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World Business Quick Take

■ RUSSIA

Growth forecast raised

Russia raised its forecasts on Monday for economic growth and inflation this year, saying the economy was now expected to expand by 7.1 percent, news agencies reported. The economic development ministry, whose previous forecast for growth had been 6.7 percent, said inflation this year was now seen at 9.5 percent instead of 8.5 percent. "The inflation forecast has been raised because of the rise in food prices and wheat," the director of macroeconomic forecasting in the ministry told Interfax agency.



■ TELECOM

Icahn suing Motorola

Billionaire investor and corporate raider Carl Icahn said on Monday he had filed a lawsuit in the State of Delaware to obtain access to certain documents for his battle with the management of telecom equipment maker Motorola. "Over the past 12 months the statements and predictions of Motorola's management and the Board about Mobile Devices business have too often proven to be wrong," the statement said. Motorola earlier this year said it was studying a possible breakup of the company in an effort "to recapture global market leadership" in the mobile phone market and to enhance shareholder value. Icahn has been pressing for actions to boost shareholder value at Motorola.



■ EUROPE

OECD chief calls for reform

Europe faces "peril" if it does not reform its labor and product markets, Angel Gurria, the secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned in an interview published yesterday. "Reform is indispensable," Gurria told the Financial Times business daily. "People have to be aware of the costs of inaction -- the costs of action are short-term, but the benefits are long-term. Europe has it in its own control to close the gap and if they don't do it, it will be at their own peril." Living standards in Europe are one-third lower than in the US, a similar gap to the 1970s, the paper reported. Gurria reportedly urged politicians to present the case for reform to voters to build up support for proposals that are often unpopular.



■ INTERNET

Netflix Web site down

Online DVD rental leader Netflix Inc suffered a technology breakdown on Monday that knocked out its Web site for about 11 hours, inconveniencing many of its 7.5 million subscribers. The outage could mean some customers will have to wait longer than usual for their next rentals. The trouble blocked access to Netflix's Web site about from about 7am to 6pm US Pacific time on Monday, Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey said. It marked the second-longest disruption since Netflix launched its service nine years ago.



■ TRADE

Doha talks near deal

The Doha round of global trade talks is close to reaching an accord in principle on industrial tariffs and farm subsidies and quotas, Brazil's chief trade negotiator, Robert Azevedo, said on Monday. He cited an increased sense of urgency among negotiators to reach an accord before the US presidential election in November and particularly more willingness by the EU and the US in recent weeks. The key players had moved to seeking solutions and bridging differences, he said. There was no certainty of success and a likely ministerial-level meeting would be decisive, he said.