United Kingdom

UK - Workers at TransBus International - part of beleaguered bus manufacturer Mayflower - will learn how much the pension scheme will receive as a creditor by tomorrow.

UK - The outlook for the global economy is bright despite oil price rises, a market expert claims.

UK - A dedicated emerging market hedge fund is being launched by Optima Fund Management next month.

UK - Employers are dumping newly-established defined contribution plans in favour of stakeholder and group personal pensions, industry leaders warn.

UK - The £1.1bn Aberdeen City Council Pension Fund is to put £450m worth of mandates up for tender in a move to specialist investment management from balanced.

UK - More than 80% of FTSE350 companies changed the composition of their boards to address independence issues in the last year, new research by Deloitte shows.

UK - The government has appointed Myra Kinghorn (pictured) as the first chief executive of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).

UK - Pension funds should increase their property allocations to at least 20% in order to boost returns and cut risk, Morley Fund Management claims.

UK - Mercer Human Resource Consulting has been appointed to oversee the pension fund of luxury knitwear firm Johnstons of Elgin.

UK - Employee benefits - including a hardship fund, share options and Friday night "beer busts" - can reduce staff turnover significantly, The Carphone Warehouse claims.