Murdoch's News Corporation issues profit warning

And Rupert is left to sweat over DirecTV deal...

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has warned that profits are likely to show growth well below previous expectations. The news comes on the same day Murdoch is likely to learn the fate of a £27bn bid for satellite broadcaster DirecTV. Analysts believe the tycoon's media empire will have already lost tens of millions of dollars in ad revenue since the terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September and this could help account for a predicted fall of around 20 per cent in growth expectations. News Corporation has said it now expects to see single figure growth. Earlier predictions put the figure at between 20 to 26 per cent. Murdoch's bid for DirecTV has been made in conjunction with Bill Gates and John Malone, head of Liberty Media, who have ploughed £3.8m cash into the deal. Murdoch has chased the Hughes Electronics' owned DirecTV for some time and should hear whether he has been successful in the next few days as the board of Hughes' parent company GM are currently in discussions over Murdoch's bid, as well as a bid from rival broadcaster Echostar.