Tuesday newspaper round-up: Brexit, retailers, LME, Sony, StanChart

Theresa May will go to Paris and Berlin to plead with Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron for a Brexit extension on Tuesday, promising to be a good member of the European Union until departure day and claiming talks with Labour have a serious chance of reaching a deal. Before an emergency European summit this week, the prime minister will head to the continent to make the case for extending article 50 only until the end of June. However, she is also being forced to make pledges that the UK would abide by EU rules for however long it is a member, given that a longer delay and participation in European elections now look like the most likely option. – Guardian

Britain’s retailers have warned that Brexit uncertainty is holding consumers back from making bigger purchases, after a disappointing month for sales in March. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the accountancy firm KPMG said sales growth dropped to 0.5% in the year to March, down from an annual growth of 2.3% a year ago, as consumers held back from spending on big-ticket items. – Guardian

The London Metal Exchange has issued a code of conduct for traders for the first time in its 142-year-history, months after one of its clients hosted an LME-branded party at the Playboy Club. The metals exchange giant, created in 1877 in Lombard Street, said in the 10-page document that any event carrying its brand must not "make some participants uncomfortable in attending". – Telegraph

One of Wall Street’s most powerful activist investors has trained his sights on Sony for the second time in six years, sending shares in the Japanese conglomerate up on the prospect of a break-up. Dan Loeb, the head of Third Point Capital, is planning to raise up to $1bn (£770m) to raise its stake in Sony and agitate for change, according to reports. – Telegraph

Standard Chartered is set to pay about $1 billion to settle long-running regulatory investigations into alleged breaches of sanctions against Iran and financial crime controls. The London-listed emerging markets-focused bank could announce settlements with prosecutors and financial watchdogs in the United States and Britain as early as today, according to Reuters. – The Times

The fight between Barclays and the activist investor seeking a seat on its board has intensified after Edward Bramson claimed that the lender would have to raise more capital if it did not overhaul its investment bank. Sherborne Investors, Mr Bramson’s fund, issued the warning in an open letter to other shareholders yesterday in an attempt to drum up support for his campaign to be elected as a non-executive director of the bank at its annual meeting on May 2. – The Times