Business news for Tue, 18 Dec 2007 & with word aim. 6 news.

Hong Kong and Shenzhen signed agreements to tie their economies together more closely, with the ultimate aim of becoming a world-class dual metropolis.

The Treasury will now guarantee loans made by other financial institutions to Northern Rock. The aim is to stabilise the stricken bank enough to enable a private sector take over in the New Year. There are, though, few in Westminster who now don’t think this saga will end up with Northern Rock being nationalised.

China will aim to slow the lending pace of banks in 2008 with a target loan growth rate of 14-14.5 percent, state media reported Monday, citing a government researcher.

WALL Street extended last week's losses yesterday as investors remained concerned about flagging growth and rising prices, and were skeptical that a special Federal Reserve credit auction will be a solution. The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 175 points and all the major indexes lost at least 1 percent. The Fed offered US$20 billion in 28-day credit through an auction yesterday. The central bank will not release the results until Wednesday, but the aim of the auction is to encourage commercial banks to borrow from the Fed. That, in turn, is designed to boost banks' lending to businesses and consumers and keep the economy humming. Last week, the Fed disappointed investors when it cut interest rates by only a quarter of a percentage point, which was less than some analysts expected. Wall Street is pleased that policy makers say they will keep trying to lift market confidence, which has dwindled since home foreclosures started soaring, but the market is so far

In concert, central bankers try showering cash on the credit crisis.