Bonds

US - Pimco bond fund manager Bill Gross has acknowledged he made a mistake in betting so heavily against US government bonds earlier this year.

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

UK companies are needlessly paying £5bn into defined benefit pension schemes because their funding targets are more than 10% higher than necessary, PwC research finds.

GREECE - Standard & Poor's has slashed Greece's long term credit rating from B to CCC, amid fears private sector debt proposals will amount to a default.

EUROPE - European banks and finance officials are discussing a proposal to replace existing Greek debt with a different type of bond to get around ratings agencies' reservations about a planned rollover, Reuters reports.

Ending quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve in the US is unlikely to lead to a rapid spike in bond yields, analysts say.

EUROPE: Announcing a haircut on Greek bond holdings would help restore a positive mood to bond markets, which have largely priced in such a move, said DWS Investments' CIO Asoka Wöhrmann.

Emerging market debt funds saw outflows in March but concerns over the strength of the developed world pushed investors back, as Lynn Strongin Dodds reports.

Changes to IAS19 will have a "limited" effect on investor attitudes but are likely to accelerate investment de-risking strategies, consultants say.

EUROPE - Tension between the European Central Bank and the German government has intensified as Jean-Claude Trichet hit back at the German finance minister's claims Greek government bondholders should contribute to a new aid programme.