Business news with words economic+growth. 60 or more news.

AFP - US stocks ended a tumultuous 2007 with a whimper Monday, retreating in the face of a new year fraught with worries about economic growth, a housing meltdown and tight credit.

The Bank of Japan is considering slashing the nation's economic growth forecast for the fiscal year to March to as low as 1.3 percent from its current 1.8 percent, the Mainichi Shimbun reported Sunday.

The film industry was the brightest spot in economic development in 2007, say state experts, and despite layoffs at Intel and the national labs, New Mexico continues to have low unemployment and healthy growth.

Last year was one of the best in history for the economy, and by all indications, 2008 figures to be an outstanding economic year for Israel as well. ...

The subprime mortgage mess is big. But it's not large enough to upend U.S. economic growth in 2008, the panelists say.

The year 2008 will be a good one for workers, it seems. Unemployment is expected to stay below 7 percent after having fallen to its lowest level in 11 years back in October - 6.9%. Israel's brisk economic growth created jobs, and employees will be better positioned to haggle over pay, analysts say. ...

Sales of new homes in the US fell to a 12-year low in November, portending bigger declines in construction that will hobble economic growth throughout 2008. Purchases dropped 9 percent to an annual pace of 647,000, the Commerce Department said...

FT.com - Wall Street stocks pared early gains on Friday after new home sales hit their lowest rate in more than 12 years, raising fears that the declining housing market would constrain US economic growth.

HONG Kong's exports grew at the slowest pace in 14 months in November on weak demand in the United States, where a housing recession threatens to stall economic growth. Shipments rose 6.6 percent from a year earlier to HK$244 billion (US$31 billion) after gaining 9.8 percent in October, the statistics department said yesterday. The deepest housing slump in 16 years may undermine US consumer spending. The US economy will expand at a one percent annual pace in the fourth quarter after growing at a 4.9 percent rate from July through September, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed this month by Bloomberg News.

Treasury prices rallied Friday, pushing yields lower after news that new home sales hit a more than 12-year low in November, suggesting weak construction will reduce economic growth next year.

SAN FRANCISCO - More U.S. businesses are likely to hang "going bankrupt" signs on their doors next year as the twin blows of slower economic growth and pricey commodities force the weakest companies to seek refuge from creditors.

Taiwan's economy still showed signs of steady growth in November despite a slowdown in its pace, the top official economic planning body said Thursday.

CHINA may produce more than 8.6 million vehicles this year as it narrows the gap with Japan and the United States, the world's top two auto makers, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. China's economic growth, averaging about 10 percent over the past five years, is raising demand for automobiles and has boosted production from about 100,000 vehicles a year in the 1980s to 7.28 million last year, making the country the world's third-biggest vehicle producer.

THE yuan rose the most since China ended its fixed-exchange rate to the US dollar in 2005 as the government signaled faster gains to cool economic growth and curb inflation. The currency climbed as much as 0.43 percent after the official China Securities Journal cited Ba Shusong, a cabinet researcher, calling for appreciation to curb prices of imported fuel and food. The yuan gained 0.37 percent to 7.3175 per dollar as of the 5:30pm close in Shanghai. The average daily fluctuation this week of 0.28 percent is three times larger than last week's.

JAPAN'S housing starts fell for a fifth month in November, indicating that stricter rules for obtaining building permits may remain a drag on economic growth in the first quarter of 2008. Ground broken on new homes and condominiums tumbled 27 percent from a year earlier after falling 35 percent in October, the Land Ministry said in Tokyo yesterday. The median estimate of 31 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 28.5-percent drop. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said last week he regretted the slump in housing starts that resulted from building-code changes made in June after an architect fabricated earthquake-resistance data. The central bank lowered its evaluation of the economy for the first time in three years last week, and the government slashed its growth forecast because of the building fiasco. "We don't expect a fully fledged recovery in housing starts at least until mid-2008," Takehiro Sato, chief Japan economist at Morgan Stanley in Tokyo, said before

By Monty Guild. "It is not yet widely in the news in the developed world, but in the developing world and in the energy producing countries of the Mid East, Asia, and Latin America; inflation is beginning to share the headlines with news about rapid economic growth."

Reuters - Stocks opened lower on Thursday after a weaker-than-expected reading on durable goods data, combined with the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, dimmed the outlook for economic growth and geopolitical security.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks opened lower on Thursday after a weaker-than-expected reading on durable goods data, combined with the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, dimmed the outlook for economic growth and geopolitical security.

China's economic growth rate will probably hit 11.5% in 2007 and dip under 11% in 2008.

Singapore banks are likely to do well next year on robust domestic growth, but the ride could turn rocky if a U.S. economic recession or continuing bad-debt write-downs slam the city-state's financial-services companies.