Google on the Rack

Google (GOOG Quote) shares continued their recent decline Monday, dropping 4% as the company and its fearless leaders got bad write-ups in two huge magazines.

Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and CEO Eric Schmidt appeared on the cover of big-circulation newsweekly Time Monday, alongside the headline "Can We Trust Google With Our Secrets?" But as compelling as that question may be, investors were far more taken by an article in Barron's that argued the stock could lose half its value over a year.

Barron's says Google's earnings could "easily disappoint" Wall Street's sky-high expectations as challenges mount. The financial weekly cites heightened competition from the likes of Microsoft (MSFT Quote) and Yahoo! (YHOO Quote) along with rising costs and worries over click fraud as major hurdles for the Mountain View, Calif., company. ...