The spy who loves papers needs deep pockets March 25, 2010 JOURNALISTS at the Independent cheered when they found out that former KGB spy Alexander Lebedev had finally bought the newspaper. Their reaction couldn’t have been more different to the doomed silence that descended on the Evening Standard offices in January 2009, when hacks at that title learned of its sale to the Russian billionaire. But [...]
Bullock is Miss Sentimentality in her apple pie Oscar role March 25, 2010 Film THE BLIND SIDE Cert: 12A IT’S certainly a remarkable story. “Big Mike” Oher, a poor black kid from the Tennessee projects abandoned by his junkie mother, became a major star in American football after being rescued by rich housewife, Leigh Anne Tuohy. She and her millionaire husband (Tim McGraw) adopted him as a teenager, [...]
Lebedev buys Independent for £1 March 25, 2010 THE Independent and Independent on Sunday newspapers have been sold to Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev. Oligarch Lebedev, owner of the Evening Standard, bought the loss-making papers from Irish company Independent News & Media (INM) for £1. As part of the deal, INM agreed to pay Lebedev’s Independent Print Limited (IPL) £9.25m over the next ten [...]
Harry’s magic takes Spurs to Wembley March 24, 2010 TOTTENHAM V/S FULHAM HARRY REDKNAPP weaved his magic to earn Tottenham a trip to Wembley for a third straight season. The Spurs chief looked dejected after a disappointing opening half saw Fulham take a deserved lead through Bobby Zamora. But he responded by introducing David Bentley, who in turn levelled the scores with a curling [...]
TWO?MBA?ENTREPRENEURS March 24, 2010 OLGA NEFEDOVA Having worked as a senior drilling engineer for oilfield services giant Schlumberger for four years, and then for Mitsubishi Steel Trading, Olga Nefedova took a full-time MBA at Warwick Business School in 2008-2009. She now combines a customer services manager role at Schlumberger with running an online gallery selling Russian art, the Kohgan [...]
Ancelotti: Chelsea won’t sack me March 23, 2010 CHELSEA manager Carlo Ancelotti is convinced he will still be in charge next season, irrespective of whether the team’s Premier League and FA Cup challenges flourish or flounder. It cannot have escaped the self-confessed fan of statistics, however, that Roman Abramovich has dispensed with coaches with better records than his. Ancelotti takes his side to [...]
OUT OF OFFICE March 22, 2010 THE WHITE GUARD Following the success at the National Theatre of last year’s tales of communist Russia, Burnt by the Sun and Tom Stoppard’s Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, comes Mikhail Bulgakov’s The White Guard. A lesser-known work by the Master and Marguerita author, adapted by Andrew Upton, it’s a story of the madness of [...]
OFT paves way for Indie sale March 17, 2010 THE Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has paved the way for ex-KGB man Alexander Lebedev to buy the Independent, after ruling it would not launch an investigation over competition issues. Lebedev recently bought a 75 per cent stake in the London Evening Standard. The OFT had until 26 April to decide whether to investigate but [...]
Profits back in fashion for Zara owner March 17, 2010 THE owner of the Zara fashion chain yesterday reported a five per cent rise in profits, fuelled by hundreds of store openings last year. Inditex’s net profit hit £1.17bn in the year to 31 January. The company opened 343 new stores last year which helped to drive sales. The Spanish firm – which sees 70 [...]
FOREX FLASH March 16, 2010 ROUBLE COULD STRENGTHEN 20 PER CENT The Russian rouble could strengthen by as much as 18 to 20 per cent over the next three years, the Russian deputy economy minister Andrei Klepach said yesterday. Klepach warned that this appreciation would hurt manufacturers and limit economic growth. He added: “We are not ready to move to [...]