UK Panel Finds Rupert Murdoch Unfit, BP Net Down 18%

Arthi Gupta
01 May, 2012
New York City

The UK indexes advanced after manufacturing activity eased but Irish manufacturing dropped in April. The UK parliament panel found News Corp Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch unfit to run large multinational company. BP quarterly earnings fell 18%.

[R]3:00 PM London – The UK indexes advanced after manufacturing activity eased but Irish manufacturing dropped in April. The UK parliament panel found News Corp Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch unfit to run large multinational company. BP quarterly earnings fell 18%.[/R]

The UK indexes edged slightly higher on mixed economic data and earnings and Rupert Murdoch was deemed as “unfit person” to run a large multinational company by UK parliament panel.

The UK Parliament''s Culture, Media and Sport Committee finally concluded Rupert Murdoch, the founder, Chairman and CEO of News Corporation, the world''s second-largest media conglomerate as unfit to run a large corporation.

The hacking scandal that has been haunting the newspapers run by Murdoch finally took its toll with the committee’s report stating that “Rupert Murdoch turned a blind eye and exhibited wilful blindness to what was going on in his companies and publications.”

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the House of Commons implicated Rupert Murdoch’s son James Murdoch, the deputy chief operating officer of News Corporation too for taking any action when the hacking scandal first erupted six years ago.

In July 2011 Murdoch faced allegations that his companies, including the News of the World, owned by News Corporation, had been regularly hacking the phones of celebrities, royalty and public citizens.

The News of the World had snooped on the voicemails of a mobile phone belonging to Milly Dowler, a 13-year-old schoolgirl whose abduction and murder became front-page news in 2002.

However, the committee was split 6 to 4 in its conclusion with the Conservatives opposing the criticism while the Liberal Democrats and the Labor parties supporting it.

The report also criticised three former executives of News Corp.''s UK newspaper unit, Les Hinton, Colin Myler, and Tom Crone of misleading parliament in 2009.

The committee said that several of testimonies were untrue including the assertion that illegal voice mail interception was limited to one reporters and the claim that phone hacking had been thoroughly investigated by the company.

A spokesman for UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the government will ""consider the report.

In London, the benchmark index FTSE 100 gained 22.95 or 0.4% to 5,761.25 and the pound edged lower to $1.6223.

UK Manufacturing Activity Eases

The UK''s manufacturing sector growth eased in April, a survey by Markit Economics showed today.

The Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply purchasing managers'' index for the factory sector fell to 50.5 in April from a revised 51.9 in March.

Irish Manufacturing Declines

Irish manufacturing sector activity dropped in April with production falling for the first time in three months, a survey by Markit Economics showed.

The seasonally adjusted Markit/NCB Purchasing Managers'' Index declined to 50.1 in April from 51.5 in March.

Separately, Ireland''s loans to households dropped 3.9% from a year ago in March, following a decline of 4% in February, data from the Central Bank of Ireland showed today.

Lending for home purchase was 2.4% lower on an annual basis in March, while lending for consumption and other purposes declined 8%.

Gainers & Losers

BP Plc fell 2.1% to 435.65 pence after the oil and gas explorer said first quarter total revenue climbed 9.3% to $96.70 billion from $88.44 billion in the same period in 2011. Net profit for the quarter declined 18.3% to $5.92 billion or 30.74 cents per diluted share compared with $7.25 billion or 38.10 cents per share for the first quarter of 2011.

Chemring Group PLC surged 17.2% to 382.50 pence after the defense group’s UK subsidiary, Chemring Countermeasures Ltd won a five year long term partnering agreement worth £21 million for a range of different infra-red and radar frequency types of airborne expendable decoy flares for the UK MoD.

Imperial Tobacco Group rose 2.6% to 2,528 pence after the tobacco company stated first-half pre-tax profit climbed 18% to £1.11 billion from £943 million pounds last year, as total revenues increased 1.9% to £13.96 billion from £13.70 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Lloyds Banking Group Plc soared 6.8% to 33.11 pence after the financial services provider said first quarter profit swung to £2 million or breakeven per share compared to the loss of £2.44 billion or 3.6 pence per share last year.

Combined businesses profit before tax surged 121% on an annual basis to £628 million from £284 million for the same quarter last year.

Net interest income for the quarter declined 34.2% to £1.9 billion from £2.89 billion in the prior year.

Man Group Plc slumped 5.5% to 97.80 pence after the alternative investment management business reported first quarter funds under management rose 1% to $59 billion from $58.4 billion as at December 31, 2011. Net outflows in the quarter were $1.0 billion comprising sales of $3.1 billion and redemptions of $4.1 billion.

Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc climbed 0.1% to 3,592 pence after the manufacturer and marketer of branded products said first quarter net revenue rose 3% at actual exchange rates to £2.36 billion from last year.

Rolls-Royce Group Plc gained 1.8% to 838 pence after the engine manufacturer said it received a contract for $315 million from Pratt & Whitney to supply the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem for 17 F-35B Lightning II aircraft.