Merger to create financial information giant

The proposed buyout of Reuters by Thomson Corporation and Murdoch's bid for Wall Street Journal has thrust the US media sector into the spotlight

The US media sector has been a hive of activity in recent weeks with a high-profile merger and a bid for one of the most famous newspapers in the world dominating the business pages. The proposed buyout of market information provider Reuters Group by Canadian publishing house Thomson Corporation would see the latter paying an estimated £8.8bn for Reuters, whose shares are now valued at 617p each. The merger would create the world's largest financial information firm and highlights Thomson's ongoing project to move away from traditional media forms to more profitable growth areas. This com...