Australia's Fairfax Media flags $760 mn in writedowns

Leading Australian publisher Fairfax Media said Monday it would post nearly Aus$1 billion in writedowns in the year to July, while it announced the creation of a new reporting segment for its lucrative online real estate division. Like its global peers, the group, which owns The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers, has had add to slash jobs and costs owing to falling circulation and advertising revenue. Fairfax said its property listings division Domain Group would form a separate reporting segment.