Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) Chief Executive Carol Bartz said Tuesday she was seeing "less fear" in the marketplace, but said it was too early to say whether the economy touched bottom in the second quarter.

Bartz's comments were echoed by Chief Financial Officer Tim Morse, who said the Internet giant saw a lot of "mixed signals" in the advertising market.

Their comments were made during a conference call with analysts after the Sunnyvale., Calif.-based company reported lackluster second-quarter results.

Morse, the former CFO at semiconductor company Altera Corp. (ALTR) who joined Yahoo on July 1, said he would be disciplined about where Yahoo will invest its time and money.

Shares in Yahoo were trading recently at $16.19, after closing the regular session at $16.75.

-By Scott Morrison, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-6118; scott.morrison@dowjones.com