Goldman Sachs changes ratings

Brokers Goldman Sachs JBWere lowered its rating on John Fairfax Holdings from "outperform" to "underperform", saying that slower economic growth in Australia and New Zealand would reduce advertising.

The firm also lowered its ratings on APN News & Media to a short-term "underperform" from "marketperform" and to a long-term "hold" from "buy".

"We are increasingly nervous on the outlook for New Zealand and note that APN has the highest New Zealand exposure of any Australian media company," the broker said.

"We believe that APN is the least likely takeover target in Australian media."