(Adds futures, news items)
Nov 8 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 26 points
lower on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 down
0.3% ahead of the cash market open.
* STANCHART: Standard Chartered STAN.L said that the pension allowances
for its chief executive officer and chief financial officer Andy Halford will be
halved from January following a shareholder protest. * ICAG: British Airways owner IAG ICAG.L scaled back its forecast for
capacity growth for the next three years, hitting its outlook for earnings per
share as the prospects for the global economy remained weak. * BEAZLEY: Beazley BEZG.L said on Friday its main measure of insurance
profitability was now pointing losses for 2019 as it set aside $80 million to
cover hurricane and other claims at the end of an expensive quarter for listed
Lloyd's insurers. * PHOENIX: Insurer Phoenix Group Holdings Plc PHNX.L said its chief
executive officer (CEO), Clive Bannister, will retire in March next year after
nine years with the company, and former Aviva Plc AV.L executive Andy Briggs
will be the new CEO. * ROYAL MAIL: Royal Mail Plc RMG.L said that it would apply for an interim
order from the High Court to block a potential strike by its biggest union, the
Communication Workers Union, saying it believed the strike ballot had been
unlawful. * HSBC: HSBC HSBA.L has been told by the Bank of England to tighten up
compliance controls for fraud, staff conduct and other non-financial risks, a
source close to the bank said on Thursday. * HISCOX: Shares in Hiscox HSX.L fell as much as 18% on Thursday after
brokers cut their price targets on the stock following meetings with the British
insurer, in which it gave more details on its financial expectations than in a
third-quarter update on Monday. * GOLD: Gold prices were tepid on Friday, after dropping up to 2% in the
previous session, as hopes of headway in the Sino-U.S. trade deal boosted
risk-on sentiment, denting the bullion's appeal. * OIL: Crude oil futures fell on Friday amid lingering uncertainty on
whether, and when, the United States and China will agree a long-awaited deal to
end their bitter trade dispute, the gloom compounded by rising crude inventories
in the United States. * BOE RATES: Two Bank of England officials unexpectedly voted to lower
interest rates on Thursday to ward off an economic slowdown, and others
including Governor Mark Carney said they would consider a cut if global and
Brexit headwinds do not ease. * The internationally focused UK blue chip index rose 0.1% to a one-month
high on Thursday after U.S. and China agreed to cancel tariffs imposed during
their months-long trade war, but a sell-off in utilities and pharma stocks
weighed on the FTSE 100 as investors turned to riskier assets. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
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