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Standard Life members who vote next month for the mutual organisation to become a stock market company have been warned they could be worse off within four years. Labour MP Andy Love said research done for his All Party Committee shows that mutual building societies and insurers which convert, pay lower returns after the change. And he told BBC Radio 4's Money Box that any windfall members may get on conversion soon disappears in lower returns and higher costs. "We found on average it took  ...

The Leeds-based company, best known for making Lurpak and Anchor butter, also reported notable increases in its Cravendale milk brand.Arla said that it was winning the battle against rising costs, which it said in January would have a material effect on first-half numbers."The benefit of both cost saving measures and milk selling prices, which increased in January, have since then allowed us to re ...

Following the July 7 bombings in London, CCTV cameras have taken on much greater importance in tracking down terrorists. "As a result of the July 7 bombings it is important to be able to record and quickly access the video footage. "There are now computers that can identify strange bags and strange behaviour from the footage," said chief executive Andrew Wallace.He added that the 2012 Olympics  ...

By Vivianne Rodrigues NEW YORK (Reuters) - A healthy but not overheated reading of the U.S. employment scene next week should be all that's needed to keep the current stock market rally alive. If, however, Friday's U.S. payroll report is strong enough to suggest the Federal Reserve's interest-rate-hiking campaign has further to go, the surprising pace equities maintained through the first quarte ...

Justin Harper, Money Mail1 April 2006 A LAST-MINUTE surge in investment into Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) is expected before rule changes making them less attractive kick in next month. THINK TWICE: Nigel Burton and wife Alwyn OTHER STORIES Market report: Friday close Smaller companies report: Friday close Stick offers his top picks New on the market Setback for splits victims THE EDITOR'S CHOICE TOP STORY: 5 insurance stings TOP BLOG: 'ATMs that charge' BEST ...

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- The precious metals complex followed the oil market lower Friday at the New York Mercantile Exchange, after shooting to fresh multiyear highs on Thursday. Among the other commodities, coffee, sugar, cocoa and cotton also fell. In the precious metals market, silver futures slid after soaring in the last few sessions with help from strong fund interest. Most-active Ma ...

U.S. stocks closed lower Friday, although the major indices all posted strong quarterly gains, with the S&P 500 scoring its strongest first-quarter gain in seven years, after new data pointed toward a resilient economy. Friday's losses were linked to end-of-quarter portfolio and index adjustments, and did not market a departure from the bullish sentiment seen earlier in the quarter. The  ...

Technology stocks finished mixed Friday but ended the first-quarter on a bright note. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) put in its best first-quarter performance since 2000, advancing 6%. Among the other major tech stock indexes, the Goldman Sachs Hardware Index ( GHA) surged 13.4% in the quarter. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) finished up 4.2%, while the Morgan Sta ...

Treasury prices closed with a tiny gain Friday, contrasting with some heavy sell-offs earlier in the week, after investors failed to react much to strong economic data or remarks from a Fed official that suggested a possible speedy halt to interest rate increases. Despite Friday's dull price action, the benchmark yield rose 10.4% during the first quarter, as strong data, heavy supply and rising ...

BOSTON (Dow Jones) - Fidelity Investments Friday said it will close its biggest stock mutual fund, the $63.8 billion Contrafund, to new investors along with another fund run by William Danoff after the funds attracted billions of dollars of investor cash over a year. As of the close of business April 28, only existing holders will be able to make new purchases in Contrafund (FCNTX) and the $5.5 ...