Regions

INCLUDING: RUSSIA - Oil wealth to prop up pensions; US - South Carolina eyes real estate; UK - Woolworths rejects takeover on pensions conditions; UK - Tesco reportedly in talks with USS

NEW ZEALAND - The Australian and New Zealand governments have agreed to allow retirement savings to be repatriated between the two countries, the New Zealand government has announced.

GLOBAL - Almost a quarter of pension funds (23%) have already made specific climate change related investments, with a further 14% considering doing so, the results of the latest Global Pensions 100 Panel have found.

A clear majority of pension funds see the increasing homogenisation of the global pensions industry as beneficial, show the results of this month's Global Pensions 100 Panel.

The subject of much recent debate, the proposed Solvency II regime has the European pensions industry divided. Elizabeth Pfeuti reports

Jenny Blinch travels to Tokyo and finds the corporate DB pensions industry reeling under the effects of the credit crunch

Like most asset classes, property has taken a hit in the credit crunch. However, experts predict a return to profitability in the not too distant future and pension funds are urged to bide their time. Elizabeth Pfeuti reports

CANDADA/US - The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) and GIC Special Investments (GIC SI) have bought a minority stake in the largest electricity distribution and transmission system in Texas.

GLOBAL - Fears of inflation have all but evaporated among fund managers, reaching their lowest level since the downturn of late 2001, Merrill Lynch's latest fund manager survey has revealed.

GLOBAL - Bank of New York (BNY) ConvergEx Group has announced its Global Transition Management business achieved record growth in July 2008.