Europe

UK/EUROPE - Big business has scorned Tony Blair's call for green reporting, despite yesterday's launch of a new global standard for social and environmental accounting, according Friends of the Earth (FoE).

UK - Fidelity Investments, part of the world's largest independent fund management organisation, has announced that HM Treasury has approved Fidelity's Institutional Cash Fund (ICF), a ‘AAA' rated (Moody's) money market fund, as an investment vehicle...

UK - Ben Brooks joins Liberty Ermitage as director, strategic investments this week. He will report to Ian Cadby, group executive director.

UK - Singer & Friedlander (S&F) Investment Management has bolstered its institutional marketing team with the appointment of Richard Kunzer as its new assistant director.

ICELAND - The Institute of Economic Studies at the University of Iceland and the research network of the International Network of Pension Regulators and Supervisors (INPRS) have announced two half-day workshops in Reykjavik, Iceland.

UK - Department for work and pensions secretary Alistair Darling is to speak at this year's National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) annual conference in Brighton.

UK - High street retail giant Kingfisher Group - former owners of Woolworths and Superdrug - has revealed a net FRS17 pension fund deficit of £112m.

UK - Retail giant the House of Fraser is closing its £255m final salary scheme to new members while it carries out a full pension review.

EUROPE - Business confidence throughout Europe has continued its steady climb and is now back up to pre-September 11 levels, according to new figures from the European Commission (EC).

UK - Powys County Council has put half of its £162m pension fund up for tender, following a review conducted by its consultant, Watson Wyatt.