Business news for Mon, 24 Dec 2007 & with word sell. 25 news.

Merrill Lynch & Co, the world's biggest brokerage, agreed to sell most of its commercial finance business to General Electric Co's finance arm for an undisclosed price to free up capital after subprime losses. The sale of Merrill Lynch Capital's corporate, equipment, energy and healthcare finance units is expected to be completed in the first-quarter, the companies said yesterday in a Business Wire statement. The deal will add more than US$10 billion in assets to GE Capital. The transaction is part of New York-based Merrill Lynch's "strategic focus on divesting non-core assets," and will release about US$1.3 billion of capital to be redeployed elsewhere, said Chief Executive Officer John Thain in the statement. Merrill, on October 24, announced US$8.4 billion of writedowns on mortgage-related investments and corporate loans. The firm, which ousted Stan O'Neal as CEO in October, may report an additional US$8.6-billion writedown for the fourth quarter, according to David

FISHER & Paykel Healthcare Corp, the New Zealand-based maker of breathing masks to treat sleep disorders, rose to a three-month high in Wellington after the takeover of a rival stoked speculation about more mergers. The Auckland-based company jumped three percent to its highest since September 20, after Respironics Inc, the world's largest manufacturer of the breathing devices, was acquired by Royal Phillips Electronics NV for US$5.2 billion in cash, Bloomberg News reported. Fisher & Paykel has about seven percent of the market for products to treat obstructive sleep apnea, a condition thought to affect as many as 12 million Americans. It is among a handful of companies with US Food & Drug Administration approval to sell OSA devices, along with Respironics and ResMed Inc. "They definitely could be a takeover target because the OSA market is very attractive with its high growth," said Stephen Walker, who manages the equivalent of US$107 million at Walker Capital

CENTRO Properties Group, the Australian owner of US malls which lost 80 percent of its market value last week, has hired three advisers to help it refinance debt and negotiate funding options that may include selling assets. Lazard Carnegie Wylie will "facilitate any transaction" and find investors to help repay or settle bank debt, Jim Kelly, a spokesman for Centro in Sydney, said yesterday, Bloomberg News reported. KPMG will negotiate with Centro's bankers to help refinance A$3.9 billion (US$3.4 billion) by a February 15 deadline and Freehills will act as the company's legal advisers, Kelly said. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Scott said last week he may sell some of Centro's more than A$25 billion of shopping centers in the US, Australia and New Zealand after more than A$4 billion was wiped from the company's market value, making it Asia's worst casualty so far of the global credit squeeze. Melbourne-based Centro's eight most valuable properties are in Australia and

GENERAL Motors Corp said it has become the first overseas car maker to sell one million units on the Chinese mainland this year. The milestone is a result of GM adopting a multi-brand strategy and growing its lineup of vehicles in the world's second largest auto market over the past 10 years. GM didn't give specific sales figure for the whole year. Last year, it sold 876,747 units on the mainland, a jump of 32 percent from 2005 and outpaced the growth of the entire auto industry of 25 percent. The one-millionth figure was marked when GM China Group President and Managing Director Kevin Wale handed the keys to a Buick Park Avenue to Zhang Jianping at Shanghai GM's corporate showroom in Shanghai last Friday. It took GM five years to boost sales by 10 times from 100,000 units in 2002 to one million units this year amid fierce competition with rivals like Volkswagen and Toyota. Detroit-based GM, the world's largest car maker, has a flagship passenger car venture Shanghai

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rallied on Monday, led by financial companies, after Merrill Lynch (MER.N) took steps to shore up its balance sheet with plans to raise up to $6.2 billion and sell a lending unit.

The Boston Stock Exchange reports it has reached an agreement to sell its ownership position in the Boston Options Exchange (BOX) to the Montréal Exchange.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Treasurys were slightly lower Monday, pushing up yields, as firm stock prices decreased the appeal of fixed-income assets in extremely thin pre-holiday trading. U.S. bond trading will end early on Monday, and overnight Japanese and German markets were closed Monday for holidays. "With the holiday-shortened week, our expectations for any paradigm shifting events are pretty light," said David Ader, U.S. government bond strategist at RBS Greenwich Capital. "With the bench players now in the field until the New Year, we would err on the side of limited conviction for any moves over the next few trading sessions." The benchmark 10-year Treasury note was down 7/32 at 100 12/32, with a yield of 4.2%. The 30-year bond was down 10/32 at 106 9/32 with a yield of 4.61%. The two-year note was down 2/32 at 99 26/32 with a yield of 3.21%. On Wednesday, the Treasury Department will sell $22 billion in two-year notes, and on Thursday, it will sell $13 billion in five-year notes.

Pundits are predicting that 2008 will be the year when the party ends for property. This is Money rounds up the experts' forecasts and investigates whether your home will sell in 2008

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks opened higher Monday, with shares of blue-chip index component Alcoa Inc. up more than 1.6% after the aluminum giant agreed to sell its packaging and consumer businesses for $2.7 billion. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 59 points, or 0.4%, at 13,509.39. The broader S&P 500 Index rose 5 points, or 0.3%, to 1,489.06 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,697.17. Trading will end early, at 1 p.m. Eastern in observance of the Christmas holiday.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Progress Energy said it's reached an agreement to sell Powell Mountain Coal Co., Dulcimer Land Co. and Kanawha River Terminals, a transaction that would mark the final deal in its program of divesting non-regulated assets. The deal with an investor group made up of Pegasus Capital Advisors, Kelso & Co., Resource Capital Funds and an affiliate of Traxys North America will bring in $94 million, Raleigh, N.C.-based Progress Energy said. The transactions are expected to close in January, with Progress Energy earmarking proceeds for general corporate purposes.

The government on Monday gave its approval for 19 foreign direct investment proposals amounting to Rs 726.88 crore (Rs 7.268 billion), which include Global Broadcast News Ltd's proposal to sell 26 per cent stake for Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion).

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Stock market futures help broadly steady ahead of a shortened Christmas Eve trading session Monday, with Alcoa Inc. among the stocks in focus after it agreed to sell its packaging and consumer businesses.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures rose on Monday, lifted by news Merrill Lynch plans to sell a lending unit and with investors eyeing retailers as the busy holiday shopping season draws to a close.

Reuters - Stock index futures rose on Monday, lifted by news Merrill Lynch plans to sell a lending unit and with investors eyeing retailers as the busy holiday shopping season draws to a close.

Reuters - Merrill Lynch & Co Inc , buffeted by huge write-downs of mortgage-related securities, said on Monday it would sell most of its middle-market lending business to General Electric Co's commercial finance arm in a deal to free up capital.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co Inc , buffeted by huge write-downs of mortgage-related securities, said on Monday it would sell most of its middle-market lending business to General Electric Co's commercial finance arm in a deal to free up capital.

Merrill Lynch plans to sell its capital lending business to General Electric's commercial finance arm.

Merrill Lynch has agreed to sell most of its mid-market commercial finance business, Merrill Lynch Capital.

Merrill Lynch, in an effort to raise cash amid mounting mortgage losses, agreed Monday to sell the majority of its capital finance business to General Electric for an undisclosed amount. The deal will allow Merrill to reallocate about $1.3 billion of capital into other parts of its business, John A. Thain, the investment bank’s chief executive, [...]