Moody's downgrades New York Times' debt rating

Reuters reports:

Moody's Investors Service on Thursday cut its debt rating on the New York Times Co. (NYT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), saying leverage has risen and will not likely fall much until the publisher completes its new headquarters in mid-2007.

Earlier share repurchases and the acquisition of About.com have also significantly increased leverage, Moody's said in a statement.

The company, which publishes The New York Times, International Herald Tribune and the Boston Globe, said last month, its first-quarter profit fell 69 percent from a year earlier when it took a large gain, as higher newsprint costs and weak results from the Boston Globe outweighed strong Internet revenue.

Here's a chart of the New York Times stock.