Business news for Mon, 24 Dec 2007 & with word stock. 36 news.

CAP Gemini SA rose the most in almost five years in Paris trading after the Hindustan Times reported that India's Wipro Ltd may offer to buy Europe's largest computer-services company for as much as US$7 billion. Cap Gemini isn't in talks with Wipro about a takeover, the Paris-based company said after the market closed. The shares climbed 4.29 euros, or 11 percent, to 45 euros, the biggest advance since February 2003. Wipro gained the most since May 2004 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Cap Gemini, led by Chief Executive Officer Paul Hermelin, in February bought Houston-based Kanbay International Inc for US$1.25 billion, doubling its Indian work force. Bangalore-based Wipro, India's third-largest software services exporter, may bid for Cap Gemini by the end of January, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported on Sunday, citing "investment banking sources." "There's arguably a super merger to do between a large Indian and a large European player," Jonathan

BAOSTEEL Group Corp, China's biggest steel maker, will receive 90.1 million shares in New China Life Insurance Co, bringing its total stake in the insurer to 17.3 percent, the insurance industry regulator said. After Shenhua Group Co transfers the stock to Baosteel, it will no longer hold a stake in the insurer, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said in a statement posted on its Website yesterday. The release didn't elaborate on pricing or other details of the share transfer.

JUST over half - 51.36 percent - of all stock investors showed no gains from China's bull market, while 48.6 percent gained more than 10 percent this year, according to a survey by the China Securities Journal. The latest survey of investors' annual returns reflected feedback from 11,205 small and medium-scale investors. About 13.5 percent of respondents said their stock investment grew by 10 percent, and 16.8 percent said their returns ranged from 20 percent to 50 percent. Another 11 percent saw their accounts grow by 50 percent to 99 percent. Those whose investments doubled comprised about 7.2 percent. The survey, carried out earlier this month, found that 13.5 percent of those polled broke even in 2007, while 16.6 percent said their investment shrank by 10 percent and 18.6 percent reported losses of 20 percent to 50 percent. About 2.4 percent of those polled said they lost more than half of their investment. Public interest, strong corporate profits and double-digit

THE prospects of rising profit for China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co have created a buzz among stock analysts who forecast that the insurer's stock is likely to jump about 50 percent on its A share debut today in Shanghai. Everbright Securities Co expects shares of Pacific Insurance to be between 42.60 yuan (US$5.81) and 44.30 yuan apiece, up from its offering price of 30 yuan. Guotai Jun'an Securities has a higher valuation of 43.80 yuan to 46.80 yuan while Haitong Securities sees a range of 40.64 yuan to 45.22 yuan. Pacific Insurance raised 30 billion yuan in its Shanghai initial public offering last week, making it the sixth-biggest IPO on the Chinese mainland. The Shanghai-based insurer sold one billion yuan-backed new shares, or 13 percent of its enlarged capital, at the top end of its offering price range of 27 yuan to 30 yuan. "Pacific is the sole comprehensive insurer whose business is balanced between life and property and casualty insurance," said Pan

CHINA Oilfield Services Ltd, a unit of the nation's third-largest oil producer, won a contract to supply four drilling rigs to Libya for about US$100 million. China Oilfield will deliver two 7,000-meter and two 5,000-meter drilling rigs over three years starting in March, the Beijing-based company said on its Website today. The oil and gas services company, whose main customer is CNOOC Ltd, aims to expand both at home and abroad to benefit from increased exploration spending after oil prices surged. "This is the company's first overseas onshore drilling contract," Yuan Guangyu, vice chairman of China Oilfield, said. "We see Libya as the starting point to expand our broad range of oil field services to overseas markets such as the Middle East and north Africa." China Oilfield shares rose 6.7 percent to HK$17.92 at the Hong Kong stock exchange's close at 12:30pm.

APPLIANCE maker Sichuan Changhong Electrical Co yesterday bid for a 29.92-percent stake in Huayi Compressor Co to expand its business. The TV company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday that it would acquire 91.7 million shares from Huayi's parent Huayi Electrical Appliance General Co via an auction. The Jiangxi-based Huayi, which produces compressors for air conditioners and refrigerators, was suspended from trading in the Shenzhen stock market since December 14 when it announced the auction plan. The 91.7 million shares are valued at 956 million yuan (US$129 million) based on its closing share price of 10.42 yuan per share on December 13. Changhong wasn't traded yesterday, and its closing price on Friday was 8.45 yuan. Share price of the Shanghai-listed company has doubled this year. Changhong's net profit in the first nine months of this year totaled 340 million yuan, jumping 39 percent from a year earlier on the booming electronics market.

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

A Citigroup analyst left a lump of coal for Och-Ziff Capital Management, the hedge fund that went public last month. The analyst, Prashant Bhatia, began covering the fund with a “hold” rating, writing in his research note that Och-Ziff might be facing headwinds for the forseeable future. For Mr. Bhatia — who acknowledges that his firm [...]

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks finished higher in Monday's shortened trading session, aided by a flurry of M&A deals that included a $2.7 billion sale by Alcoa Inc. of its packaging and consumer businesses. In preliminary closing figures, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 106 points to 13,555, the S&P 500 Index gained 12 points to end at 1,497 and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 22 points to 2,713, with shares of Apple Inc. approaching the $200-a share mark. Apple's stock ended up 2.8% at $198.80.

(AP) -- CME Group Inc.'s stock slipped Monday after a group of banks and trading firms said they plan to launch their own futures exchange to try to garner cheaper commissions. Late Friday, 12 financial institutions including Merrill Lynch & Co., Citigroup Inc., and Bank of America Corp. ...

Treasury prices fell Monday as investors concentrated on opportunities in the stock market, with many players absent ahead of the Christmas holiday.

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.

Almost exactly a year after shareholders approved its $17 billion going-private transaction, Harrah’s Entertainment said Monday that it has received all the necessary regulatory approvals to complete the deal. Monday’s announcement sets the stage for the largest casino operator in the world to delist from the New York Stock Exchange and come under the control [...]

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.

On the morning of the last trading session before Christmas, stock futures pointed to a flat open.

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.

Ahead of a shortened pre-Christmas trading session, global signals are mixed for North American stock markets while the Canadian dollar has climbed above 101 cents US.

Morgan Stanley and the Chinese government said Monday that the U.S. investment bank has determined the range of prices to be used when China's international investment fund converts $5 billion worth of securities into Morgan Stanley stock.