No price cut for Euro PS3 console

Sony in the US say the price cut will boost sales

Sony is not cutting the price of the PlayStation 3 in Europe, but will offer free games and accessories instead.

There is also no word of plans for an 80GB version of the console in Europe.

Last week Sony said it would drop the US price of the 60GB PS3 by $100 (£50), and introduced a new 80GB version at the original price of $599 (£300).

In Europe gamers will get a "starter pack" at an unchanged price of £425 for the 60GB machine, with two games and two controllers included.

The new pack was announced at the E3 games conference in Santa Monica, in California. Sony says it is offering gamers £115 worth of added games and controller, for no extra charge.

But the firm could face criticism from gamers for deciding not to reduce the price of the 60GB PS3 and not announcing the 80GB machine.

Earlier this week, Jack Tretton, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America, said he thought the US price cut would at least "double" the sales of PS3 in the country.

In the UK, the PlayStation 3 remains £125 more expensive than the equivalent Xbox 360 bundle of console and games and £225 more expensive than the Nintendo Wii with two games.

England bid for World Cup benefit

By Bill Wilson Business reporter, BBC News

Mr Caborn will speak to Fifa boss Sepp Blatter later this year

Successfully bringing the 2018 Fifa World Cup to England would create a "golden decade" for sport and provide a massive boost to the national economy, says the man charged with securing the event.

Former Sports Minister Richard Caborn is now charged with bringing the World Cup to England, should Fifa decide that Europe will host the tournament 11 years from now.

Huge benefits

The World Cup can bring a feel-good factor too

"There will be huge economic benefits if we get the 2018 World Cup, particularly as sport is such a massive business now," the central Sheffield MP told the BBC website.

"You can look at the investment that will go into work around sporting facilities, and other sectors that would strongly benefit would include the tourism, transport and communications sectors.

We are all making sure we are in a position to move very quickly Richard Caborn, World Cup ambassador

"The World Cup is also very different from the Olympics as it would go round England, with games being played in all of the regions, such as in the North West and North East.

"So it is fair to say that the regions would benefit economically too, not just London and the South East."

A report cited by the European Union estimates that sport in Europe generated more than 400 bn euros ($550bn; £271bn) in 2004, accounting for 3.7% of the EU economy and providing work for 15 million people.

And the German economy was given a boost when it hosted the 2006 World Cup, with thousands of fans spending money on hotels, transport, food and drink, and consumer goods.

Shoestring budget

Unlike when he was a minister, with an army of civil servants to help him, Mr Caborn is working pretty much on his own at present.

"At the moment we have got a couple of people working for me in Whitehall, and that is it.

"There is no real budget to speak of, as we do not know whether the event will held in Europe and are waiting on Fifa's decision."

Fans from around the world gave the German economy a lift in 2006

Fifa has not made a decision yet as to whether the 2018 World Cup will be held in Europe, as it debates how to implement its policy of rotating the tournament around the continents.

"Fifa will determine which continent the 2018 World Cup will go to in November," he said.

"But if it comes into Europe then we will work very closely with the Football Association (FA), as we did with the London mayor's office on 2012, and set up a company to handle our bid.

"Fifa will then call for expressions of interest, open a candidate file, and make a decision," the Sheffield United supporter said.

'Confidence'

In the meantime he is making sure the Football Association is ready to act, should the Fifa decision be favourable.

"I met FA chairman Geoff Thompson last week. We are all making sure we are in a position to move very quickly when any announcement is made.

The commercialisation of sport, especially football, has moved at a pace that no one could have envisaged Richard Caborn, World Cup ambassador

"If it comes to England then we would have a long lead-in, pretty much similar to what we had with the Olympics.

"This could be a golden decade for sport in the UK, and with all the spin-off benefits to the economy that would bring too."

He also said that lessons learned during the 2012 Olympics would be a great help to staging a World Cup in 2018.

"And the confidence that hosting the Olympics has brought would be repeated if we secured the World Cup," the Sheffield United supporter added.

'In Fifa's hands'

Mr Caborn hopes to speak to Fifa boss Sepp Blatter in Sheffield this autumn before the world governing body makes its decision on which continent will stage the 2018 competition.

