NETHERLANDS - The €209bn (US$280bn) ABP fund has refused to reveal the extent of its losses in failed banking and insurance giant Fortis, following a misplaced bet which saw it up its stake just weeks before the firm's shares plunged in value.

UK - More than £14bn (US$24bn) worth of assets flowed into liability-driven investment (LDI) and other hedging strategies in Q3, according to MandateWire.

UK - Defined benefit (DB) pension liabilities of some of the world's largest banks are now significantly greater than the bank's equity market value, according to Pension Capital Strategies (PCS).

US - The outcome of the US election in three weeks will end some uncertainty and speculation as to the direction of the US economy, but will not be a 'magic bullet', asset managers warn.

Including: US - New York signs pension anti-fraud law; GLOBAL - Markets warned to expect more intervention; US - New ERISA guidance for fiduciaries; AUSTRALIA - Sunsuper acquires former Citistreet admin business

INDIA - As many as 25,000 employees of India's central bank plan to strike for a day on 21 October for a higher pension, the United Forum of Reserve Bank Officers and Employees' Association said.

GLOBAL - The hedge fund industry in the middle of a 'Darwinian' process which has altered the basis of the industry and radically changed the operating environment, an analyst claims.

The government should launch an independent inquiry into public sector pensions, Ros Altmann says.

FINLAND - The government has proposed temporary measures to ease pressure on pension funds to sell shares into a slumping market.

LOCAL Government Pension Scheme spending on benefits increased by £400m in the year to April 2008, latest government figures reveal.