By Karen Freifeld NEW YORK (Reuters) - When New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman gave up a claim for damages against former AIG <AIG.N> chief Hank Greenberg, he also likely neutralized a long-awaited challenge to his office's power. New York's highest court is scheduled to hear arguments later this month in the case, in which Greenberg is accused of defrauding AIG investors.

US media magnate Rupert Murdoch will get a 15 percent pay hike with the split-up of News Corp. into two publicly traded companies, according to a company filing published Friday. Murdoch will see his combined compensation from the two entities jump to $28.3 million in fiscal 2014, from $24.6 million this year, according to a News Corp. filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The additional funds will be linked to company performance in the fiscal year ending June 30, the SEC filing said.

By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - Media mogul Rupert Murdoch sharply criticised Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday for agreeing tougher press regulation, saying the new system was a "holy mess" and that Cameron had disappointed his supporters. Cameron struck a surprise deal on Monday with his junior coalition partners, the Lib Dems, and the opposition Labour party, that will allow a new regulator to be set up with the powers to levy large fines on newspapers and oblige them to print prominent apologies where appropriate.

US Secretary of State John Kerry will make his first trip to Asia as America's top diplomat in mid-April, an official announced Thursday, with North Korea expected to top the agenda. Kerry will travel to South Korea, Japan and China after first attending a meeting of G8 foreign ministers in London on April 10 and 11, said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. He plans to "discuss the full range of bilateral, multilateral and regional issues as well as our economic cooperation and the environment," she said.