In a blow to media stocks, analysts at Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX:CBA) have downgraded their forecast advertising revenues for the 2011 calendar year, according to the Australian.
The bank now expects the advertising market to fall from 3.1 per cent to 2.7 per cent this year.
Factors such as slower job ad volumes on the Seek Ltd
(ASX:SEK) website, weak page number growth for newspapers, weak retail spending and potential interest rate hikes have been blamed for the downgrade.
CBA analysts have told the paper that tighter monetary policy is expected to exacerbate the challenges facing the retail sector.
In the six months to 31 December 2010, Commonwealth Bank generated a net profit of $3 billion.
