Business news for Mon, 31 Dec 2007 & with word markets. 26 news.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Choppy markets will likely remain the norm at least through the first half of 2008 as investors weigh the potential of a U.S. recession against what is hoped to be resilient global growth, analysts and strategists say.

When I sat down for my annual review of what I've written over the past year, something jumped out at me. Usually, I write about widely diversified subjects. But in 2007, I devoted an inordinate number of columns to the shenanigans of leveraged buyout firms and the attempts by the world's central banks to rescue financial markets.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- International stock funds enjoyed a rising tide in the past 12 months that lifted most portfolios, and fund managers predict that 2008 will be the seventh consecutive year in which foreign-stock funds top their U.S. rivals.

Stocks fizzled Monday afternoon, limping through the last trading day of the year but, for the year, markets are set to see respectable gains.

As the financial markets brace for another wave of large losses at Wall Street banks, the outlook for these newly public firms and their as-yet-private brethren has darkened starkly.

Wall Street ended a painful year with another steep loss yesterday as investors glumly anticipated...

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq are observing regular trading hours Monday, but both will close Tuesday in observance of New Year's Day. However, the bond markets are closing at 2 p.m. Monday ahead of the holiday.

AFP - Europe's main stock markets fell in shortened trade on Monday -- the final dealing day of a year in which gains for equities have been curtailed by worries about the troubled US economy.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Single-family home builder M/I Homes Inc. said on Monday it has sold land in its Florida markets to help reduce debt, and is exiting the West Palm Beach market, where its assets included about 500 lots in four communities.

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- M/I Homes Inc. Monday said it has sold land located primarily in Florida to various buyers for $82 million and that it is exiting the West Palm Beach housing market. The home builder said as a result of the lot sales, it will book pretax land impairment charges of about $80 million in the fourth quarter, and expects to see a $50 million cash tax refund in the second quarter of 2008. M/I Homes said it is "likely" that further impairment charges will be recorded in the fourth quarter. The company said the land sold represented 3,700 lots; at the end of the third quarter, it owned 16,767 lots. "Today's announcement supports and advances our strategic objectives of strengthening our balance sheet, reducing our debt, reducing operating costs, and focusing on markets where we believe we have the best opportunity for acceptable and consistent returns," said Chief Executive Robert Schottenstein in a statement.

Asian stock markets had a strong, if volatile, year with China leading the pack as investors bet on the region’s continued growth prospects.

AP - Asian stock markets had a strong, if volatile, year with China leading the pack as investors bet on the region's continued growth prospects.

FTSE 100 rises 4% during 2007, but loses 7-year highs in the wake of crisis on wholesale credit markets

KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistani shares slumped on Monday and the currency hit a six-year low, the first market reaction to the killing of former premier Benazir Bhutto whose death has plunged the country into a political crisis.

Asian shares ended mostly higher, as blue chips fueled advances in Hong Kong, but Pakistan plunged on the first day of trading since Bhutto's assassination. Markets in Japan, China and South Korea were closed for holidays.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Europe stocks weakened out of the gate on Monday, a half-day of trade ahead of the New Year's holiday. Air France-KLM shares rose 1% in early trading Monday, following Friday's news that it's the preferred bidder to buy Alitalia . Cairn Energy , the Scottish oil explorer that surged last week on the back of deal speculation, strong oil prices and its re-entry into the FTSE 100, slipped 1.6%. London Scottish Bank tumbled over 16% after taking a provision and warning it won't be able to pay its final dividend. The FTSE 100 slipped 0.2% to 6,462.70 in London and the CAC 40 dipped 0.2% to 5,616.79 in Paris. German and Swiss markets were shut.

South Korea will make it easier for foreigners to trade stocks and bonds in the country's securities markets in a move aimed at winning developed-market status from index compiler FTSE Group.

Though price growth is slowing, it's one of the few big markets in the nation that hasn't experienced a decline. Yet. It's the kind of house that a year or two ago would have been snapped up in days: a refurbished rambler in a woodsy residential neighborhood minutes from downtown.

Several Asian markets advanced on Monday, the last trading day of 2007, led by Hong Kong stocks, which rallied in a shortened session on China-related issues such as Air China.