Business news for Mon, 17 Dec 2007 & with word lost. 15 news.

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

The government announced a review of the impact of competition on the postal market two years after Royal Mail lost its monopoly over the delivery of letters

HM Revenue & Customs became embroiled in another data scandal today after it emerged that it lost personal details of 6,500 private pension holders

2007 was the year the marketing industry lost itself—thanks to its desire to win. At least that's the view from down under, according to Sydney-based marketing creative, Jonathan Kneebone

A second jury lost a chance to render a verdict in a trial stemming from the deadly 2005 explosion at BP's Texas City refinery when a civil trial ended early Tuesday with a settlement.

A second jury lost a chance to render a verdict in a trial stemming from the deadly 2005 explosion at BP's Texas City refinery when a civil trial ended early Tuesday with a settlement.

Texas may have lost out to Illinois in its bid to host the FutureGen power plant project, but Lone Star state officials may take some comfort in that they won't be stuck in an ongoing feud between government and industry participants.

Centro shares drop by 76 per cent Banks forced to write off billions Aussie investors caught off guard

STOCKS in the banking and real estate sectors dragged the Shanghai Index down today amid concern that the government will make further moves to curb gains in home prices. The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, was down 2.62 percent, or 131.15 points, to close at 4,876.76 at 3pm today. The index opened at 5,007.29 at 9:30am. Gainers in the Shanghai market outnumbered losers 429 to 332 while 85 were unchanged. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which covers the smaller mainland stock market, lost 0.94 percent, or 12.54 points, to 1,319.20. The Shenzhen index opened at 1,334.34 at 9:30am today. Vanke, the nation's biggest listed property developer, had its biggest decline in six months today after sliding 9.52 percent, or 2.85 yuan (39 US cents), to 27.10 yuan. Lenders dropped on concern a slowdown in the property market will sap demand for housing loans. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd, the nation's biggest

Tudor Investment clients pulled more than $1 billion from its Raptor hedge fund after manager James Pallotta lost 8.5 percent this year, mostly on U.S. equities, according to Bloomberg News. Raptor, which had about $8 billion in assets before the withdrawals, dropped 3.1 percent in November, the report said. Tudor’s biggest fund, BVI, rose about 5.5 [...]

The government appeared finally to have settled a four-year dispute involving more than 120,000 people who lost their pensions when their employers went bust ahead of the creation of the Pension Protection Fund

DOMESTIC stocks fell this morning amid a wide spread sell off among blue chips in the banking and property sectors as unsettled investors are concerned that more tightening measures may be implemented to cool the economy. The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, was down 1.79 percent, or 89.41 points, to 4,918.50 at 11:30am today. The index opened at 5,007.29 at 9:30am. But gainers in the Shanghai market outnumbered losers 456 to 304 while 86 were unchanged. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which covers the smaller mainland stock market, lost 0.44 percent, or 5.86 points, to 1,325.88. The Shenzhen index opened at 1,334.34 at 9:30am today. Vanke, the nation's biggest listed property developer, slid 7.68 percent, or 2.30 yuan (31 US cents), to 27.65 yuan. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co, the Chinese partner of Citigroup Inc, dropped 3.80 percent, or 1.88 yuan, to 47.59 yuan. China Merchants Bank Co, the nation's biggest

About half of the online adult population has looked up themselves or someone else online, according to a survey released Sunday. A good 36 percent said they have searched the Web for someone with whom they've lost touch, and 9 percent have dug up information...

For folks who hate asking for directions even more than getting lost, a GPS unit is a must. A global positioning system takes you turn by turn; the only things they can't do is lead you to a unit that's right for you.

THE dollar was weaker by about one cent at noon, despite a morning rally that helped the local currency regain some of the ground lost over the weekend in the face of a stronger US dollar.