UPDATE 1-UK Stocks - Factors to watch on Nov. 8

(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: LIVE/