Rupert Murdoch's communications empire, the News Corporation, is in danger of going through a storm because of one of its now more peripheral businesses. This is the British tabloid News of the world, at the center of a scandal linked to a series of illegal telephone interceptions. It seems that an investigator hired by the newspaper has even snooped into the conversations of the families of British soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Investors were scared by the repercussions that this ugly story could have on the group, so much so that NewsCorp's shares lost 3,6% on New York stock exchanges yesterday. The affair has deeply scandalized British public opinion and there are now fears for the political backlash. In particular, Murdoch's chances of taking over the entire stake in BSkyB (British Sky Broadcasting) satellite television could be jeopardised. The London government should have decided within the month whether to grant the go-ahead to the Australian tycoon, but it has already announced that the pronouncement is postponed until the autumn.
Political pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron comes from all sides, but the impression is that the executive intends to freeze the issue until things calm down. In the meantime, the Labor Party, led by the fierce Ed Miliband, does not miss the opportunity and increases the dose against the News of the World, which according to them should answer directly to the Competition Authority for "a systematic series of abuses".
