IRELAND - Nearly two-thirds of plan sponsors offering a defined benefit scheme have had trouble funding their pension funds leading some to increase contributions, close schemes or implement hybrid plans, a new survey found.

GLOBAL - Institutional pension fund assets in the 13 major markets increased by 15% during 2009, from US$20trn to over US$23trn, latest Towers Watson research has revealed.

US - A US appeals court has granted the New York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS) the right to sue Apple's Steve Jobs and other key managers again after a court dismissed a suit over losses allegedly related to the company's stock option plan....

US/UK - Target date funds have proved to be the best default option for US defined contribution plans, Harvard college professor David Laibson has claimed.

CHILE - Chilean pension regulator Superintendencia de Pensiones has limited schemes' currency hedging to 50% of the value of their exposure to foreign assets.

US - President Barack Obama called for the discontinuation of tax cuts for investment fund managers in his first State of the Union address yesterday.

FRANCE - The Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites (FRR) has selected Goldman Sachs International and Russell Implementation Services as transition managers.

GERMANY - A group of investors led by Hermes has forced Infineon's designated chairman Klaus Wucherer to promise to step down after only one year instead of five if elected to head the chipmaker's supervisory board.

A group of investors led by Hermes has forced Infineon's designated chairman Klaus Wucherer to promise to step down after only one year instead of five if elected to head the chipmaker's supervisory board.

GLOBAL - Worldwide investment fund assets increased 6.2% in the third quarter of 2009, reaching €15.3trn (US$21.5trn) at the end of September 2009, latest figures from the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) have revealed.