If he wins, he will have a serious power-base from which to launch a bid for the Kremlin later.

ECONOMIST: Russia

England officials have also pleaded with Fifa's executive committee to base its decision on the merits of their bid.

BBC: England bid team write to Fifa ahead of 2018 Cup vote

Mr Seehofer, for example, has distanced himself from her over the euro in a bid to appeal to his Bavarian base (one leading critical economist, Hans-Werner Sinn, runs the CES-ifo institute in Munich).

ECONOMIST: Germany��s government

The completed museum, which replaces old warehouses on what was once a working waterfront, has become Bilbao's dramatic symbol of renewal and bid for an updated economic and cultural base.

WSJ: New Guggenheim: Art and Architecture as One | By Ada Louise Huxtable

Much of Adelphia's five million-strong customer base may be purchased and divvied up in a joint bid by Comcast and Time Warner.

FORBES: Turning On Cable Stocks

The base at Neatishead, Norfolk, was put up for auction last week and received one anonymous bid.

BBC: Former RAF Neatishead base relisted on eBay

Bicester Heritage Limited will operate the site after they submitted a bid alongside three other organisations, including Bomber Command Heritage who wanted to preserve the base as a museum to Bomber Command.

BBC: RAF Bicester airfield to become heritage business park

Australia's central bank has been pursuing a policy of interest rate rises in recent months, and increased base rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 6.25% in November in a bid to keep a lid on inflation.

BBC: Australian farmer overlooks land impacted by drought

The oil-rich exclave - home to a large base of the energy firm, Chevron - was chosen to host an Africa Cup of Nations stadium in a bid to boost local investment and infrastructure.

BBC: Africa Cup of Nations: Venue guide