Global business

OPEC decided not to increase its oil production for the time being, despite calls from some quarters for it to do so in order to dampen oil prices. The cartel said that it was pumping enough to supply the demand for winter heating fuel and that it would review its decision in February.

AT&T said it would sell its pay-phone operations next year, leaving Verizon as the only large telecom company with pay phones in America. Coin-operated phones were introduced in 1889 and soon flourished, even amid the proliferation of residential lines in the 1950s. Their number has declined from around 2.6 million in 1998 to 1 million today, most of which are owned by smaller operators.

Vivendi, a French telecom and media group, announced merger of its video-game business with Activision, a gaming company based in Southern California, which it will control with a stake of up to 68 percent. The $18.9 billion deal brings together under one roof Activision's bestselling video-console titles, such as "Guitar Hero" and "Call of Duty," with Vivendi's wildly popular interactive online game "World of Warcraft."

Motorola's chief executive, Ed Zander, said he would step down in January. Zander has been Motorola's boss for nearly four years, during most of which the company thrived on the success of its RAZR ultra-slim mobile phone. Sales have slowed, however, and Zander has come under mounting pressure. Last May he fought a proxy challenge for control of the company from Carl Icahn, an investor who holds 3 percent of Motorola's shares and wants it to be split into several parts.

Fox Entertainment, part of the News Corp. conglomerate, bought Beliefnet, a rapidly expanding website that is host to content on an assortment of faiths and spirituality. Terms were not disclosed.

General Motors said it was hoping to take a "significant stake" in Avtovaz, Russia's biggest carmaker. Western carmakers have been expanding in emerging markets, such as Russia, to help offset slowing domestic sales. Avtovaz is close to making a decision on selling a minority stake in its business. Bids also have been made by Fiat and Renault.

The Bank of England cut its main interest rate by one-quarter of a percentage point, to 5.5 percent, amid signs of an economic slowdown in Britain. A closely watched index compiled by HBOS, a bank, reported that house prices in Britain fell by 1.1 percent in November, compared with October, the first run of three consecutive monthly decreases since 1995.

Political economy The U. S. Senate voted 77-18 to approve a free-trade agreement with Peru that previously had cleared the House of Representatives.

The European Union initialed a pre-membership agreement with Bosnia at a ceremony in Sarajevo. A full agreement on starting the process by which Bosnia eventually could become a member of the EU depends on the country's merging its ethnically separate police forces.

Hugo Chavez's plan to change the constitution to make Venezuela a Socialist republic and to allow him to run for reelection indefinitely was narrowly defeated in a referendum. It was the first time Chavez had lost a popular vote since he came to power in 1999.

Vladimir Putin's United Russia party won two-thirds of the vote in a parliamentary election. The Russian president said the result showed that the electorate supported policies that had brought stability to Russia. Opponents, including former chess champion Garry Kasparov, said the election was a farce.

Immediately after being sworn in as Australia's prime minister, Kevin Rudd signed documents ratifying the Kyoto protocol on climate change. Rudd is due to attend the United Nations' climate-change conference in Bali.