UK - Government proposals which aim to stop the decline of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes will fail to achieve their goal but could leave some workers thousands of pounds worse off, according to Standard Life.

AUSTRALIA - Risk adversity being displayed by institutional investors is expected to cloud a decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on interest rates this week.

IRELAND - Early signs of recovery in global equity markets are being displayed in the returns of Irish pension funds, according to the latest research from Rubicon Investment Consulting.

Crédit Agricole Asset Management has launched two global equity funds.

UK - The UK arm of the Philips Pension Fund is considering hiring a fiduciary manager, according to industry sources.

UK - Qatari investment company Delta Two has abandoned its takeover bid for supermarket J Sainsbury's, blaming poor credit markets and issues with funding its pension scheme.

TRUSTEES must adjust their mortality tables to take account of latest Continuous Mortality Investigation findings, Punter Southall urges.

Schemes and trustees must ensure there is a procedure in place to resolve disputes within "a reasonable period", The Pensions Regulator warns.

Pension funds in South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria are funding state economic development.

The National Association of Pension Funds has appointed David McCourt as policy adviser of investment and governance.