Pressure mounts on UK government to halt Murdoch/BSkyB deal

[Reuters] - British government lawyers are drawing up plans to block Rupert Murdoch's bid to buy out the broadcaster BSkyB, the Independent newspaper said on Monday, a move that could spare Prime Minister David Cameron a potentially damaging parliamentary vote. BizBuySell.com recently released its latest Insight Report on trends in the business-for-sale marketplace, showing an increase in closed transactions for the second quarter of 2011. While access to credit remains tight, the number of deals completed was up 8 percent over the same period last year.

LONDON — A top counterterrorism detective was found guilty Thursday of trying to sell information to a Rupert Murdoch tabloid, becoming the first person to be convicted on charges related to Britain’s phone-hacking scandal since a police investigation was reopened in early 2011. Detective Chief Inspector April Casburn was charged with misconduct for phoning the News of the World and offering to pass on information about whether London’s police force would reopen its stalled phone-hacking investigation.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron has denied favoring Rupert Murdoch's business interests in exchange for political support from his newspaper empire, and defended a minister's handling of an ill-fated takeover bid involving the media magnate. Cameron is on the back foot ahead of local elections across much of Britain on Thursday. After a month of bad headlines about Murdoch, the budget and the return of the economy to recession, an opinion poll registered support for his Conservative Party at its lowest since 2004. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron has denied favoring Rupert Murdoch's business interests in exchange for political support from his newspaper empire, and defended a minister's handling of an ill-fated takeover bid involving the media magnate.

Britain's coalition government was under pressure Wednesday after its business secretary was stripped of key powers following his remark that he had "declared war" on media mogul Rupert Murdoch.Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday told Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable he would no longer have a say in Murdoch's bid to take full control of pay TV giant BSkyB.This came after Cable told undercover newspaper reporters that he planned to block the 12.0-billion-dollar (9.1-billion-euro) bid by Murdoch's News Corporation for BSkyB.

LONDON (Reuters) - British government lawyers are drawing up plans to block Rupert Murdoch's bid to buy out the broadcaster BSkyB, the Independent newspaper said on Monday -- a move that could spare Prime Minister David Cameron a potentially damaging parliamentary vote.