Its difficult to read too far into that decision.

Before the recession, Google would both buy companies on a regular basis and hire employees left and right. So Schmidt might holding back because hes still concerned about the economys health. Side note Nasdaq dropped 0.69 percent today, while Google slipped 0.12 percent.But since Googles habit of taking on thousands of new workers sometimes drew criticism, he may just be reacting to that.Anyway, Schmidt did claim in reference to the recession, Its clear that the worst is behind us.Also, dont be shocked if Google decides to spend more than a couple million dollars now and then, as Schmidt said, There may be larger acquisitions, but they really are unpredictable.