Europe

UK - Total buyout solvency deficit of FTSE 100 pension schemes has improved by £90bn (US$179bn) during the last 12 months, a report by Pension Capital Strategies Limited (PCS) has shown.

UK - Companies have shown interest in collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes or said the government should change pensions legislation to accommodate such schemes, a survey conducted by Hewitt has revealed.

UK - Alexander Forbes Trustee Services has launched a service which would free insolvency practitioners (IPs) from the liability of being a trustee of an insolvent company's defined contribution (DC) pension scheme.

EUROPE - Credit quality continued to decline in Q2 as 41 debt issuers were downgraded, according to Moody's Investor Services.

EUROPE - European pension funds drastically accelerated the outflow from equities during the second quarter of 2008, a report by financial information company MandateWire has found.

FRANCE - The effectiveness of France's controversial 2003 'Fillon reforms' has been questioned by the Caisse nationale d'assurance vieillesse (CNAV), the general public sector social security retirement system.

UK - FTSE 100 company pension scheme deficits might increase by a further £80bn over the next year as a result of the schemes' investment strategies, a study by Deloitte has found.

UK - The desire of companies to refocus on their core business is the most important driver to outsourcing pension fund administration, according to Aon Consulting.

UK - The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has launched a consultation on the importance of record keeping for scheme administrators.

ITALY - Italian mutual funds suffer from asymmetries in transparency regulations, lack of diversification of the distribution network and tax disadvantages, a report by the Bank of Italy has found.