Ministers to consider weakening protection for pension schemes; Sterling sinks following gilts sell-off; Adviser fined for pension breaches

RUSSIA - Not even the so-called BRIC countries survived unscathed the credit crisis, despite performing well above western countries in recent years, according to participants of a recent roundtable in Moscow.

EUROPE - Dutch pension funds, including the giant ABP, are among investors in the DIF Infrastructure II fund which has been closed at approximately €200m.

US - Almost 300 companies are asking Congress, as part of any economic stimulus legislation, to suspend a requirement that they pay more into their pension funds, saying it may force them to cut jobs.

THE Pensions Regulator has merged its scheme specific funding and corporate risk management teams.

GLOBAL - MSCI Barra will introduce a number of changes to the MSCI Global Investable Market Indices, following its November 2008 Semi-Annual Index Review.

GLOBAL - Worldwide ETF assets under management have fallen by 19.3% this year, according to a report from Barclays Global Investors.

NETHERLANDS - The Dutch pensions industry has agreed the pensions regulator took the right approach when it gave underfunded pension schemes more time to present a recovery plan.

UK defined benefit pension liabilities could be overstated by £30bn, PricewaterhouseCoopers says.

UK - The Department for Work and Pensions is considering options to relax rules which force firms winding up a pension scheme as part of a corporate restructure or demerger to fully cover liabilities.