Business news for Mon, 17 Dec 2007 & with word stock. 63 news.

TIANJIN Port Co, operator of the busiest port in northern China, says it has received "conditional" regulatory approval for a private share placement to buy assets worth 4.1 billion yuan (US$556 million) from its parent. In May it said it planned to issue up to 226 million new A shares at 18.17 yuan each to acquire berths and the container handling business from its state-owned parent, Tianjin Port (Group) Co. China Securities Regulatory Commission gave approval for the deal on Friday with some conditions, Tianjin Port said in a brief statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, without elaborating. Formal approval is expected later, it said. After the announcement, Tianjin Port rose 2.56 percent to 24.88 yuan yesterday when its shares resumed trading after a suspension on Friday. The Shanghai Composite Index was down 2.62 percent. The deal would reduce business overlap between Tianjin Port and its parent and the amount of connected transactions, as well as improve the

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

INTERNATIONAL buying of United States financial assets rose twice as much as expected in October as investors snapped up Treasury securities at the fastest pace in almost two years. Total holdings of equities, notes and bonds increased a net US$114 billion, after a revised increase of US$15.4 billion in September, the Treasury Department said yesterday. Including short-term securities such as Treasury bills and non-market trades such as stock swaps, foreigners bought a net US$97.8 billion, compared with selling of US$32.8 billion a month before. Purchases of US equities in October were the most in five months, helping offset net selling by China, the report showed.

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

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

SINOPEC Shanghai Petrochemical Co, a unit controlled by parent China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, said it will offer minority shareholders 3.2 state-owned A shares for every 10 they hold in a revived share reform program. The proposal is the same as the one in October last year, which had been voted down by minority shareholders. Shareholders will vote again on the offer on January 15, Sinopec Shanghai, a key ethylene maker, said in a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday. China has launched a nationwide program in 2005 to convert nontradable state-owned shares to tradable chips, in line with international practice. Most state companies listed on the Chinese mainland exchanges have completed the process. Typically, listed companies have to give bonus shares to minority shareholders as compensation in such a program because disposing the nontradable shares could dilute share value. The parent, also known as Sinopec, will offer 230.4 million shares worth

AUCKLAND International Airport Ltd, New Zealand's busiest, told shareholders they should reject the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's NZ$1.8 billion (US$1.4 billion) bid for 40 percent of the company because it is too low. The offer, equivalent to NZ$3.66 a share and 34 percent more than the airport's stock price, doesn't fully reflect the value of the company, Chairman Tony Frankham said in a statement to the stock exchange yesterday, according to Bloomberg News. Canada Pension's bid follows the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan's purchase of four container terminals last year as fund managers seek infrastructure companies with stable earnings. Auckland Airport, with 70 percent of New Zealand's international tourist traffic, favors an investor that will pay more and has expertise in the industry. "There's still plenty of time until the offer closes and in the meantime there's the possibility they'll get a better cornerstone investor," said Alan Moore, who helps

CONSUMER confidence is falling, the odds of a recession have risen, analysts predict the worst holiday shopping since 2002 - and retail-industry executives are buying their companies' shares like never before. Limited Brands Inc Chief Executive Officer Leslie Wexner and eight other executives bought a record amount of stock last month after prices fell to a four-year low. Dillard's Inc director Warren Stephens made the biggest insider purchase ever as shares of the Arkansas-based department store chain headed for the steepest decline since at least 1980. Cambiar Investors LLC, Royce & Associates LLC and Becker Capital Management Inc say insider buying foreshadows a rebound. The last four times executives added to their holdings, the Standard & Poor's Supercomposite Retailing Index rose an average 9.9 percent in the next three months, topping a 6.2-percent average rise in the S&P 500 Index. Retail company officials increased their investments by US$346.4 million since the start

SHARES in Shanghai Automotive Co Ltd, the listed unit of China's largest car maker, gained 1.18 percent yesterday after it announced government approval for a proposed issue of 6.3 billion yuan (US$851 million) of convertible bonds. Shanghai Auto, owned by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, will sell the six-year bonds, along with detachable warrants to A-share investors, according to its filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday. Shares closed at 25.70 yuan, nearly tripling from the beginning of this year. The 63 million units of bonds will have a face value of 100 yuan each and 3.6 warrants, the company said. Shanghai Auto offers the bonds with a coupon between 0.8 and 1.2 percent, but the final price depends on interest from institutional and retail investors. Bond holders will be allowed to use the warrants to buy Shanghai Auto's shares at 27.43 yuan per share after 24 months. Subscriptions start on Wednesday, and SAIC has said it will buy at least 800 million yuan

INGERSOLL-RAND Co, the maker of Thermo King refrigerated trucks, has agreed to buy Trane Inc for US$10.1 billion in cash and stock to gain cooling systems for transportation and buildings. Ingersoll-Rand will pay US$36.50 in cash and 0.23 of a share for Trane, the Bermuda-based company said, according to Bloomberg News. That values the New Jersey-based air-conditioner maker's shares at US$47.81 based on Friday's closing price. Ingersoll-Rand will take on US$150 million of debt. Chief Executive Officer Herbert Henkel said the purchase of the air-conditioner maker will create a company with US$17 billion of sales, more than half coming from the heating and cooling business. Ingersoll-Rand this month completed the sale of its Bobcat construction-machinery unit, shifting its focus to refrigeration systems amid rising trade in frozen foods. "The market for transporting food is very strong," Sanjay Jha, a London-based analyst at Pali International, said in an interview.

Larry Ellison's NetSuite of San Mateo is expected to make its initial public offering of stock later this week, probably on Friday.

Chinese banks will be allowed to invest funds in Britain's stock market, regulators said.

Stocks that were moving substantially or trading heavily Monday on the New York Stock Exchange:

Shares of Ciena Corp. continued to slip after a 12 percent loss last week when the network...

Warren Buffett's famed investment company fell 5% in midday trading after Barron's wrote that the stock is overvalued.

By Monty Guild. " Unfortunately, our doctor is not Doctor Feel Good...at least not in the short run. The prognosis is not good for the stock markets in the U.S. and Europe. Sure, they can rally, but don't count on any long bull runs. "

(AP) -- Shares of Caterpillar Inc. fell Monday after a Morgan Stanley analyst downgraded the stock, saying a "mild U.S. recession" will hurt Caterpillar and other heavy equipment makers. Robert Wertheimer downgraded Caterpillar shares to "underweight" from "equal weight," and said the Peoria ...

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- National Oilwell Varco Inc. said Monday it would buy Grant Prideco Inc. for about $7.5 billion in cash and stock, marking the second major tie-up seen in the oil-services sector in the past few months.

A rocky stock market and fears of an economic slowdown have investors wondering what to do. Here's help.

Reuters - Diversified manufacturer Ingersoll-Rand Co Ltd said on Monday it would buy Trane Inc , a maker of heating and air conditioning systems, for about $9.56 billion in cash and stock.