News Corp Posts $1.6B Loss

Divorce doesn't come cheap: Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has posted a hefty quarterly loss of $1.6 billion, mainly because of its plans to split its profitable entertainment businesses from its ailing publishing arm. The company cut $2.8 billion from the value of its publishing businesses, with Australian newspapers responsible for the lion's share of the write-down, reports the Independent. But scandal has also hit the firm's balance sheet. The company says legal costs related to the British phone-hacking scandal have now topped $200 million, and loss of income from the axed News of the World is still affecting its financial results. (More News Corp stories.)