Europe

EUROPE - The investment industry has cautiously welcomed the long-awaited agreement on the Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) directive.

UK - The Financial Reporting Council has revealed the 68 signatories to the UK Stewardship Code.

NORWAY - Norway's Government Pension Fund Global has grown to NOK3trn ($512bn) for the first time in its 14-year history.

UK - Scheme funding positions were affected by as much as £50bn ($79bn) in Q3 due to the movement and volatility of long-term gilt yields, Pension Insurance Corporation says.

FRANCE - Le Fonds de Reserve pour les Retraites (FRR) has signed up to the Emerging Markets Disclosure Project (EMDP) to help promote transparency in developing markets.

UK - Trustees now have a further five years to act on legal requirements under section 251 of the Pensions Act 2004, the department for work and pensions confirms.

ICELAND - Iceland's pension funds, which hold the bonds behind most of the country's mortgage debt, will try to block proposals to forgive as much as $2bn in bad loans that the government says it is considering.

UK - The government has announced it will set up a new public Royal Mail pension scheme - the liabilities of which are to be met by the taxpayer.

UK - The annual allowance will be cut from £255,000 ($408,000) to £50,000; the lifetime allowance reduced from £1.8m to £1.5m, and the factor for valuing final salary benefits increased from 10 to 16, the Treasury has announced.

UK - Non-executive directors need to take a more dynamic role in corporate governance, Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) claims.