Business news with words advanced+buy. 22 news.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - International Business Machines Corp is in advanced talks to buy Israeli start-up XIV Information Systems for $300 million to $350 million, financial daily Globes reported on Monday.

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- International Business Machines Corp., the Armonk, N.Y., tech giant, is in advanced talks to buy an Israeli storage-technology startup, XIV, for $300 million to $350 million, the Israeli business daily Globes reported in its online edition. Citing sources, Globes said the company is chaired by Moshe Yanai, a former executive with EMC Corp., the Hopkinton, Mass., technology-infrastructure provider. Yanai laid out the $3 million that's funded XIV from its founding in 2002 to date, Globes reported.

Reuters - International Business Machines Corp is in advanced talks to buy Israeli start-up XIV Information Systems for $300 million to $350 million, financial daily Globes reported on Monday.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy stocks rose in early action Wednesday ahead of the latest inventory data due out later in the session and as crude prices advanced on the heels of the latest comments by Opec about keeping production stable. The Amex Oil Index rose 0.7% to 1,390. The Amex Natural Gas Index added 0.5% to 537, with component Southwestern Energy jumping 2.7% to $50.91. Oil prices advanced 40 cents to $94.82 on the Nymex. OPEC reportedly has no plan to raise oil output when it meets next week in Abu Dhabi because the market is well supplied, Qatar's oil minister said. Meanwhile, analysts expect a 900,000 barrel decrease in weekly crude inventories to 312.7 million barrels. Gasoline stocks are seen rising by 600,000 barrels. Refiner Holly Corp. rose 1.8% to $47.45 after it was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Friedman Billings Ramsey. Coal producer Alpha Natural Resources Inc. rose 1.4% to $27.95 after it was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS. Concho Resources Inc. fell 0.6% to $18.48 on plans to offer 10 million shares of its common stock.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Oil and natural gas stocks rose Monday amid modest gains in the overall market, as oil prices edged down. The Amex Natural Gas Index advanced 1.1% to 553. The Amex Oil Index advanced 0.4% to 1,436. Crude oil futures fell 73 cents to $97.45 on the Nymex. Occidental Petroleum fell 1% to $50.03 after it said it's deepening ties to Libya, with plans to spend about $5 billion in the next three years to boost oil production. Tesoro fell 2% to $54.82 after Tracinda Corp. objected to a poison pill provision adopted by the company. Chevron rose 0.5% after the company said it's evaluating options for its 5% stake in India's Reliance Petroleum. Tidewater rose 3% to $52.18 after Jefferies upgraded the oil services firm to buy from hold.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy stocks opened higher for the second straight session on Wednesday as oil prices rose. Traders will wait until Thursday for key inventory data, due out a day later than usual because of the Veteran's Day holiday. The Amex Oil Index rose 0.2% to 1,440. The Amex Natural Gas Index added 0.7% to 547. Crude futures rose $1.50 to $92.67 on the Nymex. BP rose 74 cents to $74.39 after it announced a big gas discovery in Azerbaijan that could double production from the largest natural gas development in the Caspian Sea. Exploration and production firm EOG Resources Inc. advanced 4% to $89.14 after it was upgraded to hold from sell at Citigroup. Quicksilver Resources jumped 5% to $54.86 after it was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup.

Development of a homegrown Chinese private-equity industry advanced as Bohai Industrial Investment Fund agreed to buy a stake in a maker of steel oil pipes.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy stocks moved up Monday along with the overall market after oil futures broke through $93 a barrel for the first time on jitters over a production cut in Mexico on bad weather. The Amex Oil Index rose 0.5% to 1,513. The Amex Natural Gas Index advanced 0.2% to 561.4 Petro China rose $2.69 to $249.16 after it priced its Shanghai initial public offering at the top of its range. Western Refining rose 3% to $39.41 after it was upgraded to neutral from sell at UBS. Oil States International fell 1% to $42.36 after it was downgraded to neutral from buy at Oppenheimer. Tesero fell 1.3% to $63.62, giving back some of its gains in the previous session on an offer from Kirk Kerkorian to buy a chunk of the company.

