Bad News, the Murdoch Way

Back whenever it was that News Corp. (NWS) chairman Rupert Murdoch announced the long-rumored Fox Business Channel (current viewership: ± 0) he declared it would take a “business friendly” worldview, or words to that effect. The memo appears to have reached The Wall Street Journal’s headline writers, who came up with above gem that, to these passing eyeballs noting the close proximity of the words “Revises Loss Downward,” anticipated unanticipated good news. Not quite.

A second-quarter loss for Wachovia Corp (WB) grew even larger Monday, as the Charlotte, NC, bank adjusted its results downward to account for a possible legal settlement, disclosed plans to eliminate 600 more jobs and reported headaches relating to its 2006 purchase of mortgage lender Golden West Financial Corp. and a municipal securities bid-rigging investigation...

...Wachovia said that will push its second-quarter net loss, originally disclosed on July 22, to $9.11 billion from $8.86 billion.

Wachovia Revises Loss Downward

By Dan Fitzpatrick

The Wall Street Journal Aug. 12 2008