United Kingdom

UK - Four new securities will be added to the Morgan Stanley Capital International Standard Index Series.

UK - The IT industry has criticised the Financial Services Authority for setting "extremely demanding" deadlines for compliance with its new regulations.

UK - Independent financial advisers have spent more than 100,000 hours online using Wealth Management Software's fairs manager product since it was launched two years ago.

UK - Pension funds are constraining the performance of their fixed income managers by restricting them to investment grade bonds, financial risk management specialist Barra claims.

UK - Oil company Cairn Energy's fourth oil discovery in Rajasthan, India, has boosted returns for Isis Asset Management's UK equity funds.

UK - Barclays is launching a new-style home computing scheme which allows staff to buy discounted PCs direct from shops.

UK - New stakeholder proposals put forward by the Treasury are based on optimistic and unrealistic assumptions, Tillinghast Towers Perrin claims.

UK - Global Investment Systems is launching an Oracle database compatible version of MFACT, its shareholder accounting system.

UK - Early preparation could avoid delays for individuals needing to obtain details of their existing and deferred pension benefits, which need to be valued against the new Lifetime Allowance (LTA), Watson Wyatt has warned.

UK - Gartmore Investment management will merge its UK retail and global Bancassurance teams when Global head Steen Steincke steps down from his position at the end of the month.