Europe

UK - Scheme risk transfer deals totalling £1.4bn ($2.3bn) were completed last quarter with five providers concluding business in excess of £150m, Hymans Robertson analysis finds.

NORDICS - Nordic investors are continuing to show optimism in hedge funds with nearly a third planning to increase their exposure this year to strategies like global macro, event driven and long/short funds, a new report shows.

UK - The £240bn ($390bn) liability-driven investment market is developing into an "oligopoly" with just three providers managing more than 80% of assets, research finds.

NORWAY - The Government Pension Fund Global was up 0.3% in the second quarter after rising bond prices helped to offset drops in the global equities markets.

UK - An independent model of the Pension Protection Fund 7800 index shows the collective scheme deficit has plummeted £80bn over the past two weeks - equivalent to about £8bn ($13bn) every day.

EUROPE - France, Italy, Spain and Belgium have temporarily banned short-selling of financial stocks in response to sharp share price falls across Europe.

UK - Standard life increased its corporate business assets under management by 7% to £39.3bn ($63.6bn) in the first six months of the year.

UK - Aggregate deficits of schemes monitored by the Pension Protection Fund worsened last month, increasing to £67.3bn ($109bn) from £8.3bn at the end of June.

EUROPE - European stock markets have given up early gains, which had been triggered by the European Central Bank saying it intended to buy up government debt.

EUROPE - Pension funds are facing a "double whammy" as their reaction to falling asset values exacerbates a rise in liabilities, warns a fiduciary manager.