Xuhui Shao Turn The San Mateo company that enables advertisers and publishers to buy and sell online advertising in an advanced marketplace named Xuhui Shao chief technology officer.

CITIC Securities Co, Asia's largest brokerage by value, said its third-quarter profit soared more than eightfold as a surging Chinese stock market fueled growth in trading commissions and underwriting fees. Net income advanced to 4.15 billion yuan (US$550 million), or 1.34 yuan a share, from a restated 494.7 million yuan, or 0.17 yuan a share in the year-earlier period, the Beijing-based company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. Profit jumped in trading, asset management and underwriting in the most profitable year for China's brokerage industry, with the CSI 300 Index rising 161 percent since January 1. Citic is extending its global reach with a US$1 billion cross-investment with Bear Stearns Cos, the United States's fifth-largest investment bank. "Citic Securities is growing rapidly," said Victor Wang, a Hong Kong-based analyst at UBS AG, who recommends that investors buy Citic's shares. "The cross-investment with Bear Stearns will also give Citic more

(Reuters) -- Navistar International Corp. on Thursday provided restated results for 2003 and 2004 and said it expects to be current in all filings by the second quarter of 2008, passing a key marker in its ongoing struggle to clean up its books. The Warrenville truck and engine maker also ...

RESEARCH In Motion, the developer of BlackBerry, will sell the popular e-mail phones in China by the end of this year through its distribution partner Alcatel Lucent, the companies said yesterday. It marks RIM's official entry into the world's largest cell phone market, and China Mobile will be the service provider. RIM has worked with China Mobile since last year on service issues but people can't yet buy BlackBerry phones in China. The first model offered to Chinese customers in foreign enterprises will be the BlackBerry 8700. Availability for domestic enterprise customers in key markets is expected to begin later this year, Alcatel Lucent said in a statement. TCL Communications, a major Chinese mobile phone manufacturer owning the brand Alcatel, will make the BlackBerry phones. Canada-based RIM had its share estimate raised to US$150 from US$125 at UBS AG after announcing the plan. RIM's stock advanced 9.8 percent to US$124.53 on Tuesday. "The BlackBerry platform

DOMESTIC stocks rose for a second day, led by airlines and real estate developers. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, advanced 1.21 percent, or 69.72 points, to close at 5,843.11. But the Shenzhen Composite Index, which covers the smaller Chinese mainland stock market, lost 0.57 percent, or 8.38 points, to 1,453.05. Among the stocks on the Shanghai market, decliners outnumbered gainers by 590 to 185, with 71 unchanged. Airlines, property developers and some banks were among the gainers today after the Chinese currency climbed past 7.5 to the US dollar for the first time, boosting demand for yuan-priced assets such as property. China Southern Airlines Co, the nation's biggest carrier, rose 1.39 yuan (18 US cents), or 7.14 percent, to 20.87 yuan. The carrier said it agreed to buy 10 A330-200 planes from Airbus SAS, worth as much as US$1.77 billion at list price. China Eastern, the nation's third-largest

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Advanced Micro Devices Inc. on Friday urged stockholders to reject a so-called mini-tender offer from TRC Capital Corp, a private investment firm that seeks to buy up to 5 million shares. TRC is offering AMD shareholders $13.25 a share, about 9% less than AMD's stock price of $14.55 at the end of Thursday's trading, the company said. AMD said TRC has a history of making mini-tenders and the chipmaker pointed to a recent warning by federal regulators that investors should beware of such proposals.

(AP) -- DeVry Inc. said Wednesday it agreed to acquire Advanced Academics Inc., a provider of online secondary education, for $27.5 million in cash. DeVry, which operates schools including DeVry University and Ross University, said the purchase is part of its strategy to expand in the ...

