Google stock plummeted 9 percent today before trading was halted following the early release of a quarterly earnings report that showed a 20 percent drop in profits. The unfinished press release — which included a placeholder “PENDING LARRY QUOTE” section for soothing words from CEO Larry Page — was put out during trading hours by accident and resulted in a huge sell-off of shares, not to mention somebody getting fired very soon. Beyond the initial embarrassment is more bad news: Google missed revenue estimates by more than $500 million, with ad prices down and costs up 71 percent.
