Europe

UK - The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has welcomed the Government‘s interim report on accounting standards in light of recent US scandals.

UK - Toyota is cutting contributions to its final salary scheme and asking employees to pay more in a bid to keep it alive.

UK - Pension funds are pledging their support for unions which are prepared to strike safeguard their pension schemes.

UK - Towers Perrin is rethinking its investment consulting strategy in the UK after a mass exodus of staff.

UK - The £2.8bn London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) is looking to make its first investment in private equity.

UK - British Land is bowing to pressure from institutional shareholders - including pension schemes - and splitting the role of chairman and chief executive.

UK - Paymaster is to provide pension fund administration services to the Crown Prosecution Service and Serious Fraud Office.

UK - More than 6,700 occupational pension schemes - nearly 6.5% of the total - closed in the past year, new figures from OPRA reveal.

UK - Funding levels for FTSE100 companies' pension funds have fallen from 101% to 93% since the start of the year, UBS claims.

FRANCE/CHINA - SG Asset Management (SGAM) has become the latest investment house to be lured by China's potentially massive savings industry.