Google-Yahoo deal to start in October

Optimism is the watchword at Google when it comes to its upcoming ad-sharing deal with Yahoo. In an interview on Bloomberg TV, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said Google plans to go ahead with the deal in October. By then, the 3.5 months Google agreed to wait for the Justice Department to scrutinize the pact will have passed.

"We are going to move forward," Schmidt said. "We are in the process of talking to the government. They've not indicated one way or the other how they're dealing with us."

It's true, the Justice Department has yet to issue a finding on whether the deal stifles competition in the $65 billion online ad market. But Schmidt seems to feel confident in the outcome. "We always worry a little bit, but we think our arguments are pretty strong," Schmidt said. "Yahoo has made it very, very clear they're going to take the best parts of their network and ours and combine them."

Looks like we'll know by October whether that confidence is justified.

• ad deal
• competition
• Google
• Justice Department
• Yahoo