Monday newspaper round-up: BoE, Brexit, retailers, pensions, CYBG

More than 3,000 potential conflicts of interests have been disclosed by almost half of Bank of England employees in the wake of the Charlotte Hogg debacle. The central bank was notified of 3,333 “close personal relationships” by 1,924 employees as of the end of last month, such as with City firms, Bank contractors and MPs, figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show. - The Times

Downing Street appears ready to concede that trade deal negotiations will not be complete before Brexit, in a move that could affect the longevity of Theresa May’s premiership. One of Mrs May’s closest allies suggested at a private meeting that the future trade deal with the EU might not be finalised before Britain left the EU on March 29, 2019. - The Times

The credit markets have sharp antennae. They issued early warning alerts four to eight weeks before each episode of stress over the last 20 years, although with several false alarms along the way. The shake-out in the US junk bond market last week had an ominous feel for traders and may finally mark the top of the post-Lehman boom in corporate credit. The exuberant reach for yield is nearing its limits. - Telegraph

Employees are resisting the urge to ask for wage increases despite years of weak pay growth because they believe their employers cannot afford rises. Almost four in ten companies say they are under “no pressure” whatsoever from their employees, according to a labour market survey published with other research that paints a gloomy outlook for the economy. - The Times

Employers risk being sued if they think that they can auto-enrol employees into a pension scheme and then forget about it, a former pensions minister has warned. Sir Steve Webb, the Liberal Democrat pensions chief in the coalition government, said that employers needed to provide a continuing service to employees or could face compensation claims in future years if things went wrong. - The Times

The high street’s hope for a bumper Black Friday might not be enough to rescue pre-Christmas trading after a dismal start to its end of year sales. Gloomy spending data for October has already taken the shine off the start of the “golden quarter” for retailer profits after shoppers stayed away from high street stores and spending fell at its fastest rate in just over four years. - Telegraph

UK retailers had a bleak October as shoppers shunned stores and cut back on spending, raising fears over the health of the UK economy. Consumer spending shrank by 2% in October, the fastest year-on-year decline in four years, according to credit card provider Visa. This is the fifth monthly decline in six months, and was driven by a 5% decline in spending on the high street. - Guardian

For all those who claim to have seen a change in the make-up of the high street, you’re not wrong. Beauticians, coffee shops and even ice cream sellers are setting up shop, replacing some of the staples of British retail centres. Though the number of store closures is falling and the net gap between openings and closures also has shrunk, PWC and the Local Data Company report that the turnover in bricks-and-mortar stores is not a like-for-like affair. - The Times

Britain’s largest debt collector could be worth a fraction of the £1 billion that its owners hope City fund managers will value the business at when it floats, critics have claimed. Questions have been raised over the proposed listing of Cabot Credit Management, with some investors saying that its equity could be valued at more than five times what they think it is worth amid concerns about a growing bubble in the credit market. - The Times

One of Britain’s biggest challenger banks has discussed buying a sub-prime mortgage lender from its American private equity owners. In a move that highlights the resurgence of the market a decade on from the credit crunch, CYBG, the former Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, has held discussions to buy Kensington, a speciality lender, from Blackstone and TPG, according to three sources with knowledge of the situation. - The Times

Britain must radically change its approach to research and development because the existing system of tax credits is a waste of money, a report will say. The government spends almost £2 billion annually on R&D tax credits, which are used by big companies that would spend the money anyway on innovation, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research. - The Times

Politicians and investigators were given a “misleading” impression about Royal Bank of Scotland’s restructuring division, with companies in the unit three times more likely to end up going bust than the lender suggested. RBS has long asserted that less than 10 per cent of businesses that went into its Global Restructuring Group ended up in insolvency, but an investigation ordered by the Financial Conduct Authority has revealed that the true picture was closer to one in three. - The Times

EasyJet has been attacked for paying more to its new inexperienced male chief executive than was paid to female predecessor Dame Carolyn McCall. As women campaigned on Equal Pay Day, the budget airline revealed that new chief Johan Lundgren will earn a higher salary than Dame Carolyn – one of Britain’s most sought-after bosses. - Mail

No gas boilers have been repaired since April under a government scheme intended to combat fuel poverty, as a result of spending cuts that risk leaving poorer Britons unprotected from the cold at home, according to a fuel poverty pressure group. National Energy Action (NEA), which obtained the figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), said the drop in official support via the energy company obligation (ECO) threatens the health of low-income households. - Guardian

Poor broadband is helping to kill off rural society, a report has said, as young people leave for cities and don't return. The National Housing Federation has warned that family life is being damaged as children increasingly leave home for university or to work and fail to come back because of poor facilities in the countryside. - Telegraph

Sadiq Khan welcomed efforts to reach a compromise over Uber in a sign that the taxi-hailing company would continue to operate in London. The mayor of London recognised that Uber had apologised for mistakes and appeared ready to change after Transport for London (TfL) refused to renew its licence, saying that it was not a fit and proper private car hire operator. - The Times

A multibillion-dollar investment in Uber by Japanese tech giant SoftBank was set to be signed last night following weeks of delays, after former chief executive Travis Kalanick and a combatant shareholder made peace. Benchmark, the venture capital firm that invested early in Uber and has a board seat, agreed to drop its lawsuit against Mr Kalanick, which it launched in August in an attempt to reduce the controversial co-founder’s power at the company. - Telegraph

The long-running battle over the Stolichnaya vodka brand will come to a head this week as a court in the Netherlands prepares to rule on its European ownership. Russia’s state-backed spirits maker is hoping to seize back control of the world’s fourth best-selling premium vodka from exiled Russian, Yuri Shefler. - Telegraph