COMEDOWNS

Google Not Invincible?

First-quarter profit rises, but growth slows.

Newspapers aren’t the only victims of the cratering advertising market—even Google is feeling the pinch. The company, considered a sure bet by investors, saw profits rise in the first quarter of 2009, but also saw total revenue decline 3 percent from the previous quarter because of cutbacks in online ads. It is “the first sequential revenue decline for Google since it went public nearly five years ago,” The Wall Street Journal reports. The company, however, is far from panicking: It reported net income of $1.42 billion and said it will continue “investing for the long term to drive future growth in our core and emerging businesses.”