THE NEWS WRAP: James Murdoch resigns from BSkyB

James Murdoch has stepped down as chairman of British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) in a bid to protect the company from being damaged by the News Corp phone-hacking scandal.

The resignation comes just over a month after Murdoch stepped down as executive chairman of News Corp’s British newspaper arm News International.

Murdoch says he is stepping down in the best interests of the satellite broadcaster, so further criticism of him does not hurt the brand or its shareholders.

“I am aware that my role as chairman could become a lightning rod for BSkyB and I believe that my resignation will help to ensure that there is no false conflation with events at a separate organisation,” he said.

ACCC wins appeal against Google

The Federal Court has ruled Google breached the law by displaying misleading sponsored links at the top of its search results.

Consumers who used Google to search for Honda, Harvey World Travel, Alpha Dog Training and Just 4X4 Magazine were presented with ads that led to rival websites.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission appealed last year after a judge ruled Google’s conduct had not been in breach of the Trade Practices Act.

But the full bench of the Federal Court has now overturned that decision, concluding the search engine’s conduct did breach the law.

States join forces to take on Gillard

One of only two remaining Labor state treasurers has accused the Federal Labor government of bleeding already strained state budgets to guarantee its own surplus.

South Australian Treasurer Jack Snelling says the ­Gillard Government’s cutting of ­programs to deliver a surplus was “disproportionately” hitting the state budget.

The accusation came as state ­treasurers also prepared to blast Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan at a meeting today over his handling of the review of goods and services tax ­distribution.

Overnight

The Australian dollar was lower after the US Federal Reserve indicated that it would not further stimulate the American economy.  

At 7am, the local unit was trading at 103.29 US cents, down from 103.93 cents yesterday.