Europe

UK - Jardine Lloyd Thompson has been chosen to provide administration services to the pension schemes of hotel chain Le Meridien and manufacturing firm CeDo.

UK - Compulsory pension contributions by employers and employees are backed by nearly two-thirds of the public, a major new study shows.

UK - Companies are walking into a "legal and industrial relations minefield" when they close their final salary schemes to new members, a leading lawyer warns.

UK - Cantos, the online video communications service for mainly institutional investors, has hired Andrew Tyler as finance director in response to rapid expansion over the past 18 months.

UK/IRELAND - Swiss group Zurich Financial Services has appointed Lawrence Churchill as chief executive of its UK, Irish and international life units.

UK - The Conservative Party has made Oliver Heald MP - a barrister with a speciality in employment law - its new work and pensions spokesman.

UK - Soaring executive pensions are set to become a major area of shareholder activism, Pensions Investment Research Consultants claims.

EUROPE - Ratings agency Standard & Poor's is urging European corporate pension funds to improve their disclosure in a bid to evaluate the potential impact of funding gaps on credit ratings.

UK - Private equity specialist Coller Capital has closed its International Partners IV fund at US$2.5bn (£1.6bn) - well above its initial US$1bn target for the fund.

UK - Credit Suisse Asset Management has strengthened its risk team with the appointment of Pierre-Henri de Monts de Savasse as an analyst, based in London.