WPP ’s WPPGY 0.04% GroupM is expecting 3% global ad growth in 2017, down from the 4.4% it predicted last December. Publicis Groupe ’s PUBGY -0.18% Zenith predicts global ad spending will grow 4.0% in 2017, reaching $558 billion by the end of the year, according to the company’s new report. In its latest earnings report, WPP blamed disappointing results and a grim outlook for 2017 on a steeper-than-expected slowdown in global ad spending by packaged-goods firms, among other factors. In its updated ad forecast, the holding company’s media agency group also indicated that a reduction in ad spending growth in China is partly to blame for the slowdown. The media agencies also lowered expectations for ad spending in the U.K. while only slightly reducing U.S. growth forecasts.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 11, 2017 19:05 UTC