Google Writes Down Clearwire Investment By $355 Million

Google (NSDQ: GOOG) has recorded a $355 million impairment charge in relationship to its $500 million investment in Clearwire (NSDQ: CLWR), which recently completed its merger with Sprint (NYSE: S) Nextel’s WiMax unit. Google is only the latest Clearwire investor to do so, following both significant write-downs by Intel (NSDQ: INTC) and Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), which recorded impairment charges earlier this month of $950 million and $350 million, respectively. Google’s investment in Clearwire matches with the company’s philosophy of letting consumers access the Internet anytime and anywhere. However, it also garnered a number of business agreements with the investment, including being the mobile advertising and search provider. Clearwire will also use Google