LONDON (Reuters) – Former British finance minister Rishi Sunak was declared the next leader of Britain’s Conservative Party by the head of the 1922 Committee of Conservative lawmakers on Monday, placing him on course to become the country’s next prime minister. The initial reaction across markets was fairly muted, as investors will likely wait to hear from Sunak when he makes a statement at 1330 GMT. The pound briefly edged higher against the dollar before slipping into negative territory, while the blue-chip FTSE 100 held on to the day’s gains. MARKET REACTION: STOCKS: FTSE 100 rises 0.7% on …