South Africa will host the 2010 World Cup, while Brazil look set to win the rights to stage the 2014 event, with a final decision expected by the end of the year.

The event was last held in Europe in 2006 when Germany hosted the World Cup.

Italy won glory in the 2006 World Cup

England won the World Cup as hosts in 1966.

In February, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, said the tournament should return to "the nation which gave football to the world".

Any FA bid would have to be submitted in 2010 before a decision late the following year.

Earlier this year Mr Blatter told a gathering of football industry leaders that England was the only country with the infrastructure to host a World Cup at short notice.

"We are very much in Fifa's hands at the moment, but I hope to put the case for holding the World Cup in Europe, and of course England, to them" says Mr Caborn.

'Globalised industry'

Mr Caborn was talking to the BBC at a World Sports Law Report seminar on the issue of sport governance, to discuss the extent to which outside bodies - such as the European Union - can legislate in sporting matters.

"Sport has to show it can respond to the changing world, and say 'we are in the real commercial world', as it is now a globalised industry.

"The commercialisation of sport, especially football, has moved at a pace that no one could have envisaged.

"We have got to have the management to deal with that. Governments can incentive sports to be as run as well as they can be," the former sports minister said.

Motorola issues profits warning

Analysts say Motorola needs a better range of phones

Motorola has warned that it will make a loss for the past three months, blaming weak mobile sales in Asia and Europe.

The US-based firm added that its main mobile phone business was likely to make a loss for the whole of 2007.

The twin profit warnings have increased speculation that the firm's chief executive Ed Zander might step down soon, analysts say.

Motorola - the world's second largest mobile phone-maker - has already announced 7,500 job cuts this year.

'Bleak prospects'

Motorola's shares actually rose on Wednesday in anticipation that Mr Zander may step down, but fell in after-hours trading after the results were digested.

The company said sales for the second-quarter period, from April to June, would now be less than $8.7bn (£4.3bn).

What we need is products Lawrence Harris, Oppenheimer

It had previously forecast sales for the period would be about $9.4bn.

This would result in an estimated loss for the period of between 2 and 4 cents a share, the company added.

Phone shipments over the three months fell to 36 million from 45.4 million in the first quarter of the year.

Analysts reacted harshly to the news, arguing that it reflected real weakness in new product development.

"What we need is products," said Lawrence Harris, from Oppenheimer. "Cost-cutting is not sufficient."

Is Ed Zander's future in doubt?

The ability of senior management to turn around the company's fortunes is now being openly questioned.

"With this type of performance and the bleak prospects facing the company for the rest of the year, I don't think Zander's tenure is going to go much further," said Ed Snyder, analyst with Charter Equity Research.

"He's toast. I think it's really close now."

Industry concerns

Motorola attempted to stem some of the criticism by making limited management changes at its troubled mobile phone operation.

Stu Reed, currently president of the firm's integrated supply chain operation, has been appointed president of the mobile phone arm.

Further evidence of tougher times for the mobile phone industry came as Sony Ericsson reported quarterly profits below market expectations.

Profits rose 55% to 327m euros, below forecasts of 385m euros, as the firm gained market share from Motorola.

Mr Zander said that while Sony Ericsson had performed better than Motorola, the results had not "blown the doors down".

Rio Tinto makes $38.1bn Alcan bid

Miners are cash rich from record commodity prices

Anglo-Australian mining group Rio Tinto has agreed to buy Canadian aluminium group Alcan for $38.1bn (£18.7bn).

Under the terms of the deal, Rio Tinto, which is listed on both the London and Australian stock exchanges, will pay $101 for each Alcan share.

The deal comes a few months after Alcan rejected a $27bn hostile takeover bid from US miner Alcoa on the grounds that it undervalued the firm.

Record metal prices have prompted growing consolidation in the industry.

Rio Tinto's offer represents a premium of 65.5% to Alcan's all-time high closing share price of $61.03 on 4 May before Alcoa's unexpected bid.

