Business news for Mon, 31 Dec 2007 & with word cent. 13 news.

DEFAULTS on privately insured US mortgages rose 34.7 per cent in November to the highest level on record, reflecting the inability of a growing number of homeowners to keep current on their loan payments.

Equities in Toronto closed out 2007 with a small advance Monday as the S&P/TSX composite index gained seven per cent on the year for its fifth straight annual improvement.

Monthly resales of homes in the United States inched up in November, a bright spot in a market where sales were still off 20 per cent from year ago.

China Investment Corporation (CIC), which has a 10 per cent stake in private equity group Blackstone and invested $5 billion into Morgan Stanley, has pumped $20 billion ($£10 billion) into the China Development Bank to transform it into a commercial lender.

Oil prices were flat Monday on the final trading day of the year, after a decline in the previous session on concerns about the U.S. economy. Light, sweet crude for February delivery traded down one cent at $95.99 a barrel in electronic trading on the...

FT.com - London equities ended the last session of 2007 with a fall - the FTSE 100 closed 20 points lower at 6,456.9, a loss of 0.3 per cent, dominated by resource stocks.

The subprime lender said it would fall short of regulatory capital requirements, sending its shares down 20 per cent

Shares of London Scottish Bank (LSB) plunged almost 20 per cent in early morning trading after the small finance house and debt collector issued a profit and dividend warning. By mid-morning, the shares were down 17.86 per cent at 62.98p

Shares in the games retailer jumped more than 7 per cent after it said profits would be 'not less than ?70m'

Christmas cheer was left on the shelves this year. Scrooge is back. Or, so it would seem, if only the opinions of financial markets counted. In fact, we have never seen such pessimism among investors looking into the new year. After shaking their chicken bones, the consensus of American economists puts 40 per cent odds on a US recession next year. What would that mean for the beleaguered housing market and sub-prime woes? Surely, sitting on cash looks king again?

Sales of Rolls-Royce cars for 2007 are expected to be up by nearly 25 per cent on the previous year, fuelled partly by strong demand for its Phantom Drophead Coupé, which was launched this year. The marque, which is owned by BMW, will detail its performance for 2007 shortly as it embarks on a substantial expansion at its factory at Goodwood, West Sussex.

Vodafone sought last night to play down suggestions that Arun Sarin, its chief executive, is set to reap a £45 million windfall from the turnaround in the mobile phone operator’s fortunes. Reports claimed that Mr Sarin’s potential windfall had been boosted by the 33 per cent jump in the company’s share price over the past year.

The credit crunch sparked a 58 per cent rise this year in class-action lawsuits filed by American shareholders against companies and their directors, research shows.