Economic fears aren’t helping Google’s cause as shares are off $100 from 2010 highs. Stock specific catalysts for GOOG include continued Android and mobile traction; the release of Chrome operating system this fall; regained momentum in China; as well as progress in other newer initiatives (Google Me, gaming, etc.). The stock trades at approximately 12x Enterprise Value / EBIT, inexpensive relative to historical trading levels and the broader Internet group.

Facebook Places Going After Google Ad Dollars (The Wall Street Journal)
Facebook is bringing its rivalry with Google to a new area, the race for local business-ad dollars with the launch of Facebook Places. The roll-out follows the launch of Google Places in April. Google Places, building on prior Google business listings, offers up Web pages dedicated to individual businesses, showing where they are located, street-level images, and customer reviews of services or products. While the company has tried, Google is nowhere near the social game, and its chances are diminishing as time goes on.

Google Tests Real-Time Search For The Hyper-Impatient, Super-Connected (Fortune)
A blogger caught one of Google’s new features being tested; real-time search. The user was doing a web search and noticed the results page was appearing as he typed and would change as additional letters were added or subtracted. It seems pretty effective and a broader roll-out may be coming in the next few weeks / months. Bing could be behind. Again. Still.

GOOG A Buy And Hold Stock For Long-Term Investors (Seeking Alpha)
Google has a handful of paths to growth. Yet, as investors grow impatient while the company invests in the future, shares are off more than $100 from 2010 highs. The management’s decision to maintain heavy levels of spending to capitalize on all of its opportunities should help fuel solid growth during the next few years. This reason makes the shares a good buy for long-term investors.

YouTube Targets The Upper East Side In Attempt To Go Up-Market (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)
YouTube will fill the cylindrical atrium of New York’s Guggenheim Museum with video installations in an attempt to showcase videos to attract top advertisers and a wider variety of users. YouTube is still synonymous with clips of dancing babies and other amateur, home videos. Teaming with a premier art institution and rewarding contemporary artists may help make YouTube’s brand more upscale. ‘May’ being the operative word.

Google’s Six Year IPO Anniversary Means Nothing Relevant (The Street)
Marek Fuchs, The Street’s media critic, hates it when journalists make forced conclusions based on a random demarcation in time: Google’s 6th IPO anniversary. He believes it’s irrelevant piece of trivia, however the press will use it as a media piece to draw forced conclusions to determine where Google is headed. Has the company seen its best days? Everyone in tech has reached crossroads. Google is branching out; from Android to tablets to wind farms. It’s all about the numbers, people.

Tencent Buys Google Backed Social Networking Company (Reuters)
China’s largest Internet company Tencent has bought Comsenz, a Google-backed Chinese social networking company for more than $60 million. Tencent bought a 10% stake in Russian company Digital Sky Technologies for $300 million earlier this year. Looks like the company is trying to expand its dominance.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• THE GOOGLE INVESTOR: Google Slapped With Underperform Rating As Facebook And Mobile Search Pose Threat
• THE GOOGLE INVESTOR: Ellison Might Kill Android And Software Patents In One Fell Swoop
• THE GOOGLE INVESTOR: Google Gains Meaningful Reach With DirecTV Partnership