Bloomberg: Pearson moved closer to an exit from business publishing as it announced plans to dispose of its stake in the 172-year-old Economist magazine, just days after the sale of the Financial Times newspaper. Discussions with the Economist Group’s board and trustees are under way about a disposal of its 50 percent holding in the unit, London-based Pearson said. The Economist was among assets that were excluded from a $1.3 billion agreement to divest the FT Group to Japan’s Nikkei in the same week.