Business news for Mon, 17 Dec 2007 & with word property. 21 news.

LONDON led the biggest drop in United Kingdom home values for at least five years this month as higher mortgage costs and the prospect of further declines in prices kept away buyers, a report by Rightmove Plc showed. The average UK asking price fell 3.2 percent to 232,396 pounds (US$473,437) from November, the largest decline since the survey of real-estate agents' listings began in 2002, Britain's most-used property Website said yesterday. London home costs dropped 6.8 percent, also the most recorded by Rightmove. "The market is tough out there," Miles Shipside, the company's commercial director, said in an interview with Bloomberg News. "We see a flat outlook for next year, with no price rises, as we work our way through this liquidity crisis." The Bank of England this month cut the benchmark interest rate for the first time in two years, citing the threat of an economic slowdown. Confidence among British real-estate agents has slumped as pricier mortgages

NEW World Department Store China Ltd, a unit of billionaire Cheng Yu-tung's New World Development Co, agreed to buy a department store and real estate from its parent for HK$885.4 million (US$113 million). New World Department Store China will buy Wuhan Department Store and a shopping mall in a complex its parent owns in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei Province, it said in a statement yesterday.

THE Chinese mainland will let its commercial banks invest in UK stocks and funds in the first expansion of the country's international investment program outside Hong Kong. The nation reached an agreement with the UK financial regulator for investments by the banks under the qualified domestic institutional investor, or QDII, program, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said on its Website yesterday. The government is loosening restrictions on overseas investment to counter inflows from a record trade surplus that have driven up local stock and property prices, Bloomberg News said. The mainland will "soon" come to a similar agreement with the United States authorities, the regulator said. "Expanding the number of markets that QDII funds can invest in helps raise banks' investment and risk management capacities, and also helps investors diversify their risk," the statement said, without providing further details. The release didn't say when QDII funds

Related Companies, the US real estate business run by billionaire developer Stephen Ross, has taken a $1.4bn capital infusion from a consortium of investors including the Abu Dhabi government

SHANGHAI stocks tumbled yesterday, led by banks and property developers. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers yuan-denominated A shares and hard currency B shares, fell 2.62 percent to end at 4,876.76, the biggest drop in two weeks. It had reached an intraday high of 5,007.35. Turnover rose to 102.65 billion yuan (US$13.87 billion) from 82.82 billion yuan on Friday. Gainers outnumbered losers 450 to 362 while 88 stocks were unchanged. "A massive drop of big-caps, including lenders and property developers, has led the local stock market to a slump," said Chen Huiqin, an analyst with Huatai Securities Co. "However, the recent correction from a high of 6,100 to the current level, a 20 percent drop, would probably create some opportunities for both institutional and individual investors." Banking stocks dropped on concern a slowdown in the property market will drain demand for housing loans. China Merchants Bank Co, the nation's sixth-largest lender in

SOUTH Korea's largest retailer Lotte Shopping Co plans to acquire a stake in a Chinese discount-store chain to expand its presence on the Chinese mainland, the Seoul-listed company said in a regulatory filing yesterday. Lotte agreed to buy a 49-percent stake in CTA Makro, which now operates five discount stores in Beijing and two in Tianjin, from SHV Holdings NV for 57.6 million euros (US$82.90 million). The Netherlands-based SHV Holdings IV now operates CTA Makro with a 49-percent stake while China Trade Association Property Corp Ltd owns 51 percent. Lotte also plans to open another outlet in Beijing next year, according to the statement. However, the acquisition plan is still awaiting China's regulatory approval. Shanghai Daily's call to CTA Makro yesterday was not answered. The retailer, which controls more than 40 percent of South Korea's department store market and 14 percent of discount stores, is preparing to open new outlets through land purchases and buying existing

Property consultant DTZ today admitted its profits will be hit by the global credit crunch and warned the US is heading towards recession

The nonresidential property market had, until recently, resisted the bug that hit housing. But things are changing quickly.

Real estate brokerage Royal LePage is forecasting "steady, yet moderate growth" in the Canadian residential property market in 2008.

The condo slump has put developer Liviu Mihulet in a tight spot. His lender, Northside Community Bank, filed a lawsuit in August to foreclose on a 32-unit condominium conversion the developer launched in January in West Rogers Park. The bank asserted that the property, at 6500 N. Claremont Ave., ...

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Plains Exploration & Production Company on Monday said it would sell oil and gas properties to Occidental Petroleum and XTO Energy for $1.75 billion. The Houston energy firm also set plans to buy back $1 billion in stock and spend $1.15 billion on its 2008 capital budget. "The oil and gas property divestments balance PXP's asset portfolio and align operator strengths to specific assets maximizing efficiencies and returns," PXP Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Flores said in a statement. (An earlier version of this item incorrectly omitted the transaction with XTO Energy.)

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

Australia's Centro Properties, the fifth-largest retail property owner and manager in the US, warned it is having trouble refinancing $1.1bn in debt due to fallout from the subprime crisis

Interior Services Group said it made a promising start to the year with a record order book despite the slide in property values

Australian property trusts Centro Properties and Centro Retail slashed earnings forecasts because of higher refinancing costs and said they may sell U.S. assets. Investors stripped a combined $4.19 billion from their market value.

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

LaSalle Investment Management is raising investment in Asia over the next three to four years to up to US$20 billion as investor appetite for the region grows despite a credit squeeze, an executive said Friday.

Daimler will form a truck-making joint venture in India with Hero, and has sold property in Berlin to SEB.

THE stock market dived more than 3.5 per cent today to a three-month low after listed property group Centro said it was unable to redeem some investments.

The property fund hopes to secure planning permission to expand the elite independent private schools group it has bought from Sovereign Capital for ?113m