Regions

GLOBAL - Lower investment returns may force pension schemes into adjusting their expectations, contributing more to their plans or look for alternative means of investing, according to Deutsche Asset Management (DeAM).

GLOBAL - Investors know that there is a strong incentive for company directors to kitchen sink and lump all the bad and doubtful corporate news into the current quarter, according to Barclays Global Investors' (BGI) monthly market commentary for December....

GLOBAL - The sustainability of the recent trends in national saving and investment rates in OECD countries has been called into question by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), both with respect to their levels and the balances...

BURMA - A group of financial heavyweights have joined forces to speak out against human rights abuses in Myanmar (Burma) and warn against possible dangers to shareholders.

GLOBAL - New business at Standard Life reached a record £8.3bn, an increase of 61% from £5.1bn on last year, of which £6.3bn came from the UK.

THE NETHERLANDS - ING Real Estate - the property investment arm of Dutch ING Group - is to acquire Spanish real estate firm Filo for approximately EUR266m.

OMAN - Bank Muscat and William M Mercer have teamed up to provide advisory and consulting services to pension funds in Oman.

SOUTH AFRICA - Financial services firm Wipcapital has acquired a 40% stake in specialist asset management firm, Futuregrowth, from RMB Asset Management, a division of FirstRand Bank. The holding was acquired for R20m ($1.8m).

GLOBAL - Only a quarter of investors are optimistic about the fortunes of property as an asset class, according to Baring, Houston & Saunders (B,H&S), a subsidiary of ING Real Estate.

GLOBAL - Equity markets will outperform bonds when the former embattled asset class bounces back next year, according to Dr Arnab Banerji, group CIO at F&C Management.