Regions

EUROPE: The European Parliament's committee on economic and monetary affairs has adopted a report that calls for the lifting of restrictions facing pension funds looking to invest in venture capital.

EUROPE - The merger of pan-European bourse Euronext and Portugal's Bolsa de Valores de Lisboa e Porto (BVLP) has been given the green light by shareholders.

GLOBAL: State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) is predicting a sharp recovery in financial markets in the second half of the year, claiming that there will be "no major debilitating force" on the horizon.

EUROPE - The UK recorded the highest level of contributions to pension funds in 1999, according to a report by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.

EUROPE - The io Group and AXA Real Estate Investment Managers have completed the acquisition of 15 industrial estates in France, The Netherlands and Germany for EUR97m, on behalf of The European Industrial Partnership (EIP).

EUROPE - State Street, Merrill Lynch and The Vanguard Group have been appointed to mandates worth a combined EUR2.4bn by PMI-SVM, the Dutch pension fund for metal industry workers.

GLOBAL - Invesco's group chief economist John Greenwood has predicted a reviving world economy in Q2, 2002 on the heels of a recovering US economy.

GLOBAL - Merrill Lynch's woes continue with news that the firm's fund management operation, Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM), suffered a 61% drop in operating earnings for the fourth quarter of 2001.

GLOBAL - Investors have grouped against energy giant BP to justify potential environmental damage in the firm's bid to drill for oil in the Alaskan Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

GLOBAL - Goldman Sachs has added four key portfolio managers to its hedge fund strategies group, two of whom will be based in London.