BUSINESS LIVE: Pearson’s profits rise; ITV sells Britbox stake; Rightmove has had another strong year

A row between two of Britain’s poshest supermarkets escalated yesterday after Ocado threatened to take legal action against Marks & Spencer.

Ocado said it could sue rival high-priced grocer M&S, saying the company owes millions of pounds in performance-related payments.

As chief economist at the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Clare Lombardelli is one of the few Britons to hold one of the senior positions at a global policy institution.

So it is somewhat curious that, after just a year of handing out advice to the 38 members of the OECD, widely regarded as the elite of Western capitalism, she has agreed to return to Britain as deputy governor of the Bank of England.

Sainsbury’s plans to cut 1,500 jobs in a massive £1 billion cost saving.

The country’s second-largest supermarket is simplifying its operations as it withdraws customers from discount rivals.

AB InBev said growth was “limited” after a massive boycott of its beers following a controversy involving a transgender model.

The world’s largest brewer said the number of drinks sold fell 1.7 percent in 2023 after American shoppers turned their backs on Bud Light beer.

First it was Wincanton, then Currys and now Direct Line. Companies at the heart of the UK economy are under siege by foreign candidates – and this could be just the start.

As global dealmaking returns with a bang after a long hiatus, private equity barons and cash-rich firms are eyeing listed British companies as a bargain.

Following the appointment of a new deputy governor, 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.

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