Business news for Thu, 29 Nov 2007 & with words estimate+prices. 3 news.

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) is likely to revise lower its 2008 estimate of world economic growth due to financial market turmoil and surging oil prices.

Reuters - Soft sales and plunging prices for new homes, together with a surge in claims for new jobless benefits highlighted a slide in U.S. economic activity that forced the Bush administration on Thursday to scale back its estimate for growth in 2008.

New-home sales rose a bit in October because prior month sales were revised lower, but prices tumbled. The government revised up the estimate of third-quarter growth to 4.9%, a full percentage point higher. But expectations remained that growth is grinding nearly to a halt in the current quarter.