United Kingdom

UK - Many smaller firms are being forced to delay scheme wind-ups because they cannot afford to pay for annuity buyouts, Hazell Carr claims.

UK/US - Deutsche Asset Management has appointed Bill Barron as global head of research.

UK - Retail giant Marks & Spencer is preparing to "go live" with its defined contribution scheme from April 1.

UK - Trustees must consider risk, investment options and manager style when establishing DC schemes, according to a leading investment manager.

UK - Angry scheme members harangued financial secretary to the Treasury Ruth Kelly as she made her way into the conference centre hosting the latest NAPF Investment Conference, Edinburgh.

UK/EU - Regulatory conflicts between the EU and the UK over pension funding requirements are being overstated, law firm Denton Wilde Sapte claims.

UK - Winterthur Life, the life and pensions arm of Credit Suisse, has been awarded "the best UK pension fund manager" at the Standard & Poor's fund awards.

UK - Workers at Peugeot's Ryton plant have accepted a last-minute pay offer which includes phased increases in their pension contributions.

SCOTLAND - Edinburgh City Council is urging schemes to back plans to give Princes Street a £100m facelift.

UK - Scheme members should be in a position to challenge the executive boards of companies in which their pension fund invests, delegates at the NAPF Edinburgh investment conference heard.