Europe

UK - Attempts to sue Equitable Life's former directors for negligence is unlikely to generate any of the £3.2bn the company claims was lost, lawyers say.

UK - The development of an industry-wide contract for schemes and fund managers has hit a brick wall after disagreements over a clause to limit liabilities.

UK - Funding problems at the Teachers' Pension Scheme have been linked to a cull of more than 21,000 teaching posts.

UK - Pension deficits at the country's biggest firms will disappear by the end of 2004 if equity markets keep on the road to recovery, Aon Consulting claims.

UK - More than 500 shipbuilders will discover the fate of their pension this week when a buyer for Appledore Shipbuilding is confirmed.

ITALY - Italy will be brought to a virtual standstill today as the government faces a trade union backlash over its pensions shake-up.

UK - Thomsons Online Benefits has released a new flexible, web-based technology solution handling clients' requirements "faster and cheaper".

UK - Companies looking to change their existing benefit structure must examine the hybrid scheme option, chairman of the government's new Pension Commission told delegates at the recent CBI/Mercer conference in London.

UK - ING Real Estate Investment Management has announced that its property income limited partnership is fully invested.

UK - Winterthur Life UK has appointed David Thompson sales director with responsibility for Winterthur's distribution in the UK market.