Business news with words department+previous+sales. 7 news.

THE year-on-year growth rate of China's home prices last month hit a two-year high, a senior official in the nation's top planning body has said. The average home price in 70 major cities rose 10.5 percent last month compared with a year ago, and average new home prices grew 12.2 percent year-on-year, Cao Changqing, head of the pricing department at the National Development and Reform Commission, said yesterday in an online interview. But Cao did not reveal last month's growth rate over October. The average housing price in these cities has increased six consecutive months, including November. In the first 11 months of this year, home prices in 70 cities increased 7.3 percent from the previous year, while new residences jumped 7.9 percent. Shenzhen and Guangzhou's home prices began to drop gradually after hiking in previous months, while home sales in popular areas such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou have decreased, Cao said. Property policies will meet the

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Inventories at U.S. businesses rose 0.1% in October, below expectations and slower than the 0.7% increase in sales, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The inventory-to-sales ratio, an indication of demand, fell to 1.26 in October from 1.27 in the previous month. This is the lowest inventory-to-sales ratio since July. Economists had been expecting the nation's inventories to rise 0.3% in October. A new piece of data in the report was the 0.4% increase in October retail inventories, which follows a 0.1% gain in September.

Net foreign acquisition of long-maturity U.S. securities totaled $5.8 billion in September, recovering from record sales the previous month, according to a U.S. Treasury Department report released Friday.

WASHINGTON Retail sales managed a small increase in October as consumers struggle to cope with a steep slump in housing, tighter credit conditions and soaring energy costs. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that retail sales edged up 0.2 percent in October compared to the previous month. It was the weakest showing since a 0.1 percent rise in August and represented a significant slowdown from a 0.7 percent jump in September sales. The weakness last month reflected a 0.5 percent drop in sales at department stores, where merchants were hurt by a wamer-than-normal October which depre

NINE senior officials at China's biggest liquor maker have been handed over to prosecutors on charges of corruption and bribery, Xinhua news agency reported today. Wang Xiaojin, former chairman of Anhui Gujing Group Co, has been expelled from the National People's Congress, the report said. Illicit money involved in the case ranged from 300,000 yuan (US$40,214) to five million yuan, the report said. Guo Xinmin, deputy manager of the sales department of Gujing Distillery Co, allegedly received more than five million yuan in bribes and Zhu Renwang, former general manager of the department, received a total of two million yuan from more than 30 clients, Bozhou prosecutors said. Vice president Li Yunjie received more than two million yuan, the prosecutors said. Other involved officials are Ruan Kunhua, Gan Shaoyu and Li Wanlin, the prosecutors said. Wang and his wife were taken from their home by the Party's disciplinary personnel in April. Previous reports said that

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Sales of new homes rebounded in September from summer sales levels that were much weaker than previously reported, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Sales increased 4.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 770,000 from a revised 735,000 in August. Previously, August's sales had been reported at a 795,000 pace. September's sales were slightly higher than the 758,000 pace expected by economists. The three previous months were revised sharply lower, which means the housing market was much weaker in the middle of the year than previous believed. Sales of new homes are down 23.3% in the past year.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. wholesalers' inventories rose by 0.2% in July, climbing at a slower pace than the previous month as automotive, petroleum and other stockpiles fell, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Sales at the wholesale level rose by 0.1%. Wholesale sales of petroleum outpaced inventories in July, rising by 1.5%. Inventories of petroleum dropped by 0.1% in July. In the past year, total wholesale inventories are up 5.5%. Sales are up 7.2%.