Google sees signs of stabilization..The Internet search giant reports profits and sales that beat Wall Street's expectations in a tough quarter....

Google said Thursday it was seeing signs of stabilization in what has been a very rough advertising environment.Consumers are still spending less than they were before the recession, but at least they are clicking around and searching for deals, according to Eric Schmidt, the Internet search giant's chief executive. Compared to the same quarter last year, Google reported an increase in the number of clicks, but the cost per click was down.Schmidt was speaking to analysts on the company's conference call following second-quarter results that beat Wall Street's forecasts.

Net income for the three months ended June 30 rose 19% to $1.48 billion, or $4.66 per share, compared with $1.25 billion, or $3.92 per share, for the same period a year ago.Without one-time charges, Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) reported earnings of $5.36 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who typically strip out special items from their forecasts, were looking for $5.09 per share.One analyst said that Google was able to manage such profits due to a lower-than-expected tax rate. Trip Chowdhry, the managing director of Global Equities Research, said in a research note that most analysts were making their estimate based on a 25% tax rate, but Google said its effective tax rate was 20% for the quarter.