Business news for Thu, 29 Nov 2007 & with word million. 57 news.

Investment in the AdBrite online ad marketplace follows an even larger funding announcement for rival Specific Media as the market heats up.

National Australia Bank agreed to buy Great Western Bank for $798 million, as it expands its agribusiness banking model into the American Midwest farming market.

Nine insiders bought $7.6 million of the apparel retailer's stock.

CHINA Pacific Insurance (Group) Co will issue no more than one billion yuan-backed A shares in Shanghai, the insurer said yesterday on the Website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission. It will also seek a listing in Hong Kong by issuing no more than 900 million H shares after the completion of the A shares sale. The pricing of the H shares will not be lower than the A shares, the pre-disclosure statement said.

SINGAPORE'S state investment agency said it sold shares in two China mainland banks this week, and media reports said the sales netted Temasek US$800 million in proceeds. Temasek sold 280 million shares in China Construction Bank on Wednesday, representing less than two percent of its holding in the bank, a company spokeswoman said yesterday. Two days earlier, Temasek confirmed it sold 1.08 billion shares in Bank of China for HK$4.45 billion (US$570 million), reducing its stake in the mainland lender from 15.5 percent to 14.2 percent.

HipCricket Inc. this week began listing its shares on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and raised slightly more than $17 million in an initial placement of 3.16 million shares.

PING An Insurance (Group) Co said yesterday it paid 1.81 billion euros (US$2.7 billion) to become the single biggest shareholder of Fortis, marking the biggest overseas investment by a Chinese insurer. Shenzhen-based Ping An bought a 4.2-percent stake, or 95.01 million shares, in Fortis, Belgium's biggest financial company, on the Euronext Brussels and Euronext Amsterdam stock exchanges on Tuesday, the insurer said in a statement yesterday. The two companies also signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday, which enables Ping An to appoint a non-executive director to Fortis. Fortis invited Ping An's President Louis Cheung to join the board. It is pending approval at a shareholders meeting in April, 2008. The two partners may also seek cooperation in other business areas, Ping An said in a statement on its Website. "The deal is a milestone in China's insurance sector," said Ping An Chairman Peter Ma in the statement. "The deal helps us to better use the

ASTON Martin, the British iconic car maker made famous by suave British secret agent James Bond in his movies, yesterday drove into China's rapidly growing luxury sports car market when it opened its first showroom in Shanghai. The Shanghai Aston Martin Retail Center, franchised by GruppeM and located in Xintiandi, extends Aston Martin's global dealership network into China for the first time in the company's 94-year history. The country's flagship store boasts a double-deck exhibition space which is designed to hold five sleek models including the DB9 Volante, DB9 coupe and V8 Vantage. These models went on sale yesterday with prices costing between two million yuan (US$270,270) and three million yuan each. Aston Martin will also build an exclusive service facility close to Hongqiao airport in Shanghai. Its second showroom in China will soon open in Beijing early next month. "China is one of the fastest growing markets which Aston Martin has not previously made a

CREDIT Industriel et Commercial, Europe's third largest bank based in France, expects to find local partners to tap the mainland's private banking business, said company executive yesterday. "If there are any opportunities for CIC and banks in China to incorporate, we can't ignore them. Our proposals are open," said Timothy K. Lo, managing director of CIC Investor Services Ltd, the bank's Hong Kong subsidiary. CIC has partnered with Hong Kong's Bank of East Asia since 2003 to provide private banking and asset management services for mainland clients with offshore assets. But BEA has set up its own private banking service in Hong Kong last year and will start a similar service soon on the mainland, according to Lo. The fast expanding wealth of Chinese mainlanders boosted CIC's interest in the market. "We target the high-end sector and our clients are required to have a minimum non-fixed assets of US$1 million, referring to liquid capital such as cash, equities

The NFL Network finally has some good blocking upfront this week -- or so it thinks. The network is airing the big Dallas Cowboys-Green Bay Packers game Thursday night to its limited consumer base of 35 million homes. This is just the situation the NFL seemingly wanted: a big game that consumers can't get too easily.

CHICAGO - Sears Holdings Corp. stumbled to its worst performance yet under Edward Lampert, earning just $2 million in a dismal third quarter that heightened questions about his strategy and Sears' future as a retailer, prompting a huge selloff in its stock Thursday.

Toyota and Mazda announced a recall of nearly half a million cars worldwide collectively - Toyota over faulty fuel pipes in its luxury Lexus vehicles, and Mazda for an electric cable defect in its Axela sedans.

HOUSTON/LONDON (Reuters) - A fatal explosion crippled the biggest pipeline supplying Canadian crude to U.S. Midwest refineries, shutting off more than 1 million barrels per day of imports to the world's biggest consumer.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Natural gas futures erased earlier gains Thursday after data showed U.S. inventories fell less than expected in the latest week. Natural gas futures for January delivery were last down 1.9 cents, or 0.3%, to $7.465 per million British thermal units. Earlier they rose to an intraday high of $7.676. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Thursday U.S. natural gas storage fell 12 billion cubic feet in the week ending Nov. 23, less than the decline of 17 billion cubic feet that analysts at Global Insights were expecting. Natural gas inventories stood at 3,528 billion cubic feet in the latest week, 106 billion cubic feet higher than last year at this time and 301 billion cubic feet above the 5-year average, the EIA said.

India needs to provide vocational training to at least 10 million people in the 15-29 age group every year.

We are pensioners about to receive a cheque for a million pounds. We already are okay but would like to invest so as to maximize growth and security but with a minimum of fees, effort and tax. What do you suggest?

The widow of former Enron Chairman Ken Lay denies he committed any crimes, according to a filing Friday in the government's civil forfeiture case that is seeking nearly $13 million from his estate, including the upscale condominium they shared.

Wood Expressions, a Los Angeles business that sells $3 million worth of high-end backgammon sets, dominos, and checkerboards a year, has seen its fair share of recessions over the past 30 years. Owner Ron Reyes says he's heard about the threat of a potential economic downturn, but he's not particularly worried about the upcoming holiday season. "Personally, I don't think it's going to directly affect us," he says. "In fact, I think we're going to do better this Christmas than last year."

National Bank said Thursday that a $365-million charge related to this year's credit squeeze pulled it to a loss of $175 million in the fourth quarter.

Telus has struck a friendly deal with Emergis to buy the e-commerce company for $763 million, the two companies announced Thursday.