Europe

UK - Northern Venture Managers has backed the £2.2m management buyout of manufacturer Crabtree of Gateshead.

UK - Consultants have warned that OPRA's temporary relaxation of transfer rules will leave trustees open to claims from members.

UK - Half of all pension funds expect the stock market to fall further during the next six months, a survey by JPMorgan Fleming shows.

UK - Torfaen County Borough Council has awarded Threadneedle Investments a £235m UK equity mandate.

UK - British workers will have to retire later than 65 if they are to enjoy a decent standard of living as pensioners, Adair Turner claims.

UK - PricewaterhouseCoopers has warned the government Inland Revenue plans to introduce flexible annuities will be "irrelevant" to ordinary savers.

UK - Final salary scheme members are paying twice as much into their pensions as employees in money purchase plans, latest figures from the Government Actuary's Department show.

UK - The House of Commons work and pensions committee has launched an inquiry into the DWP and the service it gives to people from ethnic minority communities.

WALES - Cardiff University and the University of Wales College of Medicine will not combine their non-acedemic staff pension schemes when they merge next year.

UK - Responsibility for shaping the IFA market will be with the industry and not the regulator, the Association of Independent Financial Advisers says.