainland, according to a joint statement issued after the China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue concluded in Beijing yesterday. "China agrees to allow, in accordance with relevant prudential regulations, qualified foreign-invested companies, including banks, to issue yuan denominated stocks; qualified listed companies to issue yuan denominated corporate bonds; and qualified incorporated foreign banks to issue yuan denominated financial bonds," said the statement. The move will pave the way for HSBC Holdings Plc and others to tap the world's fastest growing equity market. Vincent Cheng, chairman of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp, said yesterday in Hubei Province that HSBC is considering trading HSBC shares in Shanghai in the future. "We are not going to sell shares of HSBC China but the shares of the HSBC group," he said. Cheng added they had contacted

CHINA'S first self-developed hybrid car, made by Chang'an Automotive Group, yesterday rolled off the assembly line and is expected to hit the market next year. It is the first time a Chinese-made hybrid car has been made available for mass production, a milestone for the nation to catch up with international giants and take the clean car concepts from the laboratory to the market. The Jie Xun Hybrid Electric Vehicle was a sedan powered by both battery and engine, using mid-level hybrid technology, according to Liu Yue, spokesman for Chang'an, China's fourth largest car maker, yesterday. It could save fuel consumption by 20 percent and meet the fourth national emission standard, which is equivalent to the Euro IV standard, Liu added. Liu acknowledged the Toyota's Prius, the most advanced hybrid model, was more fuel efficient. "But Jie Xun's price could be significantly lower than the current hybrid models being sold on the market because it only adds 20 percent to the

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Analysts at Goldman Sachs on Thursday added shares of IntercontinentalExchange to their conviction buy list, and removed CME Group , although they reiterated their buy rating on the stock. "Active commodity markets should keep [ICE's] volumes growing at a robust pace, and at least four new initiatives should help drive earnings growth," the analysts wrote in a research note. "In addition, ICE is one of the most uniquely positioned exchanges, in our view, to take advantage of consolidation as both a buyer and a potential target." Regarding CME, they said the stock has gained 26% since it was added to the conviction buy list in June. "CME remains one of our favorite names and offers one of the most attractive strategies to gain exposure to volatile interest rate, currency and equity markets," Goldman Sachs said.

LENOVO Group Ltd, China's only global Olympics sponsor, will end its role as the worldwide sponsor of the Olympics in December 2008, four months after the closing ceremonies of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the firm said yesterday. "Lenovo's sponsorship of the Olympic Games in Torino and Beijing has helped the company build a global brand," Lenovo, the world's third-biggest computer maker, said on its Website. "As Lenovo grows, the company's marketing strategy is evolving to pinpoint opportunities that serve strategic needs in targeted geographies," Lenovo added. Lenovo's share price gained 0.15 percent to HK$6.89 (88 US cents) while the Heng Seng Index jumped 1.61 percent yesterday. There are different grades of Olympic sponsorship, of which global is the highest. Acer Inc, which acquired Gateway for US$710 million, will probably become the top sponsor, but the company spokesman was not available for comment yesterday. Lenovo is providing the