Rupert Murdoch told the Associated Press Wednesday he thinks the next year will continue to be difficult for capital markets, due to bad debt related to a nationwide mortgage crisis in the United States.

“I think there's more (bad news) to come and it'll take a year to shake out,” the News Corp. chairman told the AP, calling himself “a bit of a bear.”

Since the U.S. credit crisis began last year, large banks and investment houses have written off more than US$250 billion, with more expected in the future. Meanwhile, Murdoch said he expects banks on Wall Street will keep selling assets to raise money to cover past backings on home loans, the AP reported. Wall Street woes and the housing slump in the United States has of course adversely affected the newspaper industry, with housing ad sales at an all-time low.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped to about 11,000 Wednesday, down from a high in October of 14,000. Murdoch told the AP that should the average hold at 11,000, he would be “happy.”