Murdoch takeover bid for Sky delayed for extra scrutiny

June 30, 2017 at 12:00a.m.

LONDON

Britain’s government stalled Twenty-First Century Fox’s takeover of the Sky pay television and broadband network Thursday after regulators said the deal could give Rupert Murdoch and his family too much influence over the country’s media.

Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said Thursday that the deal “potentially raises public-interest concerns” and said she is “minded to” send it to the Competition and Markets Authority for further review. Twenty-First Century Fox has two weeks to respond to issues raised by the communications regulator, Ofcom, before Bradley makes a final decision.

In a report on the transaction, Ofcom said the merged company would be Britain’s third-largest source of television news, and its influence would be magnified because it also owns newspapers, radio stations and online outlets.

GOP may keep some tax hikes to save health care bill

WASHINGTON

Top Senate Republicans are considering keeping President Barack Obama’s tax increase on wealthier people’s investments.

The money would be used to bolster their proposed health care subsidies in a bid to mollify moderate GOP senators and salvage the party’s struggling health care bill.

Also in play is a proposal from conservatives to let insurers offer any plan they’d like, including ones with skimpy benefits and low premiums. It’s unclear if either idea will survive.

Debt deadline now October, CBO says as deficit spikes

WASHINGTON

A new government estimate says the drop-dead deadline for Congress to increase the government’s borrowing authority and avoid a devastating economic default is early to mid-October.

The Congressional Budget Office also predicts the federal budget deficit will spike to $693 billion this year. That’s $134 billion more than it predicted in January, mostly because of slipping tax-revenue projections.

Amazon Prime Day promo starts night of July 10, now 30 hours

NEW YORK

Amazon is extending its annual “Prime Day” promotion to 30 hours this year.

Amazon will offer discounts and other deals in an effort to boost sales during the slower summer months. The deals are open only to members of Amazon’s $99-a-year Prime loyalty program, so Amazon typically gets more sign-ups, too.

While Amazon has claimed success, there have been grumblings that Prime Day deals are unimpressive or involve older models. Last year, Benchmark analyst Daniel Kurnos called Prime Day an example of “how to make clearance look good.”

This year’s promotion will start at 9 p.m. July 10 and end at 3 a.m. July 12. It used to run for 24 hours. It will be available in 13 countries, including the U.S.

Associated Press

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Alcoa Inc., .1233.220.27

Aqua America, .71 33.39-0.22

Avalon Holdings,2.5058-0.2442

Chemical Bank, .2748.561.13Community Health Sys. 10.05 0.22

Cortland Bancorp, .2818.000.00

Farmers Nat., .1614.650.00

First Energy, 1.44 28.81-0.30

Fifth/Third, .5226.070.58

FirstMerit Corp.,21.610.37

First Niles Financial, .1210.000.00

FNB Corp., .4814.240.24

General Motors, 1.5234.850.27

General Electric, .9234.850.27

Huntington Bank, .28 13.380.24

iHeartMedia Inc.,1.500.05

JP Morgan Chase, 1.9291.161.34

Key Corp, .3418.720.34

LaFarge, .34--

Macy’s, 1.51 22.94-0.24

Parker Hannifin, 2.52 157.05-0.96

PNC, 2.20125.291.89

Simon Prop. Grp., 6.60162.64-1.16

Stoneridge 15.39-0.08

United Comm. Fin., .12 8.200.14

Selected prices from Thursday’s 4 p.m. close.