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Weak dollar offset by foreign businesses and currencies

Don't look for Google to get a guilty conscience and bail out of China anytime soon, as international operations provide a hedge against the currently-awful US dollar.

Currency hedging has been a strategy for multinational corporations and investors who prefer to spread out the potential risks of a weaker currency against the strength of others.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt understands this, as shown by his comments in Beijing to the Wall Street Journal:

"Even if there is a U.S. recession, and especially if the U.S. dollar gets weaker, [Google tends] to benefit from currency effects," he said, though he didn't provide data or forecasts for overseas revenue.

Another issue between Google and China did not receive a mention in the Journal's chat with Schmidt about currency futures. China began blocking YouTube in response to the appearance of protest videos shot in Tibet, amid violent protests against Chinese rulership.

Newer reports have emerged now, saying China also blocked Google News as well as the video sharing site. Since Schmidt noted China's rise as the largest Internet-using population, coupled with the need for currency hedging against the dollar, and a strident protest by Google against Chinese censorship seems highly unlikely.