SPAIN - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Spain that "bold" changes to state pension provision should be adopted quickly to help ease the country's financial woes.

AUSTRALIA - Financial services firm Russell has announced plans to end a four-year outsourcing contract with IBM to bring back in house administration services for superannuation clients in Australia.

CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE - Institutional investor appetite for Central and Eastern European stocks had returned in the second half of 2009 after a loss of appetite during the financial crisis, according to a study, but the verdict is still out for 2010....

CANADA/AUSTRALIA - The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has teamed up with one of Australia's largest property groups to launch an A$400m (US$351.8m) Australian real estate fund.

NETHERLANDS - Mercer has appointed Jelle Beenen as head of its investment consulting business in the Benelux markets replacing Marjolein Sol, who is leaving to become chief investment officer at Dutch asset manager Syntrus Achmea.

CANADA - The Canadian government has proposed shelving certain investment restrictions currently imposed on private pension plans.

US - The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) has announced that its executive director, Ronnie Jung, is to stand down.

US - Demand for custom target date funds among trustees of DC schemes in the US is on the rise, an influential survey of pension consultants showed.

NEW ZEALAND - The New Zealand superannuation fund has reported a strong performance for the first quarter of 2010, boosted by continued investor appetite for stocks worldwide.

INDIA/CANADA - The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has made its first investment in an India-focused private equity fund.