P541 Teletext 541 Jan12 22:45:12 NEWS ———————————————— ——————— UK SHARES JUMPED 24% IN 1999 UK shares produced a 24% return last year, research reveals. Investment performance consultancy WM Company points out big variations between sectors with IT stocks more than doubling their value while utilities fell about 15%. The FUSE 100 index jumped 20% over the year, the FUSE 250 returned over 35% with the SmallCap returning more than 50%, WM revealed. ——————————————————————————————————1/6—— Mini cash Ira rates 545 Looking for a great mortgage deal? See p675 Your money Advice Property CityP541 Teletext 541 Jan12 22:48:22 NEWS ———————————————— ——————— COIN COMMEMORATES QUEEN MOTHER A £5 coin to commemorate the 100th year of the Queen Mother has been launched by the Royal Mint. The coin features on its reverse a portrait of the Queen Mother by the sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley, together with the Queen Mother's signature, the dates 1900-2000 and flag-waving crowds. The coin will bj known as the Crown. ——————————————————————————————————2/6—— How many drachmas to the £? 548 FINANCIAL NEWS INDEX p501P541 Teletext 541 Jan12 22:43:11 NEWS ———————————————— ——————— M&S BACKS STAKEHOLDER PENSION Marks & Spencer Financial Services is fully supportive of the Government's plans for low-cost, flexible stakeholder pensions. M&SFS said it is committed to offering its customers a stakeholder standard pension in the near future. It says the market has been dominated for too long by companies that have consistently over charged the consumer and tied them into high commissions. ——————————————————————————————————3/6—— "Best Buy" Borrowing Table 547 PLAY BRIDGE IN MAURITIUS SEE p212P541 Teletext 541 Jan12 22:51:21 NEWS ———————————————— ——————— TRACKING EUROPE THE LOW COST WAY Savers with at least £500 to invest in European companies can do so in a new low-cost trackjt fund from M&G. The M&G European Index Tracker Fund has an annual management charge of 0.5%. There is no initial charge. The fund includes about 500 top companies listed on 15 different stock markets. Regular savers can invest from £10 a month. The tracker fund can be held in an Ira. ——————————————————————————————————4/6—— Mini cash rates 545 1OOOs OF OUR BEST DEAL HOLIDAYS HOLIDAYS p258 FLIGHTS p202 Your money Advice Property CityP541 Teletext 541 Jan12 22:44:18 NEWS ———————————————— ——————— SCOTTISH EQUITABLE URGES PENSION ADVICE Pensions group Scottish Equitable is urging the Government to encourage people to take pension advice. It says advice is critical to the success of stakeholder pensions. Director of pensions development at Scottish Equitable, Stewart Ritchie, says: "There is a lot of nonsense going round about not needing advice on a 'simple' stakeholder pension. Pensions are not simple." ——————————————————————————————————5/6—— Mini cash Ira rates 545 MONEY-SAVING OFFERS ON CENTRAL HEATING FROM BRITISH GAS ITV p357 Your money Advice Property CityP541 Teletext 541 Jan12 22:47:22 NEWS ———————————————— ——————— TESCO CUTS LOAN RATES Tesco Personal Finance has cut the rate for loans of £5,000 or more. People borrowing between £5,000 and £7,499 now pay 10.7%APR against a previous rate of 1p.9% APR. The rate falls to 9.7% for loans of £7,500 and borrowers taking out loans of £15,000 to £25,000 now pay 8.5% against 8.9% previously. ——————————————————————————————————6/6—— How many drachmas to the £? 548 CRICKET HEADLINES p450 ITV