Europe

UK - Only four of the FTSE100 companies have shareholding guidelines for non-executive directors, new research by Hewitt Bacon & Woodrow reveals.

UK - Herd mentality by international investors is increasing market illiquidity and making it less cost effective for pension funds to switch managers, State Street claims.

UK - Threadneedle is restructuring its business by moving to three principal divisions with divisional directors who will each report to Simon Davies, Threadneedle's chief executive. The appointment of Sarah Arkle, as chief investment officer in October...

UK - ING Real Estate unit, Baring, Houston and Saunders (B,H&S), and the Board of Rugby Estates (Rugby) have joined forces to set up the ING Covent Garden Limited Partnership.

UK - Prudential has come under fire for its role in the underfunding of the United Engineering Forgings' (UEF) pension fund.

UK - Pensions benefits is one of the issues at stake in the latest train dispute involving Arriva Trains Northern and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers.

UK - Man Group, the parent company of asset manager Man Investment Products, has appointed Duguald Eadie to the board of directors as an independent non-executive director.

UK - High street giant Woolworths is to open its new pension scheme to members from the beginning of April.

UK - Scottish Widows is revising the way it calculates benefits for guaranteed annuity rate policies from February 1, 2002.

EUROPE - The European Commission has urged Spain to address the problem of its ageing population if it is to sustain any long-term economic stability.