Google is sitting on a big pile of cash while many of its competitors are burning through their cash surpluses, trying to weather the rough economy.  Many have speculated that the company is saving up to make a big acquisition.  Others hope that Google might start paying a dividend to its shareholders.  Not so, says Google's at-times outspoken CEO Eric Schmidt.

He states, "We've not really discussed a dividend payment.  At the moment our view is to let the cash pile up."

Mr. Schmidt was interviewed at the Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics conference in Santa Barbara, California.  Despite its $8.6B USD cash surplus, Mr. Schmidt said that Google would only make "very very conservative investments".

In recent weeks, Mr. Schmidt has offered up views on the state of advertising revenue that at times appeared contradictory.  Early Wednesday he remarked that the current recession would hit all forms of advertising.  In a CNBC interview later that day though, he commented that, "From my perspective it's hard to imagine why you'd see a decline (in Google's ad revenue)," noting that emerging markets like the mobile sector he believes will help Google at least break even.

Will Google's multifaceted products base help it survive better than its competitors?  Mr. Schmidt would only say, "We don't predict things like that."

The recent comments by Mr. Schmidt mark the second time in the last week that he's grabbed attention.  Early this week he likened blog-messaging site Twitter to a "poor man's e-mail."  Some have speculated that Google is considering acquiring Twitter and Mr. Schmidt's remarks are just a negotiating tactic.  When asked at the recent conference if this was a possibility, Mr. Schmidt would only say, "We admire Twitter."