United Kingdom

UK - Commercial real estate sales rose by 44% last year as pension funds and other institutional investors targeted supermarkets and central London office space, figures show.

UK - Inflation edged closer towards 4% in December as the rising cost of food and oil products continued to hit the price of goods and services.

UK - Two more senior figures are to leave insurance giant Aegon UK as the company continues a restructuring programme designed to cut operating costs by 25% by the end of the year.

UK - Asset management firm Principal Global Investors has become the latest signatory to the United Nations Principle for Responsible Investments (UNPRI).

UK - The National Employment Savings Trust received more than 150 expressions of interest from asset managers hoping to manage its first five investment funds.

US/UK - Royal Bank of Scotland has won a court ruling which dismissed a class action by two US pension funds claiming they suffered "massive" losses during the financial crisis.

UK/US - AllianceBernstein is to launch a range of off-the-shelf target date funds for trust and contract- based defined contribution schemes.

UK - The Government published its Pensions Bill today, covering proposed changes to auto-enrolment.

UK - Goldman Sachs has bought Paternoster for £260m ($407m) but will not immediately combine the firm with its Rothesay Life subsidiary.

EUROPE - Pension supervisors and regulators looking to take a risk-based approach to monitoring pension schemes now have a toolbox of best practices thanks to a new report by the OECD and IOPS.