SHARES in Intel Corp and Yahoo! Inc have advanced in German trading after earnings topped analysts' estimates. This has spurred optimism about sales of computers, electronics and online advertising going into the holidays, Bloomberg News reported. Intel, the world's largest chip maker, said late on Tuesday that profit rose 43 percent on demand for personal computers in Europe and Asia. Yahoo, owner of the most-visited United States Website, reported a surge in sales of banner ads. That helped its profit fall less than analysts predicted. "You're seeing solid to better-than-expected if not spectacular news out of a couple of big bellwethers, with both Yahoo and Intel looking pretty good," said Kevin Landis, chief investment officer at Firsthand Capital Management in San Jose, California. His firm owns Yahoo stock and plans to buy shares in Intel. "It is going to be good news for tech stocks," he said. Intel, whose processors run more than 70 percent of the

AUSTRALIA'S home-loan approvals increased more than expected in August, from a seven-month low, as rising immigration and jobs growth stoked demand for property. The number of loans granted to people to build or buy houses or apartments advanced 1.6 percent to 64,365 from July, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney yesterday. The median estimate of 21 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 1.1-percent gain. An increase in borrowing is the latest sign Australia's economy is weathering global financial turmoil sparked by the United States subprime-mortgage rout. The lowest jobless rate in 33 years and rising wages are stoking consumer spending just as China's demand for commodities drives business investment and export earnings. "There is a gentle pickup in housing occurring and it will be positive for economic growth," said John Peters, a Sydney-based senior economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation's largest mortgage lender. "The rise is partly due to the strong labor market." The Australian dollar bought 89.92 US cents at 12:07pm in Sydney from 89.88 US cents immediately before the report was released. The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond was unchanged at 5.25 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.7 percent, the fourth straight gain. Loans to build new houses climbed 2.7 percent in August from July, yesterday's report showed. The number of loans to buy newly built dwellings slipped 0.2 percent. A slump in the US subprime-mortgage market spread around the world in August, sending stocks and commodity markets lower on concern global growth would slow. The rout also drove up the cost of credit as banks became reluctant to lend. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens raised the overnight cash rate target a quarter point to an 11-year high of 6.5 percent on August 8. The turmoil in markets and the increase in borrowing costs have failed to derail an economy in its 16th year of expansion. "The rate hike has had little knee-jerk impact on households," said Su-Lin Ong, a senior economist at RBC Capital Markets in Sydney. "This is consistent with other data showing continued expenditure and borrowing despite higher rates." Australian retail sales increased 0.7 percent in August from July, more than twice as much as economists forecast, a report last week showed. Imports climbed three percent to a record in August on sales of consumer goods and business

OAO Gazprom, the world's biggest supplier of natural gas, reported yesterday that first-quarter profit rose 14 percent to a record, boosted by an accounting gain related to pensions and higher fuel prices. Net income climbed to 210 billion rubles (US$8.4 billion), or 9.07 rubles a share, from 185 billion rubles, or 8.13 rubles, from a year earlier, the Moscow-based company said on its Website. Profit beat the median estimate of 158 billion rubles in a Bloomberg News survey of 11 analysts. Sales unexpectedly advanced to a record in the period after price increases offset a drop in demand during one of the warmest winters ever. State-run Gazprom, Russia's sole exporter of the fuel, last week threatened to curb deliveries to Ukraine over an unpaid debt, rekindling concern about the country's reliability as an energy supplier. "At first glance the results look very strong," Alexander Burgansky, an oil and gas analyst at Renaissance Capital in Moscow, said in an e-mailed note. He has a "buy" recommendation on the shares. "We do not view these results as representative of 2007 as a whole, given they were affected by a one-off decline in European demand this past winter," he added. Gazprom shares rose 0.8 percent to 291.40 rubles yesterday, the highest since July 19. Gazprom said changes to Russian accounting rules resulted in the "deconsolidation" of its pension fund, Gazfund, and a decision to stop using it as a primary investment vehicle, leading to a one-time gain of 44.7 billion rubles. Without that gain, profit would have declined as warmer weather cut demand for fuel in the first quarter.

