Europe

GLOBAL - Have you missed the biggest stories in pensions this week? Find out below, as we list the top 10 most popular stories on www.globalpensions.com over the past seven days.

NORWAY - The Government Pension Fund Global returned 9.6% in 2010, driven by widespread gains in global stock and bond markets.

UK - Strong de-risking demand from UK pension funds drove a 36% increase in Legal & General Asset Management's liability driven investment funds last year, results show.

UK - The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) today recommends the UK government further increases the state pension age (SPA) to combat rising costs.

Jaishree Kalia reports that interest in hedging the longevity risk of active members could soar internationally following the news of the world's first such hedge being used in the UK

UK - Buyout deals totalled £8.1bn ($13bn) last year, with £1.6bn of this business written in Q4 alone, research by JLT Pension Capital Strategies shows.

DENMARK - Danish pension provider ATP has spoken out against a change to a proposed law which limits its investments in insurance companies.

UK - The switch from RPI to CPI for pension indexation moved one step further in the legislative process yesterday after it was approved in the House of Lords.

EUROPE/JAPAN - Major European indices suffered triple-digit losses on Tuesday after a third explosion at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant raised fresh radiation fears and sparked a 1,000-point plunge on the Nikkei 225.

UK - The Department for Work and Pensions must avoid the "bear trap" of setting rigid rules to govern default funds, AllianceBernstein warns.