AUSTRALIA

Limit on Press Ownership: The ruling Labor Party appears to be preparing to limit foreign ownership of voting shares in the country’s newspapers and magazines. The party last Friday voted to place a ceiling of 20% on foreign ownership of print media properties. The ceiling mirrors a government decision last year to limit foreign ownership of radio and television stations to 20%. The decision comes as several investor groups are bidding for the John Fairfax Group, Australia’s second largest newspaper chain. They include U.S. investor Hellman & Friedman and a group led by Tony O’Reilly, chief executive of H. J. Heinz Co.