THE WILTSHIRE County Council Superannuation Fund has hired ABN Amro Mellon Global Securities Services as global custodian for £1.1bn of assets.

Merrill sounds alarm on global liquidity; Takeover rush speeds up with two £5bn deals; Bats lowers tariff in bid to strike at NYSE

UKRAINE - Ukraine's pension commitments soared from 12% of GDP in 2004 to 17% in 2005, the International Monetary Fund has claimed.

Canada - Department store Sears Canada is to slash retirement benefits in a move that will save the company an estimated C$25m in the second half of 2008.

PROBLEMS with the current state pensions system will not be solved by the Pensions Bill, the Pensions Policy Institute has said.

SHAREHOLDERS of the world's largest food services group Compass are being urged to reject a "flawed" remuneration package for the firm's executive directors.

US - State government must make good on pension promises already made and tackle Illinois' burgeoning pension deficit, the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System has claimed.

INDEPENDENT financial advisers have reported an increase in the number of people using group self-invested personal pensions to purchase commercial property.

US - Maryland State Retirement and Pension System CIO Steven Huber has joined T. Rowe Price as a senior portfolio specialist in the fixed income division.

France - Presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy has called for equality on the issue of retirement age.