Britain's Blinkx flies on Google, Newscorp bid talk (Reuters)

Reuters - Shares of British video search engine firm Blinkx surged 50 percent to a seven-month high on Friday, on talk that Internet giant Google and media conglomerate NewsCorp may bid for the firm.

News Corporation’s first-quarter profits down 30% after drop in television advertising revenue

News Corporation, parent company of The Times, reported a 30 per cent drop in first-quarter profits, as falling revenues from television advertising and declining film studio sales hit the bottom line.

Babcock & Brown shares dive on fee flow fears

Babcock & Brown, the worst- performing stock on the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index, fell on concerns that credit market turmoil may cut proceeds from asset sales to reduce debt.

Fairfax moves to unwind margin loan

THE Fairfax Media director John B. Fairfax has unwound a margin loan over 159 million of the publisher's shares, which was believed to have prompted short-sellers to target the stock over recent weeks.

Australian merchant bank Babcock and Brown faces lenders

Babcock & Brown Ltd., Australia's second-largest merchant bank that last week lost half its market value, is accelerating an examination of its listed funds as it faces its bankers over a potential review of its 2.8 billion Australian dollars (US$2.7 billion) corporate debt facility.

Rio Tinto undermined by takeover defence costs

Mounting fears that Rio Tinto would be forced into an equity issue to pay off debt due next year made it London’s worst blue-chip performer.