Europe

UK - The government has formally extended the current six-year opt-out period for member-nominated trustees to nine years.

UK/SWITZERLAND - Newcastle Building Society is moving its pensions business to Swiss firm Zurich Financial Services after 13 years with Norwich Union.

UK - Employers could use the minimum funding requirement replacement to pressurise trustees and actuaries into cutting pension contributions, consultants fear.

UK - Chocolate manufacturer Thorntons has been forced to increase contributions to its final salary scheme to cut a widening deficit.

UK - Hymans Robertson's annual pensions and benefits conference begins on November 18 in Birmingham.

UK - Shopping centres of over 500,000 sq ft are falling out of favour with retailers, property consultancy Donaldsons reports.

EUROPE/UK - HSBC has appointed Ferruccio Ferrara as European head of FX derivative marketing.

UK/EUROPE - Friends Ivory & Sime (FIS) has launched a corporate governance and socially responsible investment unit for European markets.

EUROPE - Walter Kielholz is to take the helm at Credit Suisse Group (CSG) after the firm ousted chairman and chief executive Lukas Mühlemann following a catalogue of costly errors.

EUROPE/UK - HSBC has appointed Ferruccio Ferrara as European head of FX derivative marketing.