Scott Johnson has been appointed Scotland interim head coach for the Six Nations and summer tour to South Africa, the Scottish Rugby Union has confirmed.
The Australian will step up from his role as senior assistant coach to take caretaker charge following Andy Robinson's resignation last month.
Scotland's Six Nations campaign begins on February 2 against England at Twickenham.
Mark Dodson, chief executive of the SRU, confirmed a global recruitment for a permanent successor to Robinson is ongoing.
Dodson said: "Scott has a wealth of experience of international rugby, which was instrumental in his appointment earlier this year as our senior assistant coach.
"He has coached with Australia, Wales and the USA and knows what it is to prepare teams to win on the international battleground.
"Scott knows our players and coaches well and is determined to hit the ground running with a successful RBS 6 Nations Championship."
Robinson stood down after three and a half years in charge on November 25 following the 21-15 loss to Tonga which left Scotland 12th in the International Rugby Board world rankings following 10 losses in 13 Tests.
Former United States Eagles and Ospreys head coach Johnson, who was once in caretaker control of Wales, was appointed as part of a coaching overhaul following the 2012 Six Nations, when Scotland lost all five Tests.
The 50-year-old helped to oversee the successful summer tour to Australia, Fiji and Samoa before November losses to New Zealand, South Africa and Tonga.
Johnson said: "It's an honour to take charge of the national team for our imminent campaign.
"I will be doing everything I can to bring the best out of our players as we all seek to achieve winning performances."
The coaching team remains the same, with an appointment of an interim forwards coach soon to be made; ex-England flanker Robinson formerly looked after the pack.
Assistant coach Matt Taylor (defence) and specialist coaches Duncan Hodge (kicking and catching) and Massimo Cuttitta (scrummaging) are also part of the coaching team.
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The specs
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The specs
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Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
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If you go
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Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier
UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)
1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0
Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am
