Global

GLOBAL/THE NETHERLANDS - ING Group beat expectations following a 11% rise in pre-tax Q1 profits for 2002 lifted largely by a strong performance from its insurance unit.

GLOBAL/THE NETHERLANDS - ING Group beat expectations following a 11% rise in pre-tax Q1 profits for 2002 lifted largely by a strong performance from its insurance unit.

GLOBAL - A number of large UK institutional investors, including pension funds, said they would vote in favour of a shareholder resolution at the AGM of US energy giant Unocal following a global trade union campaign.

GLOBAL - Industrialised nations could be facing a bigger pensions bill than official projections suggest, warns a new report.

GLOBAL - France's BNP Paribas Securities Services [BNP] is to buy Cogent, the global securities and fund administration arm of Australian financial giant AMP, four months after it was put on the market.

GLOBAL - The Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) /Tremont Hedge Fund Index was up 0.79% for April 2002, with emerging markets continuing to produce stellar performances.

Germany - Insurance giant Allianz posted a 70% leap in pre-tax profits for Q1 2002, but was hit by continued weak performance by Dresdner Bank.

UK/GLOBAL - British pensions schemes are closing the gap on their overseas counterparts in the use of UK private equity at an "unprecedented" rate, new figures show.

Europe - Troubled group Zurich Financial Services (Zurich) has finally tied up its transactions with Deutsche Bank, including the sale of some its European fund management operations.

SWITZERLAND/GLOBAL - Credit Suisse Group (CSG) recouped some losses during the first quarter 2002, but still fell nearly US$1bn short of net profits compared to the same period last year.