Lebedev moves closer to buying the Independent

The Russian billionaire has been cleared by the OFT to buy the struggling paper - but why does he want it?

Chinese buyer sought for Picasso’s Absinthe Drinker

Lloyd Webber sells blue period work four years after it was pulled because of Nazi links

Greece could be forced to quit euro, says Feldstein

But other economists rubbish Martin Feldstein's gloomy prognosis

Michael Jackson estate signs $250m Sony deal

Sony pays more for rights to dead singer's music than it has ever paid a living artist

‘Runaway Prius’ could put Toyota back on track

If driver's account of his unstoppable Prius proves bogus, it could help troubled Toyota

Senior execs fingered in scathing Lehman report

Dick Fuld and others failed to disclose accounting chicanery, says US bankruptcy examiner

Movie futures: place your bets on Hollywood films

Most trades are expected to come from movie biz insiders when exchange opens next month

Ex-wives suffer as bankers apply to reduce pay-outs

Lawyers benefit as City cutbacks leave divorced bankers unable to meet maintenance payments

Euro leaders aim to ban derivatives speculation

Credit-default swaps not just a symptom but a cause of financial instability