Europe

UK - Purchasers of variable annuities may have borne the brunt of losses out of the US market timing scandals, according to data from Lipper.

EUROPE - F&C, the pan-European asset manager with 90bn euros under management could be floated on the stock exchange by its parent Eureko.

UK- Goldman Sachs Asset Management has been hired to run a £200m currency mandate for the Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (SAUL) trustees pension fund.

UK - Deutsche Asset Management UK is set to acquire Anglo & Overseas Trust's 43% stake in Deutsche Investment Trust Manager (DITM) for £3m in cash.

UK - Rail workers are set to strike unless Network Rail guarantees that the jobs, pay, and pension entitlements of 4000 workers will be protected.

EUROPE - Eurex, the Swiss-German bourse has won approval from Commodities Futures Trading Commission to set up an electronic operation in the US, defeating a strong lobby from the local Chicago bourses which opposed the move.

ITALY - Italy's multi-employer contractual pension funds underperformed the benchmark by 100 bp in 2003, registering returns of 5% on average.

UK - A £2.1bn FRS17 deficit in BAe Systems' final salary scheme has been revealed after an actuarial valuation by Aon Consulting.

UK - Government plans to spend up to £17m this year on promoting the controversial pension credit could be a waste of money, opponents say.

UK - The Pensions Protection Fund needs to safeguard pensions up to £60,000 a year to encourage senior managers to keep schemes open, manufacturing employers claim.