Microsoft, Yahoo Talks Continue

Last month, Yahoo’s on-again-off-again talks with Microsoft over a search and advertising partnership were said to be back on. After months of finger pointing and recriminations over who was to blame for the deal cratering, the two sides were again on speaking terms. The stripped-down deal that the two have been discussing involves Yahoo outsourcing its search engine to Microsoft. The two companies would also collaborate on advertising. But now we’re told that the same “social issues” that bedeviled Microsoft’s ham-handed pursuit of Yahoo from the start have resurfaced. The Yahoos are steamed that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer keeps returning to areas they thought the two camps had already agreed on. Maybe it’s time for Mr. Ballmer to pick up his search engine and go home. – from WSJ