Business news for Mon, 31 Dec 2007 & with word previous. 7 news.

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...

World-wide semiconductor sales rose 2.3% in November compared with a year ago in the face of steep price cutting, and sales may fall short of previous full-year predictions for growth.

The rand is trading unchanged at R6.80 against the dollar at compared to its previous close in New York, holding on to its strong gains over the past week.

Oil prices edged up Monday amid continuing awareness of tighter U.S. inventories, recovering ground after a decline in the previous session on concerns about the U.S. economy.

The battle against drugs in sport IN 2008 the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will pursue drug cheats at the Beijing Olympics. More athletes were disqualified at the previous Olympics in Athens in 2004 than from any games since testing was introduced in 1968. Weightlifting is a fruitful hunting ground for the anti-dopers: it has accounted for 37 of 85 athletes expelled so far. Track athletes, baseball players and cyclists could also fall foul of the testers. ...

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.

My last article of every year looks back on the predictions I made in early January to shed some light on the economic and financial events of the previous 12 months. This tends to be a humbling experience, and this year it is even more so than usual.