THE NEWS WRAP: News Corp separation pains bring $1.46 billion loss

News Corporation has posted a massive $1.46 billion loss in the fourth quarter, writing down the value of its global publishing empire, including its Australian newspapers.

 

Revenue fell 6.7% to $US8.4 billion in the quarter, with the publishing part of the business suffering a 31% profit drop. Rupert Murdoch, the company’s CEO, said in June that the publishing part of the business will be separated from the more profitable entertainment division.

 

NBN price tag rises

 

It has emerged that the National Broadband Network will cost $1 billion more and take six months longer to build than previously expected.

 

NBN Corp, the company building the network, said that the price tag has risen 3.9%, from $35.9 billion to $37.4 billion. However, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said that the changes were minor.

 

Judge demands tech reporters’ details

 

A US judge has demanding that Oracle and Google reveal the names of reporters, commentators and bloggers that they have paid.

 

The judge said he was “concerned” that media analysis of the businesses’ may have been affected by financial relationships.

 

Oracle is claiming that Google owes it $1 billion in compensation for what it claims is the use of its technology in the Android system.

 

Overnight

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 7.04 points, or 0.05%, to 13,175.64. The Australian dollar was down to US105.45 cents.

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