NEW ZEALAND - A consortium comprising the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and infrastructure investment fund Infratil is in exclusive talks to acquire part of Shell New Zealand's refining and downstream assets.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Royal Bank of Canada has expanded its corporate pension trustee and administration business to the Middle East by bringing in two new hires in Dubai.

CANADA - The C$2.2bn (US$2.03bn) Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation has hired State Street to provide custody, fund accounting and securities lending services.

US - Kevin McCabe, who acted as a placement agent for a private equity firm that received US$800m in New York pension fund investments, agreed to pay $535,000 to end a probe of his role by state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, according to his attorney....

No disagreement here. Every plan sponsor surveyed in the Global Pensions 100 Panel supports the decision by New York state attorney general Andrew Cuomo to create a 13-person board of trustees for the state's pension scheme.

Nearly 90% of plan sponsored surveyed this month believe the pension provisions offered by their scheme is adequate for pensioners.

IRELAND - Irish managed funds were down 2.8% in October, the first monthly decline since February, as the markets slumped on the back of investors' concerns over government stimulus measures, Hewitt Associates said.

US - The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) should streamline its process to determine the benefits of complex plans, as some determinations can take up to nine years, the Government Accountability Office said.

AUSTRALIA - The new chief executive of the Investment and Financial Services Association (IFSA) said the mandatory employer contribution rate should increase to 12% from 9%.

UK/US - BNY Mellon Asset Management has completed the acquisition of Insight Investment Management from Lloyds Banking Group.