Newsmakers

Prudential has broadened its international reinsurance business, completing a UK-focused longevity reinsurance transaction with Deutsche Bank. 

Norway's Ministry of Finance has excluded Pennsylvania-based company FMC Corporation and the Canadian-based Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (Potash) from the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) investment universe.  

Mexican pension fund association Amafore reports that the country's schemes have shown an average real return of 2.6% this year through October.  

Standard & Poor's has revealed that the debt crisis has prompted 15 Eurozone nations to be put on review for possible downgrade. 

Dietrich & Associates, a US pension risk transfer advisory firm, has released a new whitepaper with the goal of evolving the conversation surrounding pension risk and liability driven investing. 

Consultant and currency guru Cynthia Steer has left Russell Investments.  

The bankruptcy of AMR Corp, the parent company of American Airlines, is just another example of the impact that pension plans can have on a company’s corporate finances, industry sources say. 

"Investors who wish to reduce portfolio volatility can usually achieve a reduction through investments in fixed-income rather than sacrificing expected returns by investing in a low-volatility strategy," according to a new paper released by Dimensional Fund Advisors.  

UK Chancellor George Osborne has announced that a total of £6.3 billion of public money and up to £20 billion of private funding from pension funds will be invested in infrastructure projects, and while consultants generally commend the decision, they also express skepticism. 

In a newly released whitepaper, consulting firm Towers Watson advises plan sponsors about the new risks of stable-value investment strategies. 

The UK's National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has warned that unless details on pension charges are described in plain English, many people would have little faith in their new pension, and would simply choose to abandon it.  

A new compensation study conducted by the Options Group reveals that annual compensation for employees at big Wall Street firms could fall up to 30% from a year earlier. 

Without being a main source of aid for Europe, China's sovereign wealth fund may give "indirect" support to the region through investments. 

Harvard University has posted a $130 million operating deficit in the year ending June 30, the partial result of large endowment losses in 2008.