Shares in internet search behemoth Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) recently rose to their highest level ever, giving the company a market capitalization figure (briefly) of over $200 billion. For a company that does not exist except in the virtual sense, that's impressive. The company makes no physical products (save for corporate search appliances) and rose to that level in just over three years on the public market. Is this for real?

Well, Google's recent quarterly earnings have shown that, so far, it is. The company just continues to make money hand over fist in the internet search arena, and have worked many acquisitions into itself to prepare for the day when -- gasp -- it can't grow by leaps and bounds on search results-based text advertising prowess alone. This Thursday afternoon at 4:30pm EST, the company will report its Q3 earnings in what could be one of the most hotly anticipated earnings calls of this season. Although many investors are more concerned with how Yahoo, Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) is faring and what it plans to do in order to recapture its former glory, Google pundits are waiting to cheer the company's shares to new highs if it meets huge (again) expectations in a few days.

Analyst consensus expectations are for a $3.25 EPS figure come this Thursday, which would put that number far ahead of the year-ago EPS of $2.36. If Google fails to meet these numbers, does it mean that advertising in general may be slowing down? With the consumer economic situation this year having been a roller-coaster of mortgage, gas and commodity price changes, it could happen. Then again, Google does not have a history of quarterly result disappointments. Stay tuned right here Thursday afternoon, as I'll be covering Google's results live as the conference call and webcast begins at precisely 4:30EST.

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The Ryland Group Inc (NYSE: RYL), the California-based homebuilder, released preliminary results last night. What continues to be most striking about homebuilder results is the magnitude of cancellations, suggesting either how widespread speculation was or how difficult it is for new homebuyers to get financing.

Cancellations were approximately 34 percent of gross orders for the quarter, compared to 35.9 percent in the second quarter 2006. Preliminary closings totaled 2,461 units in the period, compared to 3,803 units in the second quarter of 2006, a decline of 35.3 percent.

These are simply huge numbers. Add to this the shakeout that continues to unfold in the mortgage market as hedge fund and investment firms have to mark their portfolios to market for less liquid holdings, suggesting the housing and mortgage market still have a long way to go before the industry's problems are behind them.