Italy

ITALY - The general strike called by three of Italy's biggest trade unions on Friday to protest against the pension reform process has been "very successful."

ITALY - Italy's multi-employer contractual pension funds underperformed the benchmark by 100 bp in 2003, registering returns of 5% on average.

ITALY - Changes to the proposed Italian pension reforms have not impressed experts who say the latest set of reforms are inherently flawed.

ITALY - The Christmas season is over but it did not bring glad tidings to the Italian government in pension reform negotiations with trade unions. The two sides met and parted with not much common ground left between them.

ITALY - The demand for independent advice is on the increase amongst Italy's newly established occupational pension funds which offer their members investment choice.

ITALY - The latest statistics about Italy's pensions market show that private funds are steadily accumulating assets but slow membership growth rates for both contractual and open schemes suggest that further reforms are necessary to stimulate the market....

ITALY - Italy will be brought to a virtual standstill today as the government faces a trade union backlash over its pensions shake-up.

ITALY - Fortis Investments has appointed Andrea Favaloro as its new head of sales for Italy, based in Milan.

ITALY - Italy has been criticised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for not taking its pension reforms far enough.

ITALY - Italy issued a record-breaking e7bn 30-year bond this week, aided by a slowdown in corporate issues, improved economics and the current popularity of Italian debt , wrote the Financial Times.