Business news for Mon, 31 Dec 2007 & with word rise. 22 news.

Gold posted its biggest yearly gain since 1979 in 2007, even though prices dipped Monday.

Work is a big part of our lives. Our financial stability, and sometimes even sense of self, depend on it. Unfortunately, the day-to-day tedium...

Mortgage insurers saw defaults rise to a new monthly record in November, according to data published Monday by an industry trade group.

Soybean futures fell in light trading Monday, the last day of the year, but prices were expected to continue their overall rise in 2008 to meet growing demand in China.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Projections for S&P 500 companies' fourth-quarter earnings swung to a 6.1 percent drop on Monday from an 11.5 percent rise on October 1, in the biggest quarterly move since Reuters Estimates started compiling analysts' forecasts in 1999.

Reuters - Projections for S&P 500 companies' fourth-quarter earnings swung to a 6.1 percent drop on Monday from an 11.5 percent rise on October 1, in the biggest quarterly move since Reuters Estimates started compiling analysts' forecasts in 1999.

As 2007 draws to a close, we bid adieu to a volatile year in the stock market, although one that is going to end with an overall gain. The average diversified stock fund this year will post about a 7% return, nothing to write home about given the market's historical rise of more than 10% per year, but nothing to sneeze at either given we had a virtual meltdown in some sectors of the financial world in the middle of the year.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Delta Air Lines and ExpressJet Holdings saw their shares rise 2.1% and 3.6%, respectively, to pace a broad advance in the airline sector on the last trading day of the year. The Amex Airline Index added almost 1% to 34.69 points on Monday even as crude advanced toward $97 a barrel. Frontier Airlines , Mesa Air Group and JetBlue Airways were the only decliners among the 14 components in the benchmark index.

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.

Rogue loggers stealing from private property have traditionally had little to fear from law enforcement. But as timber values rise, so have the stakes for landowners - and the attitude of law enforcement is adjusting accordingly.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures rose modestly on Monday, boosted by continued concerns on political tensions in Pakistan and tight supplies in the U.S. Crude futures for February delivery gained 60 cents, or 0.6%, to $96.6 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose to an intraday high of $96.78 earlier in electronic trading. "The geopolitical upheaval triggered by the [former Pakistani prime minister Benazir] Bhutto assassination could get stirred up again ahead of the January 8th elections," said Edward Meir, an analyst at futures brokerage MF Global, in a research note.

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.

A BOOM in US tourists to Ireland has helped CIE Tours International generate revenue of ?63 million this year, an increase of 13% over 2006 levels.

LONDON (Reuters) - Gold was on track for its biggest yearly gain since 1979, with prices hovering on Monday about $10 away from its historic highs.

Sales in the US by online retailers rise 19% between 1 November and 27 December, comScore says.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng share index finishes the year up 39%, its biggest annual rise since 1999.

The rise of social networks such as Facebook and wireless gadgets such as the iPhone has set off a small stampede of companies hoping to build on or replicate their success. Many are counting on advertising to pay the bills.

Rogue loggers prey on private property; owners want tougher law enforcement The crime scene -- a once-wooded landscape marked by tire tracks and tree stumps -- makes the victim, Verna Potter, feel physically violated.

South Florida's housing market spiraled downward throughout 2007, but attorneys fared pretty well with the ensuing litigation and other legal work.