Ad market is looking ever cloudier

By: Jennifer Saba So what did the Q2 results announced in mid-July reveal about the current ad market? Investment firm Goldman Sachs wryly noted, "Ad trends remain sloppy, margins are under pressure, the second half outlook is increasingly questionable, and the stocks are generally trading lower as results are reported ... otherwise, things look great!"

On the upside, it seems retail advertising category has bottomed out and there's nowhere to go but up. But the automotive and real estate categories are expected to take a hit in the second half of the year.

There's even a bleak tone when discussing help-wanted, the revenue darling of the moment. Goldman Sachs wrote that while help-wanted remains "respectable, the growth rate seems stuck in the 15%-20% range. All of which suggests that the economic recovery may not have the 'oomph' we thought a quarter ago."

Merrill Lynch also weighed in on a cautionary note. The national category is volatile, it noted, and Merrill does not have a sense those ad budgets will change for the better. To top it off: "Traditional media is losing out a bit to other alternative media and marketing."