Round up - July 1

Lehman goes head to head with pension buyout specialists

The Telegraph

Lehman Brothers launched its bid to enter the pension buyout market.

It is understood it made its first pitch by entering the auction to insure benefits associated with steel company Delta - the £451m transaction which was won by Pensions Corporation, the buyout specialist run by Eddie Truell.

Personal Account set to fail

The Telegraph

The eventual pension pot for the target audience is not going to add up to much. According to Hargreaves Lansdown a 22-year-old earning £20,000 a year today and paying a total of 8pc into personal accounts (and ignoring the first £5,000 of income) can expect a retirement income of just £4,750 at the age of 65.

Consumers fail to save despite the gloom

Financial Times

Savings rates for the first quarter of 2008 have fallen to 1.1pc of incomes – the lowest level since 1959, ONS figures have revealed.

Inflation puts pressure on emerging economies

Financial Times

There are increasing signs that the success of emerging economies is losing momentum, as inflation fears intensify.

Until the start of 2008, they had outperformed US and European markets.