All IPE articles in October 2008 (Online)
View all stories from this issue.
-
NewsF&C to be handed to Friends Prov shareholders
[17:15 CET 31-10] UK – F&C, the asset management firm which is 52% owned by UK life insurer Friends Provident, is likely to be wholly owned by its shareholders from next year, but officials say they are still talking to buyers.
-
NewsHoogovens' scheme stays clear of shortfall (amended)
NETHERLANDS - The €5bn pension fund of steel works Hoogovens managed to keep its funding ratio safely above the required minimum of 115% during the third quarter of this year, despite the turbulent market conditions.
-
NewsDenmark agrees pensions solvency rescue package
[16:50 CET 31-10] DENMARK - The Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs and The Danish Insurance Association have agreed on a rescue package for pension funds which is designed to protect pensions solvency and prevent investors from being forced to sell assets in the current market turmoil.
-
NewsProtestors occupy pensions ministry
POLAND – Polish trade unionists occupied the ministry of labour and social policy on Wednesday and Thursday in protest against the government's legislation to introduce bridge pensions.
-
NewsEtera drops €380m in Q3
[15:30 CET 31-10] FINLAND – Etera Mutual Insurance Company has reported its assets fell in value by €380m in the third quarter of 2008, while its overall negative investment return for the first nine months of 2008 has hit -9.9%.
-
NewsUK pensions lose £383bn in 12 months
UK – Total losses for UK pension schemes for the 12 months to the end of October have reached £383bn (€488bn), Aon Consulting has claimed in its latest research.
-
NewsRisk control creates risks, says ex-risk manager
[15:00 CET 31-10] GLOBAL – Part of the current financial crisis is down to uniform risk management systems as they lead to pro-cyclical divestments, a former risk manager has told IPE.
-
NewsAverage pension fund cover ratio falls to 109%
[14:30 CET 31-10] NETHERLANDS - The cover ratios of Dutch pension funds have deteriorated considerably over the recent weeks and are now 109% on average, according to Nout Wellink, president of pensions regulator De Nederlandsche Bank.
-
NewsShell refines UK pension terms
[17:25 CET 30-10] UK – The £12.1bn (€15bn) Shell Contributory Pension Fund is revising the terms of its defined benefit scheme from next year which requires new members to retire later and receive a lower aggregate of their salary.
-
NewsUnilever deficit stays at 2007 level
[17:15 CET 30-10] GLOBAL – Unilever has reported the aggregate net deficit of its pension funds remains stable at €1.1bn, despite recent market turmoil.
-
NewsPension deficit figures not to be taken at 'face value'
[17:10 CET 30-10] UK – Recent figures estimating the current pension deficit of the FTSE350 pension schemes should not be taken at "face value", Hymans Robertson has warned.
-
NewsAlcatel-Lucent schemes hit €3bn surplus
[17:10 CET 30-10] GLOBAL – Telecommunications company Alcatel-Lucent has reported an overall surplus in the funded status of its pension schemes of €2.997bn in its third quarter results.
-
NewsATP posts 1.4% negative return
[17:05 CET 30-10] DENMARK – ATP, Denmark’s largest pension fund, has reported a fall in its investments of DKK5.3bn (€725m) following negative investment returns for the first nine months of 2008 of -1.4%.
-
NewsPension supervision intensifies as crisis takes hold
[17:00 CET 30-10] GLOBAL – Pensions supervisors across the globe have stepped up their supervision of pension fund reporting and increased the frequency of stress tests on asset liability strategies on the back of credit crunch market turbulence, the International Organisation of Pension Supervisors has revealed.
-
NewsCapital Dynamics wins West Midlands mandate
[17:00 CET 30-10] UK - The £6.8bn (€8.6bn) West Midlands Pension Fund has awarded a private equity mandate to Swiss firm Capital Dynamics.
-
NewsDTCC closes out $500bn in Lehman's bankruptcy
[16:30 CET 30-10] GLOBAL – The Depositary Trust and Clearing Corporation at one stage processed a total of 209 million open trades related to the collapse of Lehman Brothers in a single day, and has now closed out bankruptcy trading contracts worth over $500bn.
-
NewsCrisis "confirms" Solvency II not for pensions - Bayer
[16:00 CET 30-10] GERMANY/EUROPE – Relying solely on a mark-to-market valuation of pension assets and liabilities is too short-sighted and should therefore not be applied to pension funds, according to Stefan Nellshen, chief financial officer at German pharma giant Bayer AG and its Pensionskasse.
-
NewsCSR is 'no longer a luxury'
[17:00 CET 29-10] GLOBAL – While corporate social responsibility (CSR) is still treated by some companies as a PR measure, investors see it as an integral way of rebuilding trust, according to delegates at a CSR conference in Vienna.
-
NewsVeritas and Tapiola report negative returns
[16:55 CET 29-10] FINLAND – Two more Finnish pension companies have reported negative returns for the first nine months of 2008, as Veritas Pension Insurance confirming a saw a negative investment return of -10% to the end of September.
-
NewsRailways schemes steer clear of the buffer
[16:50 CET 29-10] NETHERLANDS - The €10.3bn railways scheme SPF has concluded the third quarter with a relatively comfortable cover ratio of 160%, despite a funding drop of 18% and negative returns of –4.4%.