SHANGHAI stocks rallied to a new high on the first trading day after a weeklong holiday spurred by robust growth in the banking sector. The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, jumped 2.53 percent, or 140.45 points, to close at 5,692.75. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which covers the smaller mainland stock market, rose 0.57 percent, or 8.69 points, to 1,541.35. Turnover in the morning amounted to 158 billion yuan (US$21 billion). Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the biggest Chinese lender, surged by the daily-limit 10 percent to 7.27 yuan per share. China Merchants Bank rose 6.9 percent to 40.91 yuan and Bank of China advanced 6.24 percent to 6.30 yuan. China Minsheng Banking Corp grew 3.1 percent to 16.30 yuan after it announced plans to buy 20 percent of UCBH Holdings Inc by 2009, the first stake purchase by a mainland bank of an American bank. Minsheng, China's first non-state-owned bank and the seventh-largest bank by market value, will buy 5.4 million shares of UCBH shares for US$96 million, taking up a 4.9 percent stake this year as the first step of its three-year acquisition plan. China Life, the biggest insurer on the mainland, surged 8.65 percent to 67.81 yuan and Ping An Insurance rose 4.77 percent to 141.39 yuan. Real estate companies reported widespread growth thanks to a booming property market during the Golden Week, apparently unaffected by the latest government efforts to cool the market. On September 27, the People's Bank of China and the China Banking Regulatory Commission announced that mortgage holders who applied for another home loan would be required to produce a down payment of at least 40 percent and pay a 10 percent premium on their interest rate. China Vanke, the No. 1 publicly traded real estate developer, climbed 10 percent to 33.22 yuan and Poly Real Estate also jumped 10 percent to 82.04 yuan. Air China dropped 6.74 percent to 22 yuan and China Eastern Airlines dropped 6.65 percent to 17.13 yuan. China Southern Airlines lost 6.81 percent to 22.31 yuan and Hainan Airlines declined 5.43 percent to 11.14 yuan.

SHANGHAI stocks rallied to a new intraday high on the first trading day after a weeklong holiday as investors build their positions due to a lack of new tightening measures. The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, jumped 2.99 percent, or 166.19 points, to 5,718.49 at 11:30am. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which covers the smaller mainland stock market, rose 0.7 percent, or 10.74 points, to 1,543.41. Turnover in the morning amounted to 86.8 billion yuan (US$11.56 billion). Robust growth in the banking sector contributed a lot to the market's surge. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the biggest Chinese lender, surged 9.38 percent to 7.23 yuan per share. China Merchants Bank rose 7.39 percent to 41.10 yuan and Bank of China advanced 6.41 percent to 6.31 yuan. China Minsheng Banking Corp grew 4.36 percent to 16.50 yuan after it announced plans to buy 20 percent of UCBH Holdings Inc by 2009, the first stake purchase by a mainland bank of an American bank. Minsheng, China's first non-state-owned bank and the seventh-largest bank by market value, will buy 5.4 million shares of UCBH shares for US$96 million, taking up a 4.9 percent stake this year as the first step of its three-year acquisition plan. China Life, the biggest insurer on the mainland, surged 9.85 percent to 68.56 yuan and Ping An Insurance rose 7.45 percent to 145 yuan. Real estate companies reported widespread growth thanks to a booming property market during the Golden Week, apparently unaffected by the latest government efforts. On September 27, the People's Bank of China and the China Banking Regulatory Commission announced that mortgage holders who applied for another home loan would be required to produce a down payment of at least 40 percent and pay a 10 percent premium on their interest rate. China Vanke, the No. 1 publicly traded real estate developer, climbed 5.2 percent to 31.77 yuan and Poly Real Estate jumped 5.39 percent to 78.60 yuan. Air China dropped 5.93 percent to 22.19 yuan and China Eastern Airlines dropped 5.99 percent to 17.25 yuan. China Southern Airlines lost 3.93 percent to 23 yuan and Hainan Airlines declined 4.92 percent to 11.2 yuan.