Fresh strikes hit trains, schools and refineries in France on Tuesday over an unpopular pension reform pushed by President Emmanuel Macron, with nationwide protests planned for later in the day.

French railway worker Franck Viger-Brunet says he and his comrades have to count carefully the costs of going on strike to force President Emmanuel Macron to back down on plans to hike the retirement age by two years to 64.

Marta Pizza, a 26-year-old swimming instructor, has worked at a Rome sports centre for the last two years earning 8.50 euros per hour with no pension contributions, sick pay or holidays.

Taken aback by the size of mass protests against its pension reform, the French government on Friday signalled readiness for compromise on the unpopular plan but vowed that its core measures would remain intact.

Heavy falls in stock and bond markets over the last year have cut the combined value of the world's sovereign wealth and public pension funds for the first time ever - and to the tune of $2.2 trillion, an annual study of the sector has estimated.

Investment funds and other non-bank financial institutions face their first 'stress test' next year to apply lessons from the near-meltdown in Britain's pension fund sector, the Bank of England (BoE) said on Tuesday.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's first budget, due to be approved by her cabinet on Monday, will focus on curbing sky-high energy bills and cutting taxes for payroll workers and the self-employed, government officials said.

Italy aims to follow a cautious fiscal policy in order to lower its public debt but is ready to act quickly to curb surging energy costs and head off recession risks, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti told parliament on Wednesday.

The crisis-hit PM, elected Conservative leader just six weeks ago on a tax-slashing platform, announced her resignation Thursday.

The Bank of England on Wednesday insisted it would end emergency buying of UK bonds by the weekend but sent markets into further frenzy as economic uncertainty grips Britain.

Research shows that national press coverage of miscarriages of justice has notably decreased.

Italy's right-wing bloc will easily agree on major policy priorities despite recent disagreements if it wins this weekend's national election, the alliance's de facto leader, Giorgia Meloni, said on Tuesday.

The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) is looking at appointing China-focused equity managers for the first time ever, as demand for asset diversification grows amid worries on inflation and recession.

Most big Wall Street firms passed a test for business as usual in Texas last week when state Comptroller Glenn Hegar kept all but BlackRock Inc.

Top New York City and California pension officials want payments processors Visa Inc, Mastercard Inc and American Express to create a new tool to track suspicious gun purchases.

Iceland Foods teams up with the Rothesay Foundation and Age UK to battle the cost of living crisis in the country.

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan's longest-serving leader, died on Friday after being shot while campaigning for a parliamentary election, an official from his political party said.

President Emmanuel Macron's government will get its first taste of life under France's new political order in the days ahead when it tables a bill to help households cope with runaway inflation without a controlling majority in parliament.

Authorities in India cancelled more than 500 trains services on Monday because of calls for protests by young men angry with a military recruitment plan that they say will rob them of the opportunity of a career in the armed forces.

Leading UK and U.S. pension investors managing more than $1 trillion have launched a campaign to stop companies using dual-class share structures that concentrate voting power in the hands of certain shareholders at the expense of others.

Recent gains in the polls from some of his opponents next year might also explain his sudden willingness to open up to the media

It is a massive change in the business model of a company that had argued before Britain's Supreme Court that its drivers were self-employed.

The world of British real estate is at a crossroads. In one direction there are fantastic opportunities to bring about a very much healthier property scene and greatly to improve the built environment.

The British monarch and her 98-year-old husband are staying in Windsor Castle since March 19 as per lockdown restrictions imposed by the UK government.

Greta Thunberg was in the audience in the Swiss Alps to hear the typically bullish speech by Trump.

In January this year, Venezuela's opposition chief Juan Guaido declared himself interim president.

The couple was sentenced to an 8-year prison term in Portugal after being caught aboard a cruise ship with cocaine worth £1m.

The key uncertainties over the future payments arise from future contingencies and the final settlement of accounts with the EU.

10 years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers researchers estimate the number of lives lost in the wake of the financial crisis.

A recent opinion poll shows Putin's approval ratings crashed this summer following the announcement of the pension reform