Business news for Mon, 31 Dec 2007 & with word existing. 18 news.

Sales of previously owned homes nudged up in November, but that didn’t improve the broader picture of a feeble housing market.

Reuters - The pace of existing U.S. home sales edged up in November from a record low, according to a report on Monday that offered some tentative signs of stabilization in the still-ailing housing market.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pace of existing U.S. home sales edged up in November from a record low, according to a report on Monday that offered some tentative signs of stabilization in the still-ailing housing market.

Sales of previously owned homes inched up in November but that didn't change the overall bleak picture for an ailing housing ...

Even with the last-day retreat, major indexes posted gains for the year. Data on existing home sales provided rare good news for the housing market

Sales of existing homes edged higher in November, according to a report released Monday, but experts disagreed whether the better-than-expected performance represents only a temporary pause in the troubled sector's continuing decline, or tantalizing early evidence that housing demand may be bottoming out at last.

Sales of previously owned homes nudged up in November, but that didn't improve the broader picture...

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.

Stocks floundered Monday morning, on the last trading day of the year, after a report on sales of existing homes showed little improvement in the beleaguered housing market.

While the number of existing home sales went up, home prices are still falling.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - In a hint of stability, sales of existing homes rose 0.4% in November to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 5.00 million, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday. Sales of existing homes are down 20% in the past year and are down 31% from the peak of 7.21 million two years ago. Inventories of unsold homes on the market declined by 3.6%, representing a 10.3-month supply at the current sales pace. The median sales price fell 3.3% compared with a year ago to $210,200. November sales were in line with the 4.99 million annual pace expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were set to push a little higher on the last trading day of the year on Monday, but data on existing home sales could limit any advance.

Reuters - Stocks were set to push a little higher on the last trading day of the year on Monday, but data on existing home sales could limit any advance.

Stocks dipped early on the last trading day of the year ahead of the latest report on existing home sales.

Reuters - Stock index futures rose on Monday in the final trading session of the year with little on the corporate agenda and ahead of existing home sales data.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Merrill Lynch on Monday completed a previously announced deal with Aegon , where it's selling its life insurance unit for $1.25 billion in cash. Aegon's Transamerica companies will continue to supply insurance and investment products, including offering the flagship Merrill Lynch Investor Choice Annuity product through the acquired Merrill Lynch subsidiaries. Merrill Lynch expects to record a gain on sale during the fourth quarter of 2007 and anticipates the transaction to be slightly accretive to earnings per share and to have a positive effect on return on equity in 2008 after redeployment of proceeds. Aegon expects the acquisition to add scale to its existing business and to have a marginally positive effect on earnings per share.

WASHINGTON -- Sales of previously owned homes inched up in November but that didn't change the overall bleak picture for an ailing housing industry that has been suffering through a painful slump.