PORTUGAL - Moody's has downgraded Portuguese debt to 'junk' status on fears it will need a second bail out just months after it received €78bn ($112bn).

US - New York City's pension funds have recorded investment returns of more than 20% in the year to June 30, their highest posting for 13 years.

JAPAN - UK hedge fund manager Quality Capital Management (QCM) has opened an office in Tokyo as part of plans to grow its Asia Pacific business.

AUSTRALIA - Superannuation growth funds have posted their second consecutive year of positive returns but have yet to fully recover from the global financial crisis, research by Chant West shows.

Towers Watson has combined its three investment research teams into one group in a bid to uncover new investment opportunities.

UK - Towers Watson has combined its three investment research teams into one group in a bid to uncover new investment opportunities.

SOUTH KOREA - The National Pension Service is understood to be investing 250bn won ($234.3m) into a Korean-led consortium for its project to buy golfing equipment brand Titleist, according to reports.

GLOBAL - Asian property markets are spearheading the resurgence in rental values ahead of Western markets, while interconnected cities are best placed to perform globally, PRUPIM believes.

TURKEY - HSBC is to manage all of Allianz Turkey's personal pension funds as part of a partnership deal between the two companies.

GLOBAL - Have you missed the biggest stories in pensions this week? Find out below, as we list the top 10 most popular stories on www.globalpensions.com over the past seven days.