United Kingdom

UK - Scheme members who lost their pensions when their firms failed have attacked the "lack of support" from Conservative frontbenchers.

UK - Hermes Pensions Management is considering suing auditing giant Deloitte for its part in the collapse of scandal hit Parmalat. Hermes lost around £25m when the Italian food giant folded.

UK - Fixed income expert Payden & Rygel has consolidated its suite of Dublin-domiciled bond funds to create a new institutional umbrella fund from January.

UK - The fund management industry needs to "rebalance" in order to cope with dramatic changes in global markets, Isis Asset Management claims.

UK - Barclays Global Investors has launched two new currency funds aimed at UK pension funds and institutional investors: the BGI Sterling Currency Hedging and the BGI US Equity Ascent Currency Fund.

UK - Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) has appointed Paul Walton (pictured) as senior investment strategist on the asset allocation and economics team.

UK - Confusing Inland Revenue guidelines are preventing trustees of schemes in wind-up from using rules that could slash their liabilities, leading lawyers say.

UK - Schemes will not be able to match their liabilities accurately unless they use derivatives to go alongside their fixed income portfolios, fund managers warn.

UK - Royal Mail is taking a leading position in a government drive to help improve workers' computer skills.

UK - The growing trend towards flexible benefits will have a "significant impact" on pension provision, Momentum Financial Services claims.