optimistic

Let out that held breath, everybody - Google had a good third quarter.  While the company didn't destroy estimates as it's done in the past, such behavior could hardly be expected at this point, and Google at least managed to improve its performance in most respects.All of this led to some rather happy and enthusiastic behavior on the part of investors.  Google's stock has gone up 7.86 percent so far in after hours trading. Here are notes from the live conference call:

Mani Shankar Aiyar, India's Petroleum Minister, began his visit to Pakistan Saturday in order to discuss a natural gas pipeline from Iran and Turkmenistan through the country.

LG.Philips reported a 94 percent fall in profits for the fourth quarter, though they did not lose as much as some analysts expected.

According to a new survey, American business leaders are, hosting office parties and offering year-end bonuses, as they look forward to even rosier business prospects in 2005.