The financial case for Scottish separatism doesn’t bear real scrutiny February 4, 2021 The story goes that in 1787, as Russian Empress Catherine the Great travelled in the Crimea, her minister Grigory Potemkin erected fake portable villages along her route as a façade to hide deep-seated poverty in the region. The Potemkin Villages, as they became known, were the means by which the gilded monarch was persuaded that [...]
Best of travel: Eating and drinking with the St Petersburg locals February 3, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. This week we revisit Ashwin Bhandari’s trip to St Petersburg, the cultural heart of Russia. Read more: Jaguar XF P300 review: revitalised luxury at a surprisingly low price ••• There are not many places that have left me [...]
Putin critic Alexei Navalny sentenced to three-and-half years in penal colony February 2, 2021 Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in a prison colony despite widespread protests in support of the Kremlin critic. Navalny, who is one of President Putin’s fiercest opponents, was arrested last month on his return to Russia from Berlin, where he was recovering from being poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent. The opposition [...]
Oil prices hit highest levels in a year as producers cut output February 2, 2021 Oil prices rose more than 2.5 per cent today to reach its highest since last February after major producers showed they were reining in output roughly in line with their commitments. Brent crude was up 2.5 per cent at $57.77 a barrel for its third straight day of gains and the highest levels in 12 [...]
The City View with Bill Browder January 31, 2021 City A.M. Acting Editor Andy Silvester talks to investment fund manager turned global human rights campaigner Bill Browder. Bill has been a thorn in Vladimir Putin’s side ever since his lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was murdered in Russian custody after an attempt to expose widespread tax fraud. He talks to Andy about the protests in Russia [...]
Bill Browder: Navalny has sparked something – the West shouldn’t stand by January 31, 2021 Once the largest foreign investor in Russia through his Hermitage Fund, Bill Browder is now a global campaigner focussing the world’s attention on Vladimir Putin. His efforts have seen so-called ‘Magnitsky Acts’ placed on the statute book across the world, named after Browder’s former lawyer – who, most agree, was murdered in Russian custody as [...]
UBS dismisses banker behind Russian Market Twitter account January 29, 2021 The banker behind the popular Russian Market Twitter account has reportedly been sacked by UBS. The Swiss bank dismissed Russian Market after joining its wealth management nearly three months ago, according to Finews.com. The banker was reportedly hired in November as an adviser for high net worth Russian and CIS country clients but has been [...]
Pay phone: Would you spend £1m on a mobile number? January 27, 2021 You may be willing to splash out £1,500 on a new iPhone, but would you add another seven figures to that to secure the ‘phone number of your dreams’? London-based entrepreneur Usain Kubah has just released what he says is the world’s most expensive phone number, which will set you back a million pounds. The [...]
World’s richest football clubs 2021: Barcelona top Deloitte Football Money League ahead of Real Madrid while Bayern Munich overtake Manchester United January 26, 2021 Barcelona have retained their status as the world’s richest football club, according to Deloitte’s latest Football Money League. Barca remained fractionally ahead of fellow Spanish giants Real Madrid despite their revenue falling by €125m to €715.1m in 2019-20. European champions Bayern Munich climbed to third ahead of Manchester United, the highest placed English team in [...]
US Senate confirms Janet Yellen as the first female Treasury Secretary January 25, 2021 US Senate confirms Janet Yellen as the first female Treasury Secretary