Europe

UK - Gissings has appointed Jeff Highfield as practice director for client accounting.

UK - The government is piloting the pensions world "almost" blind and without instruments, Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith told the party's pensions summit.

EUROPE - Some 63% of fund managers believe that European markets will not face the same accounting scandals - or cases of ‘Enronitis' - that have rocked corporate America, according to research company Morningstar Europe.

UK - Insolvent schemes in wind up can exploit a legal loophole to reduce their commitments to deferred members and increase their GMP payouts, lawyers say.

UK - Pension schemes are divided over how to act to the sharp falls in US equities following revelations of accounting irregularities at WorldCom and Xerox.

UK - New NAPF chief executive Christine Farnish has urged the government to reduce the red tape burden so employers can give workers "decent schemes".

UK - There's no hiding the fact that pension holders will be hit hard following this week's stock market dives, says Merrill Lynch.

UK - Fiona Meadows, leader of the family finance team at law firm Foot Anstey Sargent, has become a Solicitors Family Law Association specialist.

UK - Yell, the business directories company, has closed its defined benefit scheme to new members.

FRANCE/SPAIN - BNP Paribas España is set to boost its presence in the European private pensions market following the acquisition of JPMorgan Chase's Spanish asset management and private banking businesses.