Monday newspaper round-up: Banks, BoE, Morrison's, BT

Britain’s top bank bosses believe an interest rate cut this week is not the best way to boost the economy, arguing instead for alternative options such as investment incentives. Markets are almost certain that the Bank of England will cut its base rate from 0.5pc to 0.25pc this Thursday. The move would represent a new record low, after rates have been on hold since March 2009. - Telegraph

The Bank of England will this week downgrade its growth forecasts following the vote to leave the EU and explain what action it will take in response. Governor Mark Carney said before the referendum that a Leave vote could result in a “technical recession” — two quarters in a row of the economy shrinking — and Thursday’s announcements will reveal whether or not policymakers think this is the most likely outcome. Growth forecasts are expected to be cut close to, and perhaps below, zero. - Financial Times

Royal Bank of Scotland’s weak performance in European stress tests has delayed its chances of paying dividends, analysts believe. The state-controlled bank will this week unveil a loss for the past six months, dragging it into a ninth year of losses since the financial crisis. Investors were surprised that RBS came out poorly in the European Banking Authority’s tests, which were released late Friday. - The Times

Morrisons is to provide a post-referendum boost to shoppers by cutting the price of more than 1,000 products by an average of 18%. The reductions are the latest phase of the battle between Britain’s largest supermarkets to win back customers who have turned to the discounters Aldi and Lidl. - Guardian

Aldi’s rampant underlying sales growth has come to a halt during the past quarter and may even have gone backwards in the first sign that the German discounter’s phenomenal momentum is faltering. In a move that could indicate the first small easing of pressure on Britain’s Big Four grocers, rivals have suggested that data from Kantar Worldpanel shows that Aldi’s same-store sales growth has turned negative. - The Times

US banks have ramped up lending to consumers through credit cards and overdrafts at the fastest pace since 2007, triggering concerns that they are taking on too much risk in a slowing economy. The industry has piled on about $18bn of card loans and other types of revolving credit within just three months, as consumers borrow more and banks battle for customers with air miles, cashback deals and other offers. - Financial Times

Bank lending to businesses is set to fall in the aftermath of the Brexit vote, while demand for consumer credit and mortgages will also weaken as people spend less on big-ticket items, a report predicts. Business lending is predicted to shrink by around 1% this year, 1.8% next year and a further 1% in 2018, according to the EY Item Club’s latest report on financial services. Lending had been expected to rise this year and beyond, after a steady decline since the financial crisis. - Guardian

Opec's worst fears are coming true. Twenty months after Saudi Arabia took the fateful decision to flood world markets with oil, it has failed to break the back of the US shale industry. North America’s hydraulic frackers are cutting costs so fast that most can now produce at prices far below levels needed to fund the Saudi welfare state and its military machine, or to cover Opec budget deficits. - Telegraph

More than a year after they were imposed, capital controls in Greece will be substantially eased on Monday in a bid to lure back billions of euros spirited out of the country, or stuffed under mattresses, at the height of the eurozone crisis. The relaxation of restrictions, whose announcement sent shockwaves through markets and the single currency, is aimed squarely at boosting banking confidence in the eurozone’s weakest member. - Guardian

The pensions regulator should be given the power to block big takeover bids to prevent a repeat of the BHS affair, according to the chairwoman of the Institute of Directors. Lady Judge has joined other business figures in attacking Sir Philip Green’s handling of the bankrupt high-street chain which has jeopardised payouts to 20,000 pensioners and called for legal changes to improve protection for companies’ current and future retirees. - The Times

Millions of people risk losing compensation for payment protection mis-selling because of confusing signals. The financial regulator is expected to come down in favour of introducing a two-year cut off for claims, accompanied by an advertising campaign funded by banks to publicise the deadline. The clock is already ticking, however, for an estimated 3m PPI customers who only have until the end of the year to claim because of separate rules, according to the Financial Conduct Authority’s consumer panel. - The Times

TalkTalk, Sky and Vodafone are attempting to orchestrate a consumer backlash against BT in a co-ordinated attempt to get the telecoms monopoly broken into two, funding a “Fix Britain’s Internet” campaign via a website that urges consumers and businesses to email Ofcom and MPs with tales of woe at the hands of BT. Last week Ofcom, the communications regulator, stopped far short of splitting up the £40 billion giant in a long-awaited ruling, ordering only that Openreach, its internet division, becomes a legally separate entity inside BT with its own board. - The Times

Fresh evidence that business confidence has plunged since the European Union referendum will heap additional pressure on the Bank of England to cut the base rate for the first time in seven years later this week. A business confidence index compiled by the ICAEW accountancy body fell from 0.8 in the second quarter to -10.2 in the third. A score of 0 is neutral. While the ICAEW said that confidence had since rallied, the rebound had only been “modest”. - The Times

French Connection is under attack from one of its investors who is calling for Stephen Marks to split his roles as chairman and chief executive and ditch the FCUK logo. Gatemore Capital Management, an American fund which holds about 8 per cent of the shares in the retailer founded by Mr Marks in 1969, wrote to the board last week to criticise the group’s performance and board structure. - The Times

Barclays will start identifying customers with voice recognition technology this week, slashing the need for customers to answer a series of questions to gain access to their accounts on the telephone. The move represents the latest step in the industry to abolish passwords, moving to technologies which banks believe are more convenient for customers as well as more secure. - Telegraph

Online property portals have become increasingly popular ways for people to look at properties but some estate agents have raised concerns that repeated listing, removing and re-listing of homes gives prospective buyers the wrong impression. Some estate agents and campaigners have complained to the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team about “portal-juggling”, arguing it suggests there are new homes on the market and that a local market is buoyant when in fact an owner is struggling to sell. - The Times

Profits fell by a quarter at Mike Ashley’s private investment company after the billionaire was hit by the plunging share price of Sports Direct. The latest filed accounts for Mash Holdings, which controls Mr Ashley’s shares in Sports Direct and Newcastle United Football Club, show that pre-tax profits dropped from £542 million to £409 million in the year to April 2015. - The Times

The green airplane of the future will tackle some of aviation’s biggest environmental challenges including fuel efficiency, noise and plane washing. New developments in technology will make it quieter, cleaner and cheaper, allowing it to fly more frequently and burn less fuel. And it is taking off in Brazil after the Rio 2016 Olympics. - Telegraph

Marissa Mayer could walk away from Yahoo with $122 million, an astonishing reward for failure, her critics will allege. She could become the latest victim of the “glass cliff” phenomenon, which punishes female executives deemed to have failed in circumstances when men would get another chance. While she would never have to work again, analysts say she is unlikely to land another top job. - The Times