That is going to put the rocket under a number of leading resource stocks, not just Rio, not just Alcan, but all the majors Ted Leschke, Shaw Stockbroking

"This transaction will enable Rio Tinto's shareholders to benefit from the favourable demand fundamentals of the aluminium sector and the synergies and enhanced development opportunities which the combination of our businesses will deliver," said Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese.

'Vote of confidence'

Before the announcement, shares in Rio Tinto on the Australian exchange surged to record highs amid speculation that the world's second-largest mining firm was going to confirm the friendly takeover deal.

Its shares peaked at an all-time high of 105.19 Australian dollars before trading in its shares in Australia was halted pending the announcement.

The new company will be called Rio Tinto and have its headquarters in London. The group's aluminium business, however, will carry the name Rio Tinto Alcan, with headquarters in Montreal.

Alcan's current chief executive Dick Evans will lead the combined group.

Market observers viewed the deal as a vote of confidence that the cycle of consolidation has further to run.

"That is going to put the rocket under a number of leading resource stocks, not just Rio, not just Alcan, but all the majors," said Ted Leschke, analyst at Shaw Stockbroking.

Total chosen as Gazprom partner

Gazprom recently ditched plans to keep the project a solo one

Russian gas company Gazprom has chosen French energy firm Total as a partner to develop the Shtokman gas field.

Gazprom chief executive Alexei Millar said the Total would hold a 25% stake in the company controlling the infrastructure of the field.

The two firms are expected to sign an agreement on the project on Friday.

The gas field in the Barents Sea - holding an estimated with 3.2 trillion cubic metres of gas - could become the world's largest offshore gas field.

As the project gets under way further partners could be given a 24% share in the development, Mr Millar added.

Other companies that could join the project include Norway's Statoil and Norsk Hydro as well as US group ConocoPhillips.

Gazprom is the monopoly supplier of gas in Russia, and is playing a key role in supplying the rest of Europe with gas supplies.

Demand for natural gas is expected to rise sharply, while other European sources of natural gas, such as the North Sea, are likely to decline.

'New thinking' needed on climate

By Mark Kinver Science and Nature reporter, BBC News Mr Ban called on world leaders to unite on climate change The international climate debate needs to embrace a "new way of thinking" to tackle the problem, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged. Too much time was being wasted arguing over "historical responsibilities" for past emissions, Mr Ban said. He called for both industrialised and developing nations to focus on limiting future global greenhouse gas emissions. Mr Ban added that he would convene a climate summit to help reach consensus on a global climate action plan. "It is time for new thinking," he told an audience at Chatham House, the international think-tank based in London, UK. "This is an agenda that really affects the whole of human kind. "I promise that this challenge and what we do about it will define us," he said. Breaking the deadlock Recent attempts to reach a global agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012, have ended in failure. The global climate treaty requires industrialised nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2% from 1990 levels, but the US and Australia have refused to ratify it. Business as usual is no longer an option - we must reach complete agreement Ban Ki-moon UN Secretary General President Bush's administration called the scheme "fatally flawed", partly because it did not require developing countries, including China and India, to commit to emissions reductions. The idea of making developing nations enforce emissions caps has also faced opposition. In June, China published its first national plan to curb climate change but it stopped short of backing a limit. Ma Kai, chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission, said: "We must reconcile the need for development with the need for environmental protection." But he added that rich countries were responsible for most of the greenhouse gases produced over the past century, and had an "unshirkable responsibility" to do more to tackle the problem. "The international community should respect the developing countries' right to develop," Mr Ma observed. Mr Ban, in his first speech in the UK since becoming UN secretary general, warned that arguing over the legacy of past emissions only wasted time. "I have been advised by many experts that if we act now - since we have the resources and heightened awareness - we can reverse it," he said. "Then we can give a much more prosperous planet Earth to our great, great, grandchildren. "What I would like to stress is rather than looking at past historical responsibilities, we need to look at historical responsibilities in the future. "To build on the current momentum, I am going to convene a high-level UN General Assembly debate on 24 September." He said that the outcomes from this meeting would feed into the UN climate negotiation process. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will hold its next meeting in Bali towards the end of the year. "Business as usual is no longer an option - we must reach complete agreement," he told the audience in central London.

