Regulation

US - A federal judge has approved a US$150m settlement between Bank of America and the Securities and Exchange Commission settling charges that the bank failed to disclose material information about its acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

UK - The Conservatives will aim to restore the health of occupational pensions, shadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May said.

The Pensions Regulator has filed a £2.1bn claim in a Canadian court against Nortel Networks.

UK - Trustees who breach tough new data protection powers could face fines of up to half a million pounds, lawyers warned.

Trustees who breach tough new data protection powers could face fines of up to half a million pounds, lawyers warn.

Readers Digest UK has gone into administration after The Pensions Regulator vetoed an agreement to settle its long-standing pension scheme liability.

FRANCE - President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced that negotiations on pension reform will start in April in a bid to rein in France's ballooning pension deficit.

SPAIN - The two major Spanish trade unions are organising over 100 public protests against the government's plan to raise the retirement age by two years.

HUNGARY - Hungary must make further progress on reforming its pension system to reduce cost pressures on its national budget, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said.

NETHERLANDS - Over two-thirds of Dutch workers are either completely or partially unaware of how much they will earn when they retire, a survey by the government-sponsored platform for financial awareness CentiQ revealed.