Europe

UK - Henderson and Gartmore have finally reached an agreement which should see full acquisition take place in a £335m ($524m) deal over the next few months, subject to shareholder approval.

NORWAY - The Ministry of Finance has finalised a new policy for Norges Bank's management of the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) with a stronger focus on risk management.

UK - The aggregate s179 funding position of the 6,560 schemes in the PPF 7800 index is estimated to have improved to a surplus of £21.7bn ($33.7bn) at the end of December.

UK - Alexander Forbes Consultants & Actuaries has hired Antony Hayes as head of institutional business in a bid to expand its employee benefits consultancy business.

EUROPE - The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) held its first meeting today, confirming the membership of its newly elected Management Board.

UK - A new online tool allows trustees to assess their current levels of scheme governance against 200 other DB schemes.

SPAIN - Spanish Labor Minister Valeriano Gomez is set to meet with union leaders today to negotiate an overhaul of the pension system as the Socialist government seeks to avoid a second general strike.

UK - Third-sector multi-employer fund The Pensions Trust has changed its investment strategy across all member schemes in a shift away from quoted equities.

UK - The Financial Reporting Council has published a series of recommendations in a bid to improve communications between company boards and shareholders such as pension funds.

EUROPE - Pension funds will suffer "significant capital losses" if they continue to invest in sovereign bonds over equities, a leading fund manager says.