Jury still out on Murdoch as Sky chair July 14, 2011 DIRECTORS at BSkyB are likely to study James Murdoch’s performance at the culture select committee carefully next Tuesday before deciding whether to make any moves to unseat him as current chairman of the satellite broadcaster. Legally speaking, James Murdoch appears fairly secure in his position as he would expect to command the support of the controlling [...]
Why News Corp stock may not be toxic July 14, 2011 NEWS Corp’s shares have fluctuated wildly amid the bombshells that have rocked Rupert Murdoch’s empire. But news of the FBI investigation yesterday is likely to spark a downward trend for a while – shares have already fallen, closing down 2.26 per cent yesterday at $15.99. As the political pressure continues to mount in the US, [...]
Reach for the skies: Breitling’s airborn daredevils pushing jets to the limit July 14, 2011 THE engineer strapping me to the ejector seat can tell I’m nervous. His advice is to keep my eyes outside the cockpit at all times. Watch the leader and our wingmen. This will help occupy the brain and should avoid any sensations of airsickness. I’m going up with the Breitling Jet Team, the aerobatic display [...]
MURDOCH RETREATS July 13, 2011 TYCOON ABANDONS SKY BID – FOR NOW RUPERT Murdoch’s bid for BSkyB came crashing to earth yesterday after News Corp caved in to intense political pressure and ended its pursuit of the broadcaster. The shock decision marks Murdoch’s darkest day in his 42 years in the British media industry. News Corp acknowledged that proceeding with [...]
FOOTBALL’S NEW GAMING GENERATION July 13, 2011 REMEMBER when a schoolboy’s hopes of football stardom were fuelled by dreams of scoring the winner in a Wembley cup final, or perhaps the pride of donning their country’s colours at a World Cup? Well wise up, granddad, because we all know that tomorrow’s stars are just as likely to be chasing the trappings of [...]
Coalition to vote against Murdoch bid July 12, 2011 THE UK government will tomorrow signal that Rupert Murdoch should halt his pursuit of Sky, it revealed yesterday, sending shares in the broadcaster to their lowest level in a year. Murdoch’s bid to take control of the broadcaster received another blow after David Cameron gave his backing to Ed Miliband’s commons motion against the deal. The [...]
ANOTHER DAY THAT SHOOK THE MURDOCH EMPIRE July 12, 2011 8:00am Chairman of the home affairs committee Keith Vaz calls for information on “precisely what the officers did” in relation to the first investigation. 8:45am Gordon Brown says he was “in tears” when the Sun told him it would run a story about his son’s medical condition. He is careful not to claim reporters broke [...]
How the hacking scandal has hit the Sky brand July 12, 2011 THE last week has been dominated by phone hacking news. It is clear that the public disapproves of the practices used and there is general support for the closure of the News of the World – from the YouGov poll for the Sunday Times; 73 per cent think it is never acceptable for journalists to [...]
News Corp puts Sky bid on hold July 11, 2011 ■ Competition Commission probe to last up to a year ■ Gordon Brown says sick son was target of News Int NEWS CORP yesterday made the shock decision to effectively put its bid for BSkyB on ice for up to a year. Rupert Murdoch’s firm withdrew concessions made to the media watchdog over the takeover, triggering [...]
Sky sinks as investors mull a future without Murdoch July 11, 2011 SHARES IN BSkyB were rocked yesterday by the revelation News Corp will not be making a bid – at least not in the short term. It closed down 4.6 per cent at 715p after earlier falling below 700p for the first time in almost a year. One of BSkyB’s major shareholders yesterday said News Corp’s bid [...]