Image source, GKN

Reaction is still coming in to GKN executives appearance before MPs on the Business Committee.

The MPs wanted to get more information on a possible £7.4bn takeover of the engineering company by Melrose Industries.

GKN is defending itself against the approach.

Labour's shadow business secretary had this to say.

Image source, Getty Images

The key US share indexes have edged ahead in early trade.

The Dow Jones is at 24,880.50, a rise of 6 points or 0.023%.

The S&P 500 is at 2,730.92, 10 points or 0.37% ahead.

And the tech-heavy Nasdaq is at 7,355.98, up 25 points or 0.34%.

The markets had been expected to open higher, boosted by the prospect of talks between North Korea and the US.

In addition, there also seems to be increasing opposition to President Donald Trump's plan to impose tariffs on metals.

"When geopolitical environment is improving, there's very much a risk-on sentiment," said Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index in London.

"I would not say that trade war fears are completely erased... there are doubts that Trump will actually manage to push the trade tariffs through."

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Talking of President Donald Trump, the White House has said he spoke to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the ongoing Nafta negotiations in Mexico City.

"President Trump emphasised his commitment to a NAFTA agreement that was fair to all three countries, noting the current agreement leaves the United States with a trade deficit," the White House said.

The current North American Free Trade Agreement talks - between Canada, Mexico, and the US - focus on updating the 24-year old treaty. They are due to finish on Monday and have achieved little.

Business correspondent Theo Leggett is still keeping us up to speed with a steady stream of tweets about some of the eye-catching cars at the Geneva Motor Show.

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US President Donald Trump has fallen 222 places on the Forbes annual Rich List, after his estimated worth of $3.5bn (£2.5bn) fell to $3.1bn.

The magazine said the drop was partially due to , externala fall in the value of central New York property values and falling revenues at his golf courses.

Read the full story here

Image source, Lego Group

Lego admitted earlier that it made too many Lego bricks last year, but it's still selling plenty.

For true Lego geeks we've got the latest numbers below:

• 75 billion bricks are sold annually in over 140 countries
• 915,103,765 - the number of ways to combine six two-by-four Lego bricks of the same colour
• 700 million Lego tyres are produced annually
• 19,000 employees from over 80 countries are employed by Lego
• 3,700 - the number of different types of Lego bricks
• 130 Lego brand retail stores around the world
• 0 - Lego says there have been no product recalls since 2009

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The US government has ordered a national security review into a takeover bid from Singapore-based chipmaker Broadcom to buy its embattled US rival Qualcomm.

The deal is worth about $140bn (£101bn) and if successful would be the biggest the technology sector has ever seen.

It would also create the world's third-largest chipmaker behind Intel and Samsung.

But the US government has asked for 30 days to review the potential tie-up.

The order comes at a time when the US is increasingly concerned about foreign firms being given access to US telecom equipment, including smartphones, and US intellectual property.

But the move by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is being viewed as unusual as it rarely becomes involved in deals before an agreement is reached.

One analyst told the BBC that the investigation was less about security and more about ensuring ongoing innovation in the technology space, especially in 5G research and development.

Qualcomm was respected in the industry for its focus on research and development and its organic growth, IDC's Mario Morales said, while Broadcom was better known for its history of acquisitions, shedding assets and financial engineering.

Image source, Getty Images

French supermarket giant Carrefour is expanding a programme which uses blockchain technology to allow customers to track the origin of their food purchases.

Blockchain underpins cryptocurrencies, but companies are finding other applications for it.

Carrefour uses it to trace the production of chickens in France's Auvergne region. Farmers and producers enter information at each stage of the production process, and shoppers can access that information by scanning a code with their smartphones.

Carrefour plans to expand blockchain to eggs, cheese, milk, oranges, tomatoes, salmon and hamburgers by the end of the year.

ITV News consumer affairs reporter Chris Choi tweets:

Administrators for insolvent stockbroker Beaufort Securities have frozen almost £800m in client assets and do not expect to return any before the middle of April.

The Financial Conduct Authority put Beaufort into insolvency on Friday amid concerns over its financial health and its alleged role in a US criminal investigation into a $50m stock fraud and laundering scheme.

Administrators PwC said they had ringfenced a further £50m in segregated client money accounts, made 80 Beaufort redundant and closed two offices.

Beaufort provided services to investors and corporate institutions, with 14,000 clients investing in products ranging from ISAs to pensions.

The FTSE 100 has lost a little ground but is still 0.75% higher at 7,169 points in afternoon trading.

Just Eat is down 9% despite reporting positive results today.

Northern Trust Capital Markets analyst Ameet Patel said Just Eat had effectively signalled a shift in its business model to focusing on deliveries rather than providing a platform for restaurants to take online orders: "We think today's update is a reality check that brings an abrupt end to earnings and rating momentum for now at least."

The biggest riser remains Smurfit Kappa, up almost 22%, following a bid from US rival International Paper.

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In January the Chinese owner of House of Fraser told the BBC that he was planning a "big expansion" of the chain in China, having opened a six-floor store in Nanjing.

However, according to the Financial Times,, external Nanjing Xinjiekou Department Store is now selling its 51% stake in House of Fraser to a tourism company, Chinese Wuji Wenhua.

House of Fraser was sold to the Chinese group in 2014 for £155m. But the chain has been struggling in the UK and the owners have experienced problems opening new stores overseas.

We hesitate to give Brewdog the oxygen of free publicity, but nevertheless its decision to release a "beer for girls" has met with something of a backlash on social media.

And we rather like this We Fix Your Adverts remix of Brewdog's ad:

Image source, Reuters

McDonald's is expanding its use of fresh beef in its quarter-pounder burgers (rather than , externalfrozen) to all US restaurants by early May.

“The switch to fresh beef quarter-pound burgers is the most significant change to our system and restaurant operations since All Day Breakfast,” said McDonald’s USA President Chris Kempczinski in a statement.

McDonald's announced the change to fresh beef back in March of last year. The fresh beef burgers are currently available in 3,500 of its outlets.

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US retailer Nordstrom has rejected a takeover offer by its founding family worth about $8.4bn (£6bn).

The family, which has a 31% stake in the company, was told its offer was "inadequate".

Nordstrom was worth $8.4bn when New York closed last night.

Talks will not proceed unless the family raises its offer, Nordstrom added.

Sainsbury's is raising the basic rate of staff pay.

Steve Dresser is a retail analyst, he tweets his reaction:

Those of you of a certain vintage will remember Nick Leeson, the rogue trader who bought down Barings Bank in 1995.

Well, unlike Paul Flowers, he has not been banned by the FCA.

Image source, GKN

Melrose boss Simon Peckham says its deal would be "safer for everyone in the long term, including the UK economy".

Despite its previous track record with acquisitions, he admits the firm has not taken on a business of the size and scale of GKN.

It will also be borrowing £4.5bn in total for the deal, including £1bn of extra headroom.

The MPs have been grilling the Melrose bosses on its plans for GKN's pension scheme, as Deirdre Hipwell of The Times tweets:

Business presenter Rob Young tweets: