Business news for Mon, 17 Dec 2007 & with word growth. 42 news.

NEW YORK -- Wall Street extended last week's losses Monday as investors remained concerned about flagging growth and rising prices, and were skeptical that a special Federal Reserve credit auction will be a solution.

TRAVEL agency franchiser Jetset Travelworld today increased its interim profit guidance, saying it expects 45 per cent growth in its "interim result" in the first half of 2008.

Service sector companies in the eurozone are bearing the brunt of a slowdown that continues to deteriorate, according to a closely watched survey

The euro-zone economy grew at its slowest pace in more than two years in December, as tight credit conditions and the strong euro took their toll on activity in the services and manufacturing sectors.

CONSUMER spending on China's hotel and catering industry hit record highs last month, as the hotel industry develops, and food prices rise. Domestic hotels and restaurants generated record sales of 110 billion yuan (US$14.9 billion) for November, an increase of 21.6 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Commerce said on its Website yesterday. The growth is 3.9 percent higher than the same period last year, and 0.2 percent higher than in October. Spending on hotels and restaurants for the first 11 months rose by 18.9 percent to 1.11 trillion yuan, accounting for 13.9 percent of total retail sales during the period. Analysts say part of this can be attributed to the rise in food prices since the beginning of this year. In November, China's consumer prices, a main gauge of inflation, jumped 6.9 percent from a year earlier, close to 11-year record of seven percent set in December 1996. Sales revenue was recorded at 134.7 billion yuan. About 862 foreign-funded hotels

CHINA Pacific Insurance (Group) Co, the nation's third-largest insurer, raised 30 billion yuan (US$4.1 billion) in its Shanghai initial public offering yesterday, the second-biggest mainland share sale by a Chinese insurance company. Pacific Insurance, 19.9 percent owned by companies controlled by funds managed by the Carlyle Group, sold one billion new shares at 30 yuan each, the top end of a range, according to a sale document. Investors are piling into China's IPOs, seeking an escape from a secondary stock market disturbed by concerns about rising domestic interest rates and other government measures to cool growth in the world's fastest-growing major economy. "Chinese investors still have a lot of appetite for insurance stocks, since there will be only three companies traded domestically," said Ke Shifeng, who helps oversee about US$5 billion of Greater China assets for Martin Currie Investment Management in Shanghai. "The IPO market remains red-hot unlike the

HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest bank by value, aims to start three new funds on the Chinese mainland next year as it taps into the country's rising demand for investment products. "We will see a strong growth and I would be surprised if we didn't see at least US$2 billion of new funds flowing in," Rudolf Apenbrink, chief executive officer of HSBC Investments Hong Kong Ltd, said in an interview with Bloomberg News. HSBC already manages three funds worth US$1.5 billion on the mainland under the joint venture HSBC Jintrust Fund Management Co. It expects to receive regulatory approval for its fourth fund soon and will apply for the qualified domestic institutional investment, or QDII, quota in May, Apenbrink said. Financial companies, including banks, fund managers and insurers, invest abroad using QDII quotas. To cope with managing more funds, HSBC Jintrust plans to recruit as many as 20 new employees next year, Apenbrink said. The company has about 100 employees.

An overhaul at Ebay planned for next year could revive the company's flagging growth, while also strengthening John Donahoe's standing as the likely eventual successor to CEO Meg Whitman

ASIAN stocks fell the most in four months, led by Samsung Electronics Co and HSBC Holdings Plc, on concern accelerating inflation will limit interest-rate cuts, threatening global growth. Samsung declined the most in three weeks. HSBC and Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd paced losses in Hong Kong, where interest rates track those set by the Federal Reserve, after United States consumer prices rose the most since 2005. Centro Properties Group plummeted 76 percent in Sydney after the owner of US shopping malls said it was struggling to refinance debt. "Sentiment in the region is getting worse," said David Ng, who helps manage US$954 million at Hwang-DBS Asset Management Sdn in Kuala Lumpur. "First we had slowing US growth; now add on inflation fears. That makes for a bad combination." The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 2.9 percent to 152.28 as of 6:49pm in Tokyo, its sharpest decline since August 17, Bloomberg News said. The benchmark is set for its lowest annual gain

