After a better-than-expected quarterly earnings report called 'amazingly good' by the New York Times, it would seem that Google is defying the macro-economic downtrend. 'It's clear we are well positioned for 2008 and beyond, regardless of the business environment we are surrounded by,' said Google Inc. Chairman Eric Schmidt.

Earnings for fiscal Q1 were $1.31BN. The Associated Press noted that this marked "the 12th quarter out of the 15 since Google went public that its performance has topped analyst expectations."