What’s up at Yahoo! (YHOO)

It seems strange that a company with little positive news and a limited outlook in a sector surrounded by sharp-toothed competition would be doing well. But that’s just what Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) has been doing over the past two weeks.

With the arrival of its new CEO, Carol Bartz, investors seem to have given YHOO another shot. And they’ve given her some distance after disastrous founder/CEO Jerry Yang’s “crash and burn.”

Even though Bartz hasn’t made any definitive statements of her specific intent, the stock has done well. Over the past two weeks Yahoo! has moved up almost 20% while the Nasdaq has added only 3.5%. Clearly investors expect better results from her, and are hoping for it.

This comes as Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) circle their wagons – And circle like

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Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) Miss Shouldn’t Surprise

Yesterday, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) announcement it missed earnings projections by 11% came as a shock to the market, which immediately send the stock down almost 10%.

A shock. Really? We’re surprised.

Even if we completely ignore the entire credit crisis, the weak economy, the financial bailouts and the coolness of the Apple (Nasdaq: APPL) iPhone, lets face it, Microsoft had a bad year.

It wasn’t recession bad, it wasn’t depression bad, but it was definitely not a great year. And any surprise at that news, well… comes as a surprise.

Let’s touch on the failed merger talks with Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO). The on-again, off-again buyout talks were a boon to financial writers and PR officials, but not the MSFT bottom line. And at the end of the day, they still have nothing to show for all of it.

And

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By Mike Caggeso Associate Editor After months of tumultuous shareholder temperament, Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) is giving its board and product line a makeover to convince traders of its value after turning down Microsoft Corp’s (MSFT) $47.5 billion offer, according to reports. President Susan Decker is pushing a plan to roll several product groups under one roof (such as mail, search and home-page divisions), The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources close to the matter. Four executives - Brad Garlinghouse (who oversees e-mail and instant messaging), Vish Makhijani (general manager of web search), Qi Lu (top engineer for search marketing) and Joshua Schachter (founder of social bookmarking site, delicious) are leaving the company, according to TechCrunch. Early last week, Jeff Weiner, executive vice president of the network division, left the company to work in venture capital. Story continues ...

Like 2 dinosaurs running to hug each other - just go away. Both of you. Gosh the media act as if this is a fertilizer and coal company or something sexy like that...Shares of Yahoo!(YHOO) slumped after reports that talks with Microsoft(MSFT - ) have not brought about any agreement, and instead Yahoo! will announce a search partnership later Thursday with Google(GOOG).The Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft is saying it is no longer willing to buy Yahoo for $33 a share, and that talks between the two have ended without a deal.The blog TechCrunch, citing a "reliable source close to one of the companies" said an announcement coming from Yahoo! at 4:30 p.m. EDT likely involves "a search partnership between the two companies that outsources all or part of ...

Google (GOOG) again increased market share in search engine results. Currently 68,3% all searches come from Google's sites. One year ago it was 65,1%. Yahoo (YHOO) already dropped below 20% and with 19,9% it is still second most used engine. Microsoft (MSFT) with MSN fell to 5,9%. Ask (IACI) improved and gained 4,2% market share.This is the situation in for US searches. Domain May-08 Apr-08 May-07 Google 68.29% 67.90% 65.13% Yahoo 19.95% 20.28% 20.89% Msn 5.89% 6.26% 7.61% Ask 4.23% 4.17% 3.92% In UK, Google is even more dominant and has increased share almost by 10%. All other ...

Technical picture shows Google (GOOG) shares returned back above 200 days moving average. This confirms growing trend giving nice signal to long term investors. Open long position with stop loss on level of 200 MA.Main fuel for Google share were Yahoo (YHOO) - Microsoft (MSFT) - Google (GOOG) deal news together with latest ComScore (SCOR) statistics. Numbers indicate 20% growth in paid clicks. Total clicks growth is 28%. Better than expected data includes only US clicks.It's still in our mind last ComScore report before Google's Q1. Nevertheless ComScore released slower growth for US clicks, Google posted very good Q1 results which lifted stock. Mainly due to growth outside of US.Coming back, good US paid clicks rate altogether with possible outstanding global growth. It could be good time to think about Google.http://stockweb.blogspot.com/atom.xml

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of what went wrong with the MSFT/YHOO deal on WALLSTRIP today. I'm staying away from both stocks, I don't see any edge in getting involved. Here is one of Dr.Brett's Ten Core Ideas of Trading Psychology Practice does not make perfect in trading or anything else; perfect practice makes perfect. Training must gradually build competencies and correct deficiencies in a manner that sustains a positive mindset and optimal concentration and motivation.

his blog has been rather quiet recently, but things should pick up shortly. I am in the process of relocating and other things have limited my time lately. This Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo (YHOO) story just can't get any more interesting. Now that MSFT has walked, what can we expect? Well, YHOO's management team looks like fools, not only for misplaying their hand, but also for taking very lightly their fiduciary duty. Expect YHOO shareholders to revolt. I would not at all be surprised if YHOO is forced to do the deal, because the board really can not say anything to shareholders that remotely convinces them that the company is worth $37 per share or more. When the market thinks you are worth about $20 and someone offers you $33, you take it. End of story. Even if MSFT really is out for good, this whole thing will help YHOO because it will ...

MARKET COMMENT May 5, 2008 Sharply higher energy prices, the YHOO/MSFT merger collapse and rumors of trouble with the BAC/CFC deal stopped bullish investors in their tracks today. But, bears were only able to do a little damage as volume and breadth were unremarkable. There was plenty of news to digest today but I think many investors are scratching their heads and looking over their shoulders not quite sure what to make of things. This accounts for the light volume and uninspiring breadth.