Europe

UK - Suffolk County Council's pension fund deficit has risen by £32m since March 2001, an interim valuation reveals.

EUROPE - Zurich Financial Services is set to agree on the transfer of its insurance business in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania to If P&C Insurance in a bid to refocus on key European markets.

UK - Simplification will trigger a boom in self-administered pensions, Hartley-SAS predicts.

EUROPE - European pension fund associations are demanding that investment consultants that advise on manager selection be subject to stringent new performance measurement arrangements.

UK - The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) has selected Cambridge Associates as its advisor for US alternative investment (AI) partnerships.

UK - First and second class stamps are to rise by 1p on May 8 in part to help Royal Mail meet the spiralling costs of its £15bn valued pension schemes.

UK - Engineering firm Rotork has closed its £44.7m defined benefit scheme to new members.

UK - Pension and charitable funds are becoming increasingly interested in absolute or targeted return strategies, latest research from Baring Asset Management shows.

UK - Financial advisers have rapped new moves to revamp examinations for lacking clarity.

UK - Professional indemnity insurance for corporate IFAs is increasingly difficult to obtain because of fears of "retrospective reviews" into their business, the Association of Independent Financial Advisers claims.