Europe

UK - Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline is conducting a review that could result in executive contracts being cut from two years to 12 months.

UK - Frank Russell has won 30 mandates worth over £1bn from schemes and institutional investors since the start of the year.

UK - Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott has attacked the government for increasing stamp duty on commercial property which puts a further burden on pension funds.

UK - Schemes will be forced to contract back into the state system if same-sex couples get the same rights as married people, lawyers claim.

UK - Women have less chance of accumulating a decent pension pot than men and the problem is likely to continue, a new study claims.

UK - Building and support service group MITIE has revealed a 10-fold increase in the FRS17 deficit on its two final salary schemes in the past year.

EUROPE - BNP Paribas Asset Management is targeting European institutional investors with two new Dublin-domiciled single strategy hedge funds.

UK - Principal Global Investors has appointed Grant Forster as chief executive officer of its London-based European operations.

UK - Pension scheme allocations to hedge funds will average 15% within three years, Punter Southall principal Jonathan Punter predicts.

UK - Banking giant HSBC claims soaring pension costs are a key reason behind its decision to axe 1400 staff.