Investment

BP is considering plans to defer payment of its next dividend to shareholders by placing the money in an escrow account until the full scale of the company's liabilities from the Gulf of Mexico disaster can be determined, sources claim.

US - The credit ratings agency Fitch has warned that the potential for steep pension funding increases over the next two to three years could be crippling for US sponsors with underfunded plans.

CANADA - Canadian finance minister James Flaherty called for local finance ministers to support his plans to give tax incentives and modify pension standards to boost the defined contribution market, and to bring changes to the Canada Pension Plan.

GLOBAL - The European Central Bank will have to "engage in de facto fiscal policy" if the region's authorities wish to avoid a sovereign bankruptcy, according to Paul McCulley, a managing director at Pacific Investment Management Co.

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster may not only be catastrophic for the environment.

Why Obama is wrong to hammer BP

US - AXA Rosenberg's cofounders are selling their 25% stake in the firm to its parent company and Barr Rosenberg will step down from the board two months after the company announced a coding error in its investment process.

BRAZIL - Lane Clark & Peacock has expanded its international network by partnering with Brazilian consultancy Rodarte Nogueira.

UK/EUROPE - The sovereignty of UK defined benefit provision is under threat following proposals from the EU Commission to shift legislative power to a European body, an internal Confederation of British Industry document revealed.

The Pensions Regulator's reluctance to enforce funding agreements between employers and trustees has led to a potentially damaging loss of authority, a lawyer warns.