Europe

UK - Government moves to give the ombudsman power to process group claims from scheme members may have been shelved after protests from pension lawyers.

UK - Drinks giant Allied Domecq has come under fire from a City analyst for holding too many equities in its pension schemes.

UK - Independent Trustee Services (ITS), part of employee benefits firm Jardine Lloyd Thompson, has appointed Shona Goulds as principal consultant.

UK - Staff retention is the main incentive for introducing employee benefit packages, a survey by Nottingham Business School shows.

UK - Japanese banking giant Mizuho Corporate Bank has appointed PIFC Benefit Consultants to implement a benefits package for its UK-based staff.

UK - Work and pensions secretary Andrew Smith and his Conservative opposite number, David Willetts, will be going head to head at the NAPF's autumn policy conference.

UK - Britannic Asset Management has appointed Kevin Fenelon as investment director for UK equities.

UK - Trustees of the £1.3bn BAT pension scheme will discuss the results of an asset liability study later this month.

UK - Beleaguered Aberdeen Asset Management is selling Aberdeen Property Investors in a bid to cut debts of around £250m.

UK - The pensions ombudsman has hit out at a string of court rulings which prevent him carrying out his role fully.