LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) – Former Scottish champions Rangers should be integrated into English club soccer in the next few years alongside perennial Glasgow rivals Celtic, Rangers chief executive Charles Green said on Monday.

Green said Wales were likely to have two clubs in the English Premier League next season if Cardiff City were promoted to join Swansea City.

LONDON (Reuters) – Stan Kroenke has no plans to sell his majority stake in Arsenal, a spokesman for the Premier League soccer club said on Sunday, responding to a report that a Middle East consortium planned a 1.5-billion-pound ($2.25-billion) bid.

The Sunday Telegraph said the consortium, backed by funds from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, had already requested a meeting with the American billionaire Kroenke, who owns a two-thirds stake in the famous north London club ahead of what would be a record takeover bid for a soccer club.

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) – Stan Kroenke has no plans to sell his majority stake in Arsenal, a spokesman for the Premier League soccer club said on Sunday, responding to a report that a Middle East consortium planned a 1.5-billion-pound ($2.25-billion) bid.

The Sunday Telegraph said the consortium, backed by funds from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, had already requested a meeting with the American billionaire Kroenke, who owns a two-thirds stake in the famous north London club ahead of what would be a record takeover bid for a soccer club.

By Keith Weir

(Reuters) – William Hill (WMH.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is to pay 424 million pounds ($643 million) for full control of its online business, marking an acceleration of the expansion of Britain’s largest bookmaker.

The deal to buy out the 29 percent stake in William Hill Online held by software company Playtech (PTEC.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) was the company’s second major deal in the past three months.

MILAN (Reuters) – The value of playing in the Champions League was underlined on Thursday when Italy’s Juventus reported a return to profit in the first six months of its financial year.

Juventus, set for a place in the last eight of the Champions League, made a profit of 11.3 million euros ($14.81 million) in the six months to the end of December, having lost 34.6 million euros in the same period a year earlier.

MILAN, Feb 28 (Reuters) – The value of playing in the Champions League was underlined on Thursday when Italy’s Juventus reported a return to profit in the first six months of its financial year.

Juventus, set for a place in the last eight of the Champions League, made a profit of 11.3 million euros ($14.81 million) in the six months to the end of December, having lost 34.6 million euros in the same period a year earlier.

MILAN, Feb 27 (Reuters) – Annual profit at motorcycle maker
Piaggio fell 9 percent after demand in its home Italian
market slumped to an all-time low because of the economic
crisis.

Piaggio, which was founded over a century ago and produces
the iconic Vespa scooter, said European sales of two wheelers
had fallen by 50 percent since 2007 as the effects of the
downturn were felt across the continent.

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Nike froze its contract with “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius on Thursday after he was charged with murdering his girlfriend, the latest in a series of scandals to hit athletes sponsored by the sportswear giant.

Criticised in the past for being slow to respond when its sporting heroes got into trouble, Nike distanced itself from Pistorius, the Paralympics champion accused of shooting dead model Reeva Steenkamp on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day.

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Ladbrokes, Britain’s
second-largest bookmaker, expects to see payback this year from
a 50 million pound ($77 million investment in an online business
that had failed to keep pace with rivals.

While growing numbers of people are gambling via smartphones
and tablet computers, Ladbrokes has been hit by delays upgrading
its technology. It has lost ground to market leader William Hill
in online and faced competition from smaller rivals.