Global

INCLUDING: AUSTRALIA - Future Fund appointments; UK - PIMCO expands LDI business; UK - Watson Wyatt appoints new head of corporate consulting; UK - Payment breaks risk future stability

GLOBAL - Global Pensions has been shortlisted in the highly coveted PPA's Magazines 2008 awards for editorial and publishing excellence.

INCLUDING: NETHERLANDS - Ping An acquires stake in Fortis; UK - Hewitt takes over New Bridge Street Consultants; US - CalPERS reports Q4 losses; NEW ZEALAND - NZ Super Fund appointment

GLOBAL - Private equity firms are expected to increasingly seek funding directly from institutional investors such as pension funds in order to sidestep financial troubles within the banking industry.

INCLUDING: GLOBAL - Investor confidence rises; UK - Northern Trust hire; GLOBAL - Freshfields adds to team; AUSTRALIA - SSgA boosts product engineering

GLOBAL - Northern Trust has enhanced its investment compliance monitoring capabilities for institutional asset servicing and wealth management clients globally.

GLOBAL - The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) and the North Carolina Retirement System are among shareholders who have pressured companies to address business challenges posed by climate change.

INCLUDING: HONG KONG - FourWinds opens in Hong Kong; AUSTRALIA - van Eyk appoints investment research head; UK - Variable annuities find favour

AUSTRALIA/ NETHERLANDS - Hermes Equity Ownership Services (EOS) has been awarded three mandates totalling £1.76bn (US$3.56bn).

GLOBAL - While the effects of the sub-prime crisis and credit crunch rumble on in the world's financial markets, some 65% of the pension funds surveyed in this month's Global Pensions 100 Panel have claimed they will "sit tight and ride out the storm"....