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Sanctuary – which was named after an Iron Maiden song – will continue as the heavy metal group's merchandiser and has also signed the band to a new recording agreement in the US for their album A Matter of Life and Death.Mr Smallwood, who co-founded Sanctuary in 1976 and discovered Iron Maiden in 1979, inspired their song Sheriff of Huddersfield.He will continue to manage the group at his new comp ...

(Updating with details throughout) LONDON (AFX) - UK bluechips closed lower, well off session highs, as US stocks turned weaker after unemployment data painted a mixed picture at the end of a tough week on Wall Street, while product launch delays at Rexam offset well-received first quarter figures from BSkyB, dealers said. At the close, the FTSE 100 index shed 1.2 points at 6,148.1, off a sessio ...

NEW YORK (AFX) - Stocks seesawed Friday after the Labor Department reported that the nation's unemployment rate fell to a five-year low and as oil prices rose on word of a possible string of attacks in Nigeria near production facilities. The Labor Department said the unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent last month from 4.6 percent in September, easing some concerns that the economy has slowe ...

LAS VEGAS (AFX) - Sierra Pacific Resources, an electric utility company, said Thursday its third-quarter profit more than tripled on customer growth at the company's two utilities. Sierra Pacific earned $222.2 million, or $1.05 per share, compared with $61 million, or 33 cents per share, for the same quarter in 2005. The recent quarter's results were boosted by a one-time gain stemming from a Ne ...

LAGOS, Nigeria (AFX) - Militants in Nigeria are planning a major wave of attacks and kidnappings in the next few days that could include up to 20 simultaneous bombings across the petroleum-rich south, U.S. diplomats warned Friday. The warning came in an e-mailed statement sent to American citizens from the U.S. Consulate in Nigeria's main city, Lagos, and a U.S. diplomat confirmed plans for new a ...

LONDON (Dow Jones) -- Germany's Commerzbank produced a better-than-forecast quarterly profit on Friday via greater efficiencies and performance at its Mittelstand banking operations and corporate and investment-banking division. Commerzbanksaid third-quarter net profit fell 17.1% to 217 million euros ($ 277.2 million) after provisions for possible loan losses more than doubled to 415 million eu ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) - Electronic Arts Inc.shares surged as much as 11% Friday after the No. 1 publisher of video game software reported results that topped expectations and raised its full-year sales and profit forecast. The stock (ERTS) rose as high as $59.49 after the company said late Thursday that sales in its latest quarter rose 16% to $784 million, well above the $673 million expect ...

LOS ANGELES (Dow Jones) -- Increases in television, cable and online revenue helped Washington Post Co. to a 10% increase in third-quarter earnings, while the company's print advertising revenue dropped during the period. Washington Post (WPO) reported net income of $73.3 million, or $7.60 a share, compared with $66.6 million, or $6.89 a share, for the same period a year ago. Sales for the publis ...

(Adds background, detail, analyst reaction) LONDON (AFX) - Barclays PLC, the UK's third-biggest bank, said it is to pay 144 mln usd to settle a legal dispute with collapsed US energy giant Enron. Barclays said the payment would have no effect on its 2006 earnings as it has already been provided for in earlier accounting periods, and added that it had not admitted to any wrongdoing under the sett ...

PHOENIX (AFX) - For-profit education provider Apollo Group Inc. said Friday its Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Kenda B. Gonzales has resigned, and that it will restate financial reports to record additional charges related to stock-option granting practices. The company said Gonzales resigned Wednesday, citing personal reasons. Apollo wants to hire an interim CFO as soon as possible. Apol ...