Iranian union leader 'abducted'

Mr Osanlou was previously detained in Tehran's Evin prison

An international trade union has condemned the disappearance of Iranian union leader Mansour Osanlou, who has reportedly been abducted in Tehran.

Mr Osanlou's wife told the BBC her husband was pulled from a bus by unidentified men on Tuesday evening.

The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) has written to Iran's president to protest.

Mr Osanlou, head of Tehran's transport workers' union, spent most of 2006 in prison for running a strike in 2005.

As the director of the Union of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, Mr Osanlou was first detained in December 2005 for organising a walk-out by bus drivers.

The drivers then planned another strike in January 2006 in response to his detention and to demand recognition of their trade union activities.

This is a blatant violation of human and trade union rights David Cockroft International transport union

The Iranian government responded by pre-emptively detaining hundreds of drivers, including several union organisers.

All were later released, but Mr Osanlou was detained in Tehran's Evin prison for several months before being freed on bail.

His union is not recognised by the Iranian government, but it is the first independent Iranian trade unions to be affiliated to an international organisation, says the BBC's Pam O'Toole.

Mr Osanlou received a standing ovation when he spoke at a recent conference in Europe.

'Bullies and thugs'

The ITF said there was strong reason to believe Mr Osanlou was being held by the Iranian authorities.

The organisation's Secretary General, David Cockroft, says Mr Osanlou has frequently been badly treated by Iranian authorities.

"He's been imprisoned about three times now. He has been beaten up on arrest, [and] he has been the subject of harassment by the security apparatus inside Iran simply for being the president of one of the first independent genuine trade unions which have been established in Iran.

"All of us are behind him now and demand his release and the reining in of the bullies and thugs who are hounding him."

Iran has made no comment about Mr Osanlou's disappearance

Icahn raises pressure on Motorola

Carl Icahn is pressing for change at Motorola

US billionaire investor Carl Icahn has stepped up his efforts to win a seat on Motorola's board by placing a full page advert in a US newspaper.

Mr Icahn, who with associates owns about 3% of the mobile phone firm, made the plea in the Wall Street Journal.

Motorola had "suffered a critical failure in oversight and leadership," he said in the advert.

Tough competition has hit the firm's handset sales, resulting in it making a loss in the first three months of 2007.

Leadership criticised

Earlier this year, Mr Icahn announced that he would put himself up for a board post at Motorola's annual general meeting, which is scheduled for 7 May.

In the advert, he said it was "absolutely necessary" for the company that a major shareholder was represented on the board.

He added that the firm had "stumbled badly" under current chief executive Ed Zander.

Motorola responded to the advert, saying it had been listening to Mr Icahn since he became a shareholder.

It added it had offered to work with him to identify a "mutually acceptable" candidate for the board position, but said that the investor had declined.

In recent years Mr Icahn has snapped up stakes in US media group Time Warner and building materials maker Temple Inland.

At each company he suggested radical reforms - such as selling off assets - that would either lift the group's shares or create more value for shareholders.

Last year Mr Icahn made an unsuccessful bid to buy Korean tobacco firm KT&G with Warren Lichenstein, head of fund Steel Partners II. The $10bn bid included plans for the sale of some of the firm's assets.

Motorola issues profit warnings

Analysts say Motorola needs a better range of phones

Motorola has warned that it will report a loss for the last three months, blaming weak sales in Asia and Europe.

The US-based firm added that its main mobile phone business was likely to make a loss for the whole of 2007.

The twin profit warnings have increased speculation that the firm's chief executive Ed Zander might step down soon, analysts say.

The world's second largest mobile phone-maker, Motorola has already announced 7,500 job cuts this year.

In April it blamed losses on price competition and unpopular handsets.

Going, going?

Motorola said sales for the second quarter period, from April to June, would now be less than $8.7bn (£4.3bn).

Is Ed Zander's future in doubt?

It had previously forecast sales for the period would be around $9.4bn.

"With this type of performance and the bleak prospects facing the company for the rest of the year, I don't think Zander's tenure is going to go much further," said Ed Snyder, analyst with Charter Equity Research.

"He's toast. I think it's really close now."