Market, Goldman sock media stocks

October 07, 2008 The global financial crisis will take its toll on advertising as marketers will cut back amid slowing consumer spending, several experts said Tuesday in downgrading their ad forecasts for this year and next. The dire ad forecast -- along with a Goldman Sachs downgrade of several entertainment companies -- came as U.S. stocks were again taking a pounding Tuesday. "The bank failures will have a fairly small direct effect on ad expenditure -- since financial advertising contributes only about 4% of global ad expenditure -- but fears for the future will cause consumers to cut their spending, while companies carefully inspect their budgets to find cost savings," Zenith said.

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