Europe

UK / NETHERLANDS - The TNO Pension Fund Foundation has appointed Blackrock to run a €2bn fiduciary mandate.

UK - Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London, has hit back at the city's transport workers, saying a strike over employment and pensions should not proceed as their concerns have been met.

UK - Pooled fund of hedge funds made gains for the third consecutive quarter - but performed less well over the longer term when compared with UK equity pooled funds and property pooled portfolios, according to new statistics.

UK - A typical member in a defined contribution (DC) pension scheme could be missing out on as much as £3,600 a year, suggests new analysis.

NORWAY / SWEDEN - Institutional investment has made up the bulk of a deal between Norwegian financial firm Storebrand in its acquisition of SPP, a Swedish life insurance and pensions provider, creating a "Nordic platform" for pensions.

UK - New statistics have highlighted that pension scheme deficits actually improved as a whole during August - despite the recent market turmoil.

FINLAND - Two large pension insurance companies have become major investors in chemicals group, Kemira Oyj, after the state sold its shares in the firm.

UK - The Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council has issued a tender for an independent valuer for the property portfolio of the Greater Manchester pension fund.

EUROPE - Industry experts have predicted a cautious time for private equity as part of a review of the alternative investment market in the second half of 2007.

UK - The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has made no further progress in its bid to recruit managers for a transition panel.