Business news for Mon, 24 Dec 2007 & with word major. 20 news.

NANYANG Commercial Bank plans to at least double its network on the Chinese mainland in two years, after it opened its local incorporation yesterday to fully tap the mainland market. The bank said in Shanghai yesterday it would offer unlimited yuan services. The Hong Kong-based bank gained the approval to set up the local incorporation with a registered capital of 2.5 billion yuan (US$341 million) from the China Banking Regulatory Commission on December 4. The local incorporation was set up on December 14. Nanyang Commercial Bank has six branches and one sub-branch on the Chinese mainland in cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dalian and Haikou. "Network expansion is a key part of the local incorporation's business development," a bank spokesman said. He said the bank would first focus on major cities in the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta and coastal areas in the geographic expansion. It will also seek opportunities to open outlets in

SICHUAN Changhong Electric Co, China's second-biggest TV maker, has grabbed the lion's share of government-financed home appliance sales in rural areas. China promised to give farmers subsidies, about 13 percent, for buying household electrical appliances, in a bid to stimulate sluggish rural consumption and reduce the rising trade surplus, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Commerce said over the weekend. "We are a major player in the deal and we occupy at least 50 percent shares of the TV sales (in the subsided sales in the rural areas)," Chen Ning, Changhong's vice president, told Shanghai Daily yesterday. Changhong will provide TVs, which costs less than 1,500 yuan (US$202) each, and some mobile phones for the subsidized purchase program. The pilot program will be launched in Shandong, Henan and Sichuan, the three major agricultural provinces, according to Chen. Farmers in the provinces can buy color TV sets, refrigerators and mobile phones with

UK house prices fell the most in three years in December and the threat of more declines may cause the property market to seize up in 2008, Hometrack Ltd said. The average cost of a home in England and Wales slipped for a third month, dropping 0.3 percent to 175,200 pounds ($347,877), the London-based research group said yesterday. The number of property transactions will fall 17 percent and prices will rise just one percent next year, Hometrack forecast. Bank of England policy makers said this month that a drop in house prices seemed "more pronounced" than expected as they cut their benchmark interest rate for the first time in two years. Record debt, higher mortgage costs and the property market's worst performance since 1995 have discouraged homebuyers. "The second half of the year has seen a major reversal in confidence," Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said in a statement. "Just as the financial markets have faced a liquidity

A major rival is gearing up a campaign against the state's first public electricity cooperative. The San Joaquin Valley Power Authority is poised to provide power to more than 115,000 customers across the San Joaquin Valley. But Pacific Gas &...

The $17.7 billion purchase of Harrah's has a tentative final OK from regulators, the gaming giant says.

The major indexes finished in the green after a shortened session Monday. One solar company surged 15%...

Dealmaking helps the major averages build on Friday's rally.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Gold futures rose for a second straight trading day on Monday as the dollar fell against a basket of other major currencies. Copper futures rose for a fourth day. Gold futures for February delivery rose $1.1, or 0.1%, to $816.5 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Copper futures for March delivery rallied 5.6 cents, or 1.8%, to $3.1535 a pound. Copper has risen more than 10% since Dec. 19. The dollar index, which tracks the value of the dollar against a basket of other major currencies, fell for a second day, down 0.2% at 77.57. A weaker dollar tends to increase the appeal of dollar-denominated gold as an investment haven.

The major source of Merrill Lynch’s $6.2 billion cash infusion, announced Monday, was fairly unsurprising: Singapore. It is just the latest Asian country to invest in a troubled financial firm, following China’s decision to pour $5 billion into Morgan Stanley. Merrill’s other investor, however, was a bit of a dark horse. It was Davis Selected Advisors, a [...]

NANYANG Commercial Bank plans to at least double its network on the Chinese mainland in two years after it opened its local incorporation today. Nanyang Commercial Bank (China) Ltd opened in Shanghai yesterday to offer unlimited yuan services to Chinese. The Hong Kong-based bank gained approval to set up the local incorporation with a registered capital of 2.5 billion yuan (US$341 million) from the China Banking Regulatory Commission on December 4. Nanyang Commercial Bank has six branches and one sub-branch on the Chinese mainland in Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dalian, Haikou and Shanghai. "Network expansion is a key part of the local incorporation's business development," the bank said. The bank will first focus on major cities in the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta and the coastal area. It will also seek other opportunities in other areas. The bank will focus on personal financial planning products and services in retail banking. In corporate banking,

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The dollar ticked higher against the yen while losing ground against the euro Monday, but remained in recent ranges in extremely thin trading ahead of the Christmas holiday. "The U.S. economic calendar is empty on Monday, and we expect the greenback to remain rangebound through the morning session," wrote currency analysts at Action Economics. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was at 77.595, compared with 77.730 late Friday. The euro was trading at $1.4396, up from $1.4356 late Friday, while the pound was at $1.9773, down from $1.9810. Against Japan's currency, the dollar was buying 114.29 yen, up from 114.06 yen Friday.

SAN FRANCISCO(MarketWatch) -- Gold futures were little changed on Monday ahead of the Christmas holiday. Gold futures for February delivery were last up $1.4, or 0.2%, at $816.8 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The futures rose to an intraday high of $817.5 earlier. In currencies trading, the dollar were slightly lower against a basket of other major currencies. The dollar index was last down 0.2% at 77.58.

A new report suggests the gulf between what striking writers want and studios will pay can be valued at some $120 million--considerably more than previous estimates of $20 million. Yet the divide isn't enough to impact major media companies' earnings. The real issue is the future: Setting a precedent that impacts what writers, actors and directors earn in the digital marketplace.

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) - The key London share index rose a bit in pre-Christmas trading, with the major banks actively traded and higher.

A major Valley real estate broker shut its doors just days before Christmas, leaving 350 agents without a home, and about 20 salaried employees without a job.

Gilbert biofuel innovator Diversified Energy landed a major deal, earning a U.S. Department of Defense contract for renewable fuel production. The deal partners Diversified with Ohio-based Velocys Inc., which specializes in processing systems.

Sacramento County hopes to lure manufacturers and other businesses by offering utility-tax rebates to big electricity users.

The dollar likely won't stray far against its major rivals this week, as traders clear out for the holidays and year-end profit-taking winds down.

AsianLogic will this Friday become the first major online gaming company to list on Aim since the crackdown in the US hit companies such as Sportingbet and BetOnSports last year.

Today we're casting our gaze further and covering a fortnight. It's Christmas Eve and the London Stock Exchange will close early, while many other international markets are closed completely. These include Japan, where they are marking the Emperor's birthday, which fell yesterday, with a public holiday. The NYSE, which is open today, will take a day off tomorrow, along with the LSE and almost every other major world market ? the exception is that Japan returns to work.