The Financial Times on Sunday had an article discussing why parts of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), including at the AOL and cable operations of Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), were slowing down.

The tone of the article was mostly negative (and the stock is down so far today -- it's currently at $18.26, down 3 cents). It discusses the slower growth in search, the lowered expectations inside AOL, and the slower cable growth. The article also points out the negative sentiment that may be building in shareholders who have seen a 17% drop this year in the share price, and also an analyst call pointing to lower target price expectations from Sanford Bernstein. Lastly, it explains that the October review is looming for the company at the next board meeting and how if the current slump continues, there will be pressure on them to push for changes.

I have written before how all of these developments and the need to please shareholders is likely to result in AOL becoming at least part of its own unit similar to what the company did with its cable operations.

If I were making odds in Vegas, odds would be that an announcement for an AOL tracking stock will be made at the end of 2007 to very early in 2008. That would allow Time Warner to maintain control and would give the company a non-cash currency so it could start buying up strategic online properties. Last week I showed how the comScore data was looking strong for the company's advertising.com unit, so perhaps the company will be looking for more integrations in that realm.

Jon Ogg is partner in 24/7 Wall St.; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.