United Kingdom

UK/SWITZERLAND - Newcastle Building Society is moving its pensions business to Swiss firm Zurich Financial Services after 13 years with Norwich Union.

UK - Employers could use the minimum funding requirement replacement to pressurise trustees and actuaries into cutting pension contributions, consultants fear.

UK - Chocolate manufacturer Thorntons has been forced to increase contributions to its final salary scheme to cut a widening deficit.

UK - Hymans Robertson's annual pensions and benefits conference begins on November 18 in Birmingham.

UK - Shopping centres of over 500,000 sq ft are falling out of favour with retailers, property consultancy Donaldsons reports.

UK/EUROPE - Friends Ivory & Sime (FIS) has launched a corporate governance and socially responsible investment unit for European markets.

EUROPE/UK - HSBC has appointed Ferruccio Ferrara as European head of FX derivative marketing.

UK - The BT Pension Scheme's estimated £5.5bn deficit is "manageable" due to its large cash flows, claim City analysts.

UK - Diageo pension scheme members have given a thumbs down to money purchase schemes and applauded the firm for retaining defined benefit provision.

UK - GE Life, part of US group part GE Financial, has awarded the £850m equity element of its GE Pensions With Profits fund to State Street Global Advisors (SSgA).