Savings News

Crude oil and gold futures remained slightly lower on Monday after the Commerce Department said consumer spending last month outpaced income growth, leading to a decline in the personal savings rate.

The savings rate for U.S. households fell in July to the lowest level in three months as spending outpaced income, the Commerce Department estimated Monday.

Tens of thousands of investors with Fidelity, one of the biggest individual savings account managers, are being forced to sell their shares in a number of widely held banks and insurers after the fund manager announced the closure of its Windfall Isa.

Sterling Financial Corp. said it has completed its $730 recapitalization effort. Sterling, which is the bank holding company of Sterling Savings Bank, said the transaction raises new capital from institutional, private equity and other investors.

LONDON----A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A and issuer credit ratings of ?a? of Skandia Insurance Company Ltd. and Skandia Life Assurance Company Limited , the main subsidiaries in Old Mutual plc?s Nordic and Wealth Management business units of Old Mutual plc?s long-term savings division.

If you?re a baby boomer, the odds are high you?ll exhaust your retirement savings after 10 or 20 years of retirement, according to the latest Retirement Readiness Rating report released this week by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

One man pines for safe, solid earnings on his savings. But there is a link between risk and return.

Consumers are cutting back on their savings goals for the year, as some grapple with higher-than-expected bills and others just can?t control their inner shopper, according to data released Tuesday.

Retail stocks headed lower on Monday as home-improvement retailers Home Depot Inc. and Lowe s Cos. saw their profit estimates lowered at both FBR Capital Markets and Credit Suisse. The S&P Retail Index fell 0.7% to 405.05 after the Commerce Department estimated that the savings rate for U.S. households rose to the highest level in eight months in May as incomes grew faster than spending.

U.S. stocks inched up at the open on Monday, rebounding slightly after ending with losses last week, after data showed consumer spending rose in May, even as savings touched their highest level in eight months.

Stocks opened higher Monday after economic news showed consumer spending ticked higher but the savings rate rose to its highest in eight months.

S&P stock index futures briefly turned lower on Monday after data showed U.S. consumer spending rose slightly more than expected in May, even as savings touched their highest level in eight months.

U.S. stock futures turned lower on Monday, as data showed that personal incomes and the savings rate for American households rose in May. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11 points to 10,091.

A law firm known for shareholder lawsuits on Wednesday said it is investigating whether the agents who ran BP PLC's employee savings plan violated federal law by buying BP stock.

Keep track of retirement savings by re-evaluating your plans at these milestones along the way.

British energy giant BP, accused by U.S. lawmakers of putting savings over safety, said on Monday it has spent $2 billion so far on cleaning up its huge Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The Generalitat de Catalunya has asked La Caixa Laietana, the last Catalan savings bank yet to be merged under Spain s broad efforts at financial consolidation, to reconsider its plans to enter a cold merger with a group of savings banks led by Caja Madrid.

* Alpha cuts fees for securities between C$1 and C$5 * Some traders could see 30 percent cost savings TORONTO, May 26 - Alpha Group, a key rival of Canada s main exchange operator, TMX Group Inc , said on Wednesday it is slicing trading fees for certain stocks, reducing costs of buying and selling shares by 30 percent for some traders.

Moody s Investors Service on Wednesday affirmed the A1 credit ratings of the mortgage covered bonds issued by CajaSur following the Bank of Spain s weekend intervention to take over the savings bank.

Four Spanish savings banks have announced plans to merge amid concerns over solvency in the sector. Cajastur, Caja de Ahorros del Mediterraneo, Caja Extremadura and Caja Cantabria said they had reached an agreement to form a group that would strengthen solvency and assets of the participating banks.