Shares in merging Time Warner and America Online went into a tailspin Tuesday, with AOL falling 17 percent to $43.60, a 52-week low and Time Warner diving 16 percent to $65.56. Analysts now figure that their merger is worth $115 billion compared to $173 billion when it was first announced last January.

A widely forecast decline in Internet advertising was blamed for the sell-off, but several analysts called it an overreaction. Both companies are due to issue quarterly earnings reports today -- with AOL expected to post sharply higher earnings and Time Warner expected to report lower profits, primarily because of increased interest and tax expenses.

Source: Studio Briefing