Shares of AOL Time Warner fell 15% yesterday. Gloomy ad sales report and outlook; SEC investigates accounting; six brokerages downgrade stock. Analysts see "even more ominous signs" that future ad sales would be "far worse than previously understood." "If you draw $220 million out of the bank and only put $40 million in, it's not a sustainable business." AOL's online group is now actually shrinking in sales and profits. "[We've known AOL is] aggressive in booking revenue. But any company as large and complicated as AOL has accounting skeletons in its closet." You were saying? |