Friday newspaper round-up: US tariffs, UK recruitment, Monzo, various frauds

The Trump administration is exploring a deal to delay further tariffs on Chinese imports in exchange for decisive talks about overhauling Beijing’s economic policy, it was reported last night. Officials in Washington and Beijing have spoken for several weeks about setting up talks that could delay the tariffs until at least the end of the spring, as they seek to avert escalation of their trade war. - The Times/Wall Street Journal

Nine in 10 businesses say Brexit has already affected their ability to recruit and train staff this year, the Confederation of British Industry has said. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation, the professional body for the recruitment industry, says the public sector, including the NHS and schools, face up to seven more years of skills shortages, based on current demand. - Guardian

Monzo, the fastest growing bank in Britain by new current accounts, has been accused of “going beyond the pale” by allowing its customers to get into debt to buy its shares. The digital mobile-only bank is aiming to raise £20 million through the crowdfunding website Crowdcube and its own mobile phone app. The prospectus for the keenly awaited capital raising, which is scheduled for next week, shows that it will allow eligible customers to go overdrawn by up to £1,000 to buy its shares. - The Times

UK rail fares will rise by 3.1% in January, the industry body the Rail Delivery Group has said. New fares for all tickets to take effect from 2 January 2019, published on Friday, show an average rise that will add more than £100 to many commuters’ annual season tickets. - Guardian

The online estate agent Emoov has lined up administrators only six months after it merged with two rivals in a deal that valued it at £100 million. It is in talks with James Cowper Kreston, an accounting firm, to handle a pre-pack administration, which allows a buyer to acquire a company’s assets without taking on all of its liabilities. - The Times

The UK is entering a new era of prefab homes with the opening of a Yorkshire factory that will build fully-fitted three-bedroom homes with a price tag as low as £65,000. Eight houses fitted with kitchens and bathrooms will roll off the production line every day in Knaresborough, to be loaded on to lorries for delivery across the country. - Guardian

The US government has charged the British technology entrepreneur Mike Lynch with fraud over the sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett Packard in 2011. The Department of Justice filed four charges against Mr Lynch in a San Francisco court on Thursday, naming Stephen Chamberlain, Autonomy’s former vice president for finance, as a co-defendant. - Telegraph

Victims of the fraudster Bernard Madoff are set to receive another $695.3m from a government compensation fund, the Department of Justice announced on Thursday. The payout – the third made by the Madoff Victim Fund – will be distributed starting Thursday to 27,000 victims of the infamous scammer around the world. It will bring the total paid out to victims so far to nearly $2bn, out of more than a total of $4bn that will eventually be paid. - Guardian

The boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr was fined by America’s securities watchdog for failing to disclose payments he received for promoting investments in initial coin offerings. The Securities and Exchange Commission said last night that Mr Mayweather had agreed to pay fines totalling $600,000 without admitting or denying the charges. - The Times

The millennial news website Mic has sacked most of it staff and is preparing for a fire sale to a rival at a discount price, in a move that raises doubts about the viability of a number of online media startups that have struggled to turn a profit. Mic, founded in 2011, was one of the many viral websites which boomed when Facebook began prioritising news content in the early part of the decade, swamping newsfeeds and reaching hundreds of millions of viewers around the world with snappy explainers on complicated issues, aggregated material and original news content. - Guardian