US retail sales surge in July
Washington: US retail sales surged in July, on the back of tax cuts, the government said on Wednesday.

Total retail purchases rose 1.4 percent last month to $317.2bn after an upwardly revised 0.9 percent gain a month earlier, the commerce department said.

Auto dealerships saw sales rise by a hefty 3.2 percent in July. The dollar strengthened on the data, and the bond market, which had fallen earlier as it braced for a strong retail sales number, showed little reaction. Wall Street had expected sales to rise 0.9 percent overall and 0.5 percent excluding autos.

Retail sales for June had been reported as rising 0.5 percent. The strength in July sales was broad-based. Sales of building materials and garden supplies rose 1.3 percent electronics sales increased 1.2 percent general merchandise was up 1.1 percent and receipts at gasoline stations gained 1.6 percent reflecting a rise in prices at the pump.
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News Corp Q4 net at $370m
New York: Rupert Murdoch owned News Corp has declared a quarterly profit from a year-ago loss.

The company reported a Q4 profit of $370m, against a year-ago loss of $1.7bn. Revenue rose 20% to $4.6bn from $3.8bn, beating the upper end of analysts range of $4.5bn.

The company's TV unit, which includes the Fox TV network, saw operating income rise 63 percent on a 9 percent increase in revenue. Its film unit, which includes 20th Century Fox movie studios, posted a 13 percent increase in operating income.
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