Europe

UK - The new pensions regulator will have the power to freeze schemes, oust "underperforming" trustees and hand out ultimatums to employers.

UK - Local government pension schemes will be given greater flexibility to choose how to invest their funds under new government regulations.

UK - A radical rethink on how schemes measure the effectiveness of their fund managers is needed, Hewitt Bacon & Woodrow claims.

UK - Reuters chief executive Tom Glocer bowed to investor calls to replace his two-year pay deal with a 12-month contract.

UK - Pension funds are calling for "intense scrutiny" of the appointment process which put James Murdoch - Rupert Murdoch's son - at the head of BSkyB.

UK - Strike action over pension benefits could force some firms out of business, bosses claim.

UK - The Investment Management Association (IMA) has praised the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) for introducing a manual for the appraisal of its fund managers in a bid to promote responsible investment.

UK - Two local authority schemes are set to follow the £530m Shropshire County Council Pension Fund's lead and make an allocation to hedge funds.

UK - The Government should quit directing cash to war-torn regions and turn its attentions to more pressing matters in the UK such the creaking pensions system, according to Ian Eggleden, partner at Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

UK - More than half of workers will retire in poverty due to a government-induced savings crisis, the pensions advisory service OPAS warns.