Henry Blodget, the former stock analyst who kicks himself every day for still being a Yahoo shareholder, notes that Yahoo spent $37 million on advisory fees in the third quarter.
aft news / Henry Blodget, the former stock analyst who kicks himself every day for still being a Yahoo shareholder, notes that Yahoo spent $37 million on advisory fees in the third quarter. What did it get? A botched Microsoft buyout; a search deal with Google that’s getting a rough reception by antitrust cops in Washington, D.C.; and Carl Icahn on its board — a man Jerry Yang and company called a technological nincompoop on Yahoo’s own homepage. In other words, nothing — save for cutting its operating income by more than a third. That $37 million did, however, result in one concrete cost-saving initiative. Rest and Source
(Photo by AP)
Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. will start a high-profile advertising partnership by early October, even if federal regulators haven’t yet approved the deal, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said Thursday.
Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. will start a high-profile advertising partnership by early October, even if federal regulators haven’t yet approved the deal, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said Thursday.
“We are going to move forward with it,” Schmidt said in an interview on Bloomberg television after being asked whether the companies would wait for the Justice Department to complete its review.
Schmidt’s comments indicate that the deal, outlined in June, is full steam ahead. Under the agreement, Google will supply Yahoo with online advertisements that are expected to generate an additional $800 million in annual revenue for Yahoo and help prop up its slumping finances.
To deflect criticism about the No. 1 and No. 2 search engines teaming up, the companies said they would give the Justice Department 3 and a half months to review the deal, although they weren’t required to do so because it does not involve an acquisition. Schmidt’s comments indicate that they won’t wait any longer to implement the partnership.
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment on the status of its Google-Yahoo review.
Thanks to Google’s unquestioned domination, the not-so-wide world of search makes for uninteresting competition.
Thanks to Google’s unquestioned domination, the not-so-wide world of search makes for uninteresting competition. But while Yahoo, Ask, and now Cuil duke it out for whatever scraps of market share they can get, specialized search engines are aggressively trying to outwit the master.
Adobe is Working With Search Giants Google and Yahoo to Solve the Indexing Problem of Flash Content
Flash has not been easily searchable until now, but Adobe Systems is working with leading search engines Google and Yahoo to solve the problem. CNET News.com Editor in Chief Dan Farber and reporter Elinor Mills discuss the impact of making Flash pages more visible to search engines. One question is whether Microsoft, which developed Silverlight, a competitor to Flash, will also index Flash files in its search engine.
To Sponsor Bloggers Doesn’t Work
Even Robert Scoble couldn’t save Seagate. Almost a year after the hard-drive maker renewed a sponsorship deal with the prolific blogger, its stock is down 35 percent. Archrival Western Digital, meanwhile, is up 40 percent. So much for the profession of “influencer marketing,” a field which has exploded since the 2000 publication of Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point and the subsequent work The Influentials. These books, translated into action by marketers, have prompted companies from AT&T to Yahoo to hire executives expressly to suck up to bloggers. Seagate’s Scoble sponsorship is the purest expression of this trend. And the best illustration of why it doesn’t work.
Will either Jerry Yang or Steve Ballmer still be in their CEO chairs this time next year?
Will either Jerry Yang or Steve Ballmer still be in their CEO chairs this time next year? Both have thoroughly embarrassed themselves in their handling of Microsoft’s on-again, off-again, on-again, off-again acquisition talks with Yahoo. The tide of public opinion, at long last, may be turning Yang’s way. In an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin of the NY Times, he has at last articulated a reason for being CEO: Without him, he argues, Yahoo would be lost.
Several states have opened antitrust investigations into a cooperative advertising pact struck last month by Google and Yahoo, according to sources familiar with the inquiries.
Several states have opened antitrust investigations into a cooperative advertising pact struck last month by Google and Yahoo, according to sources familiar with the inquiries.
About a dozen states are closely reviewing the agreement, which joins two of the world’s most dominant Internet companies. Connecticut, Florida and at least two other states, have issued subpoenas or other compulsory requests for documents, the sources said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to comment publicly on the matter.
Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt is quickly establishing itself as one of the most press-friendly attendees at Sun Valley’s annual gathering of high-powered media and technology types.
Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt is quickly establishing itself as one of the most press-friendly attendees at Sun Valley’s annual gathering of high-powered media and technology types. Last year, he spent a solid hour answering reporters’ questions in a late-night rap session.
On Thursday, Mr. Schmidt, along with Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, again fielded questions from the media, commenting on, among other things, Microsoft’s attempt to buy Yahoo as well as Google’s deal to buy YouTube.
On the Yahoo front, Mr. Schmidt was emphatic that he thought Yahoo did the right thing in rejecting Microsoft’s bid.
“There is no question in our view that an independent Yahoo is better,” he said. A stand-alone Yahoo “will provide more competition in search and other advertising markets, in particular in display advertising.”
Yahoo Rejects Microsoft, Icahn Bid to Split Company (Update1)
July 13 (Bloomberg) — Yahoo! Inc. rejected a proposal from Microsoft Corp. and billionaire investor Carl Icahn that would have broken up the Internet company, saying they were trying to “coerce” officials into selling assets.
Under the plan, Yahoo’s current board and top management would be replaced. Microsoft would buy Yahoo’s search business and leave Icahn with the rest of the Sunnyvale, California-based company, an “odd and opportunistic alliance” that doesn’t have the best interests of shareholders in mind, Yahoo said.
“Carl Icahn and Microsoft presented us with a `take it or leave it’ proposal,” Chairman Roy Bostock said in a statement. “It is ludicrous to think that our board could accept such a proposal. We will not be bludgeoned into a transaction that is not in the best interests of our stockholders.”
The decision steps up pressure on Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Jerry Yang to prove his alternative deal, a partnership with Google Inc., can deliver better returns. Icahn has proposed a set of directors and is challenging Yang for control of the board at an Aug. 1 meeting.
Yahoo, owner of the No. 2 Web search engine after Google, said it was given 24 hours to weigh the latest proposal, made Friday evening. Some of the ideas, including spinning off the Asian investment assets and returning cash to shareholders, are items the board is already considering.
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