ACE Ltd has agreed to buy Combined Insurance Co of America from Aon Corp, the world's second-largest insurance broker, for US$2.4 billion in cash. The purchase of the Illinois-based accident, health, and life insurance unit, which has four million policy holders and almost 7,000 sales agents, will probably close by the end of the second quarter, Ace said yesterday. Aon is also selling Washington-based health-care insurer Sterling Life Insurance Co to Munich Re, the world's second-biggest reinsurer, for US$352 million. "The acquisition of Combined is a significant milestone for Ace and represents both an opportunity for considerable growth and expense-related efficiencies," Ace Chief Executive Officer Evan G. Greenberg said. Ace, the Bermuda-based business insurer, said in October it may make an acquisition to expand its life insurance business, according to Bloomberg News. Greenberg said the company was also planning to expand small-business coverage in Asia and

WHEAT rose above US$10 a bushel for the first time yesterday, leading other grains and oilseeds higher in a food price spiral that threatens global economic growth. Chicago wheat futures jumped as much as 30 US cents, or 3.1 percent, to US$10.09 as dry weather threatened crops in Argentina, renewing concern that the world's farmers may not be able to grow enough to meet rising demand for bread, pasta and livestock feed. Rice also advanced to a record, while soybeans reached the highest price in 34 years and corn reached a nine-month peak, said Bloomberg News. Rising prices of food and fuel are stoking inflation and making it more difficult for central bankers to lower interest rates. Kellogg Co, the largest United States cereal maker, General Mills Inc, Nissin Food Products Co and Kikkoman Corp are among companies that have raised prices. "We are seeing a broad-based increase in cost pressures," Brian Redican, senior economist at Macquarie Group Ltd, said from

EUROPE'S manufacturing and service industries grew at the slowest pace in more than two years this month because of increases in energy and food prices and borrowing costs. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc said yesterday a preliminary estimate of its composite index fell to 53.3 from 54.1 in November. That's the lowest since August 2005 and lagged behind the 53.7 median of 15 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. A reading above 50 indicates growth. Europe's economy is heading for its slowest growth in three years in 2008 due to a near-record level for the euro, a 50 percent increase in crude oil prices, and higher lending costs. While the European Central Bank this month cut its forecast for economic growth next year, it's held off reducing interest rates as the inflation rate reached a six-year high. "The index is consistent with below-trend growth in the euro zone and this will continue until at least the second quarter 2008," Marco Valli, an economist at

A new deal with AMC entertainment could give Imax a much needed boost. Consistent revenue and margin growth could follow.

Zurich Financial Services inched forward its plan for acquisition-led growth with the $140m purchase of DWS Vita in Italy.

Matsushita has delivered strong earnings in recent years, helped by a strategy that focuses its resources on a few growth areas. But now, cracks are emerging in one of those pillars: plasma television sets.

By Brian Stoll. "Recession, global growth, inflation oh my! What will happen!? Who cares? What’s happening right now is the answer to the question of what to do today about tomorrow."

China will tighten monetary controls next year to curb rapid credit growth, said a deputy central bank governor quoted Monday by a government newspaper.

Indexes posted further losses Monday. Traders continue to worry about growth prospects in the U.S. and stress in the financial system

It is the ultimate irony that the $5.6 billion acquisition of Dow Jones represents a formidable growth opportunity for News Corp. because the scion of global business news has been one of the most poorly managed of all media companies, with an industry-low 3.5% operating margin. Rupert Murdoch is about to change all that.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Growth in the factory sector in the New York region slowed in December, the New York Federal Reserve Bank reported Monday. The Empire State index fell to 10.3 in December from 27.4 in November. It's the lowest since May. Readings over zero indicate growth. The new orders index fell 10 points to 14.3, and the shipments index fell 11 points to 21.1.