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BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Chinese newspapers available in Beijing and Shanghai carried the following stories on Friday. Reuters has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

FINANCIAL NEWS

-- The Chinese government has spent 7 billion yuan ($1.03 billion) so far for a subsidy programme aimed at replacing outdated cars and home appliances, said Zeng Xiao'an, a deputy director at the Ministry of Finance.

CHINA DAILY (www.chinadaily.com.cn)

-- Chinese businesses and factories that violate occupational hazard regulations will be shut down and face a maximum penalty of 30,000 yuan ($44,000), the State Administration of Work Safety said.

PEOPLE'S DAILY

-- China's National Development and Reform Commission, the top economic planner, said the number of pricing law violations in the first half of 2009 declined 37 percent from the year-ago period to 21,000.

CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL

-- One consumer financing firm will be allowed to operate in each of four major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chengdu, on a trial basis with a minimum registered capital of 300 million yuan ($43.9 million), China's banking regulator said.

-- China is working out rules to help speed up the consolidation of the country's major industries, such as steel and manufacturing, said Li Yizhong, minister of industry and information technology.

-- China Life Insurance Co (601628.SS) said it booked 191.1 billion yuan in insurance premiums in the first seven months, down 5.8 percent from a year earlier.

-- Joy Air, a regional carrier controlled by Chinese state aircraft maker Aviation Industry Corp of China, will start its maiden flight on Saturday, flying the country's self-made MA60 regional jet.

-- Average commercial residential housing prices in Shanghai may exceed 18,000 yuan per square metre in August, after hitting a record level of 17,116 yuan per square metre in July, unnamed industry experts said.

SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS

-- China's securities regulator has probed 171 cases involving insider trading, price rigging and other irregularities in the first half, an unnamed regulatory official said.

-- The Chinese minister of industry and information technology Li Yizhong has urged steel mills not to build new projects within three years as the country's steel capacity has already exceeded its demand.