Business news for Mon, 24 Dec 2007 & with words agreed+world. 2 news.

Merrill Lynch & Co, the world's biggest brokerage, agreed to sell most of its commercial finance business to General Electric Co's finance arm for an undisclosed price to free up capital after subprime losses. The sale of Merrill Lynch Capital's corporate, equipment, energy and healthcare finance units is expected to be completed in the first-quarter, the companies said yesterday in a Business Wire statement. The deal will add more than US$10 billion in assets to GE Capital. The transaction is part of New York-based Merrill Lynch's "strategic focus on divesting non-core assets," and will release about US$1.3 billion of capital to be redeployed elsewhere, said Chief Executive Officer John Thain in the statement. Merrill, on October 24, announced US$8.4 billion of writedowns on mortgage-related investments and corporate loans. The firm, which ousted Stan O'Neal as CEO in October, may report an additional US$8.6-billion writedown for the fourth quarter, according to David

This is the China century," says Jim Rogers, standing amid moving boxes in his opulent Manhattan townhouse. "It's time for them to rule the roost." In fact, the 65-year-old former investment partner of George Soros and globe-circling author of Investment Biker is such a believer in the capitalist momentum of the People's Republic that he recently agreed to sell his beloved home and relocate full-time to Singapore - not quite Shanghai, but close enough to the action. It's something he's been considering at least since 2004, when Fortune last wrote about his remarkable prescience in championing a China-driven, worldwide commodities boom. His new book, A Bull in China: Investing Profitably in the World's Greatest Market (Random House, $26.95), is a how-to guide for investors interested in following him to the Far East. Fortune interrupted his packing for a chat about China, commodities, and the teetering U.S. economy.