IBT Staff Reporter

China Merchants Bank shares began to trade in HKex today after yestoday's hot off-board transactions which dark-price once jumped 11 yuan yestoday and closed at 10.6 yuan - far higher than its offering price of 8.55 yuan, and the Price-Book value ratio soared 3.19 time.

Government funded energywatch today issued a statement on energy price speculation.

Prudential Plc today announced a change of its board. The Chief Executive of Prudential Corporation Asia, Mark Norbom will be leaving his position

Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited (EPNL), a subsidiary of TOTAL, says it has encountered hydrocarbon resources in Usan field discovery in its deep water Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 222.

Global energy producer Royal Dutch Shell plc said on Thursday it purchased for cancellation of a million A shares at a price of 25.67 euros per share.

Norwich Union will be offering a new tranche of its guaranteed fund it was announced today.

Electronic Arts has become the latest game publisher to come under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, on Thursday, as the group investigates its stock option grant practices.

U.S. stocks slid on Thursday after a report said factory activity contracted in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region in September for the first time in over three years, prompting worries about a slowdown in the U.S. economy and corporate profits.

Dell Inc. the worlds largest personal computer manufacturer, said it would request a hearing before the Nasdaq Listings Qualifications Panel, responding to the exchanges threats of delisting.

Two Japanese investors in Russia's Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, are negotiating to sell part of their stake in the project to Russia's state-owned Gazprom, Japanese media reported Thursday. The companies have denied the report.

Consolidation in Europe's drugs sector gathered steam on Thursday as Germany's Merck unveiled a $13.3-billion deal to buy Europe's top biotech firm Serono, and Denmark's Nycomed won the drugs unit of Altana.

Time Warner has announced that it has cut another AOL division, saying on Thursday that it has finalized an agreement to hand over AOL France to internet portal, Neuf Cegetel.

Boeing Co. announced new orders for 47 planes from unidentified buyers on Thursday, worth more than $4 billion overall, including 16 for its new carbon and titanium 787 Dreamliner.

U.S. Mid-Atlantic factory activity retrenched for the first time in over three years in September, the latest sign of a rapidly-slowing economy.

Mortgage rates remained unchanged following the Federal Open Market Committee's decision to hold interest rates steady for a second straight month. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate remains 6.44 percent.

Ad-supported SpiralFrog announced that it is teaming up with another record label on Thursday, adding to the list of companies who will provide music for its online downloading service.

Britain's FTSE 100 pushed ahead on Thursday, buoyed by strong results and bullish earnings forecasts, but gains were capped by continued weakness in crude prices, hitting oil heavyweights and utilities.

Scottish and Southern Energy has confirmed today that it will keep its energy prices the same until the beginning of 2007.

Today Cable & Wireless announced that it is expecting a profit margin rise to between 35 and 37% by the financial year 2008–2009.

NXT Plc, provider of sound solutions, today announced it’s Preliminary Results for the year ended 30th June 2006.

Scholastic Corporation reported the results of for the 2007 first quarter, ended 31st August 2006.

Reuters Group Plc has appointed the Michael Peace, CEO of one of its subsidiaries to the position of global head of its Research and Asset Management division.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) plans on making it easier for manufactures and end-users to upgrade to future processors, announcing an initiative on Thursday to strive towards processor socket compatibility.

Today the Department of Transport announced changes to airport security restrictions.

Nokia announced today that it had reached an agreement with Microsoft to integrate Live Search capabilities into its Mobile Search platform.

Airbus revealed new delays for its troubled A380 superjumbo jet on Thursday, blaming a repeat of wiring installation problems which have already pushed the program a year behind schedule and hit future profits.

U.S. shares looked set to open higher on Thursday, extending Wednesday's gains after relatively dovish comments from Federal Reserve policy makers, but worries about the extent of the U.S. slowdown may cap equity buying.

Microsoft's external high-definition DVD player for Xbox 360 console will use the HD-DVD format and will be released on Nov. 22 in Japan, the software maker said on Wednesday during a media briefing at the Tokyo Game Show 2006.

Japan's three major three banks are accepting a larger volume of applications for unsecured business loans for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).