M$ tending offer for yahoo

[Sapporo Guy]

http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/02/01/afx4603334.html

Interesting take from one web site (mac based) was talking something about trying to corner google.

Ummm, I don't think that is all!

Japan Yahoo :
* Is still a major player for search engines. Google is still way lower in popularity.
* yahoo is coupled with Softbank (one time software disriputer ???) Softbank bought out the Japanese Vodaphone market
* yahoo BB / Softbank -- are major telecos. Mobiles are dirt cheap. I pay US$8.50 a month for unlimited calls / SMS to other Softbank users. I have literally talked 400 hours in the past year and have payed $0 for those hours. Of course, I did not call land lines or non-softbank users on that phone.
* yahoo auction wiped out eBay years ago.
* yahoo mail is more than likely number 1

Now imagine that M$ Goliath does take over yahoo...

A lot of companies are going to be doing some major rethinking of their businesses and services.

I'm going to rate this as highly interesting in the scheme of things.

Could M$ finally have found the solution?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Here's what pisses me off - that I missed this.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=YHQBE.X

If I'd invested $3,000 yesterday I could've bought 1,000 option contracts and cashed out today with them worth $381,000.

Next time I'll be ready.

[on2wheels52]

There's always another bus coming along.
Jim

[kstar]

Look what the various Yahoo! servers run now - there's 500 entries:

http://searchdns.netcraft.com/?restriction=site+contains&host=yahoo.com&lookup=wait..&position=limited

Best,

Kurt

[legion]

Microsoft has jumped the shark.

Up until this point, Microsoft has usually bought other companies to fill out its product portfolio--not usually direct competitors. Even the acquisition of FoxPro was really about making Microsoft's DB products better.

As soon as I was hearing people justify the merger as "needed to compete against Google", alarm bells started going off in my head. This has simply NEVER worked.

I expect this to play out like every mega-bank merger (bank A and B merge to compete with bank C), the HP/Compaq merger (to compete with Dell), the Sears/Kmart merger (to compete with Wal-Mart), and just about every other "big" merger over the past 15 years:

First it will be touted by the executives as "combing our strengths" (they might even be bold and use the word "synergy").

Then a lot of people will be fired "to eliminate redundancies".

A year on, the executives will say that the merger "was more complex than we anticipated".

Two years on the executives will "admit that there were many unforeseen challenges". Shortly after, many executives will be fired by the board. The share price of Microsoft will decline steadily during this whole fiasco.

A new CEO will be hired to "move the company away from the troubled past" and to "set a new course". If the shareholders are lucky, a Travelers/Citi-type split will occur, effectively undoing the merger. If not, the "once high-flying company" will be gobbled by a competitor. (CA? Oracle? IBM?)

Can you hold a short position for two years?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

You can buy a leap put for 2 years (or longer) out.