Mr Skuratov has upset Mr Yeltsin by poking away at the property-management agency of the Kremlin, which is reputed to control billions of dollars of cash and other assets.

ECONOMIST: Russia

They acquired Claridge's, the Connaught and Berkeley from the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), the Irish government agency created to manage the toxic property loans of its bust banks.

BBC: Barclay brothers buy London hotel Claridge's from Irish

Mr Lenihan's later decision to set up an asset-management agency to take on the banks' dud property loans was also taken from the textbooks.

ECONOMIST: Ireland��s former finance minister dies, at just 52

The Irish government's National Asset Management Agency (Nama) has said it will try to revive Northern Ireland's commercial property market.

BBC: Nama to offer NI investors loans