BUSINESS LIVE: Pearson profits jump; ITV sells Britbox stake; Rightmove hails another strong year

First it was Wincanton, then Currys and now Direct Line. Companies at the heart of the UK economy are falling prey to foreign suitors – and this could be just the beginning.

As global deals return with a vengeance after a long hiatus, private equity tycoons and cash-rich corporations see listed British companies as a bargain.

Women will be a majority on the Bank of England’s powerful Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) for the first time in its 329-year history after the appointment of a new deputy governor.

Threadneedle Street said yesterday that Clare Lombardelli (pictured), chief economist at the OECD international think tank, will sit on the panel that sets interest rates from July.