RecessionWire

  • About
  • Ads
  • Contributors
  • Press
  • Contact


News

The Recession Will End… When Google Says So?

By Marie Wiltz ⋅ 2:25 pm October 20, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

question mark chart 150Says who: Eric Schmidt, Google’s chief executive

“While there is obviously a lot of uncertainty about the pace of economic recovery, we believe the worst of the recession is behind us… So we’re very optimistic now about the future. We now have the business confidence to invest heavily in the next phase of innovation, hoping to invent the future as we see it.” (via SeekingAlpha)

Why he might be wrong: For the 15.1+ million Americans facing the most challenging job market in decades and struggling daily, with limited to no income to pay for food, lodging, and health care expenses, the worst is far from over. With unemployment rate expected to grow above 10%, it’s almost impossible to agree with Schmidt when he says the worst of the great recession is over.

How he could be right: Google’s Q3 revenue of $5.94 billion is a strong sign that the Internet advertising market is rebounding from its steepest dive since the dot-com collapse a decade ago (falling 5.3% in the first half of the year). Since the Google search engine hosts the Web’s largest advertising network, it has a pulse on e-commerce activity and can serve as a barometer of broader economic growth or contraction. And Schmidt isn’t alone when it comes to technically calling the recession over (or at least, to get technical, stop contracting). A bunch of folks have been calling its end: the National Association for Business Economics; Ben Bernanke; Nouriel Roubini. In some sense, Schmidt may simply be among the last to say it.

Our call: Perhaps Larry Summers, Obama’s chief economic adviser, said it best: “There’s a difference between having an expansion and an economy that has recovered.” Schmidt is overly optimistic when he says that the worst is over, at least when it comes to unemployment. And if employment is a lagging indicator, we can only hope that Schmidt’s enthusiasm indicates that Google is again poised to lead the country to new heights of growth and prosperity. In the meantime, it might be nice for Schmidt to open his free cafeterias and give some free meals to some of the 15.1+ million of unemployed Americans.

Related Posts:

  • The Recovery is Here… Because Online Ad Revenue is Improving
  • The Recession Ended… in September
  • The Recession Will End… When I Get My Damn Job Back!
  • The Recession Will End… in Six Months (End of 2009)
  • The Recession Will End… in 2010
  • Powered by Contextual Related Posts
If you enjoyed this story, print or share it!
  • email
  • Print
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Mixx
  • Reddit
  • Technorati
  • Tumblr
  • MySpace
  • StumbleUpon
  • Fark
Print This PostTags: corporate America, economy, Google, recession, recovery, The Recession Will End...

Discussion

No comments for “The Recession Will End… When Google Says So?”

Post a comment

 

Get Recessionwire by email!
twitter

Most Popular Posts

  • The Recession Will End... by 2010
  • 10 Tips for Learning to Cook from Scratch
  • The 5 Questions You Should Ask an Interviewer
  • Tax Tips for the Unemployed
  • 11 Easy Steps to Relocating
  • The Just-Laid-Off Checklist
  • Screwed: 2,500 at Xerox
  • Recession Lessons from the Jersey Shore
  • Eight (of the 1 million) Reasons Not to Go to Law School in a Recession
  • How Not to Look Desperate

Special Sections

Recent Posts

  • The Toughest City to Find a Job
  • Recession Lexicon: 99er
  • Free Financial Bootcamp
  • 80 Percent Off Restaurant.com Ends Today
  • Economists Pessimistic About the Rest of 2010
  • 10 Tips for Social Networking Your Way to a Job
  • How to Bootstrap Your New Business Wisely
  • Stashing Cash Over the Border
  • Senate Approves Unemployment Extension
  • Entrepreneurship is Declining, Survey Says

We’re Talking About…

Wowzio
grab this · careers blog
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Contact
  • Contributors
  • Press

  • Culture
  • Living
  • Money
  • News
  • Small Business
  • Working
© 2010 Recessionwire. Entries (RSS)