June 12th is known as Princess Gwenllian's Day, Lover's Day, and Independence Day in various countries.  And we're ready to call this Run From Yahoo Like It's On Fire Week, as yet another important employee is leaving.

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MicroHoo is dead. RIP Microsoft-Yahoo. Today Yahoo made the official announcement that they've concluded discussions with Microsoft. The possibility of a full acquisition or a partical acquisition are nil.

What's more, Yahoo indicated that an independent search business will be critical to its strategic future and would not be in the best interests of Yahoo! stockholders. That casts doubt on the veracity of the TechCrunch rumor.

Full Text:

Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) today announced that discussions with Microsoft regarding a potential transaction -- whether for an acquisition of all of Yahoo! or a partial acquisition -- have concluded. The conclusion of discussions follows numerous meetings and conversations with Microsoft regarding a number of transaction alternatives, including a meeting between Yahoo! and Microsoft on June 8th in which Chairman Roy Bostock and other independent Board members from Yahoo! participated. At that meeting, Microsoft representatives stated unequivocally that Microsoft is not interested in pursuing an acquisition of all of Yahoo!, even at the price range it had previously suggested.

With respect to an acquisition of Yahoo!'s search business alone that Microsoft had proposed, Yahoo!'s Board of Directors has determined, after careful evaluation, that such a transaction would not be consistent with the company's view of the converging search and display marketplaces, would leave the company without an independent search business that it views as critical to its strategic future and would not be in the best interests of Yahoo! stockholders.

Yahoo! remains focused on maximizing value for stockholders by continuing to execute on its strategy of being the "starting point" for the most consumers on the Internet and a "must buy" for advertisers. The online advertising industry is projected to grow from $40 billion in 2007 to approximately $75 billion in 2010 and the company believes it has the right assets, strategic plan, Board of Directors and management team to capitalize on this growth opportunity.

Yahoo said today that negotiations with Microsoft on a partnership or other type of deal have ended without any agreement.

Yahoo said in a statement,"Microsoft representatives stated unequivocally that Microsoft is not interested in pursuing an acquisition of all of Yahoo!, even at the price range it had previously suggested."

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There are two likely reactions here: What's the big deal? and That doesn't sit right with me. Pick one for this line: In order to test the impact of print advertising on Website traffic, two Philadelphia newspapers created a fictional airline, advertised it in their papers, and measured the Web traffic the ad created, disclaimer coming somewhere towards the end of the process.

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It's a crazy and increasingly inexpensive world out there, and Yahoo seems to have coupons on the brain.  Yesterday, these money-savers were the subject of a Yahoo Buzz Log post; today, it turns out Yahoo has sealed a new deal with Coupons, Inc.

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Google and Yahoo may announce a partnership this afternoon at 4:30pm EST / 1:30pm PST. At least, that's the rumor coming from TechCrunch. Of course, this is the same rumor that the Wall St. Journal published on May 2, 2008.

There's no question a Google-Yahoo partnership would throw a wrench into Microsoft's merger plans to create MicroHoo. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn's efforts to oust the current Yahoo management would also be derailed.

We're skeptical there's a billion dollars in cost savings through a Google-Yahoo search partnership. In the short term, it's a Yahoo win.

In the long term, a search partnership would turn Yahoo into just another portal.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have told eBay to put its plans to move to a PayPal only system on hold.

"The ACCC is concerned that the notified conduct will allow eBay to use its market power in the supply of online marketplaces to substantially lessen competition in the market in which PayPal operates," ACCC Chairman, Mr. Graeme Samuel, said today.

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Asked to name one person associated with Yahoo, most people would pick Jerry Yang.  David Filo would be another choice.  Perhaps third out of roughly 14,000 employees is Jeremy Zawodny, though, and within a few weeks, he'll be leaving the company.

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Yesterday, Google's CEO Eric Schmidt was interviewed by Ken Auletta on stage at a San Francisco event hosed by Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications. Schmidt offered up insight on a variety of issues. Let's dig in.

Yahoo

An independent Yahoo would be better for innovation and competition, in Schmidt's opinion. He feels that Microsoft has delivered products such as Windows that limits the choice of consumers.

Newspapers

Schmidt said that Google has a 'moral imperative' to help newspapers, who've lost money in recent years to online publishers, who often provide their content for free. DoubleClick will be a part of the effort, though specific details were not revealed.

Of course, newspapers haven't traditionally been Google's biggest fan. A Belgian newspaper group has been going after Google for years for indexing their site.

'Don't be Evil'

The famous mantra is misunderstood, says Schmidt. Instead, the phrase was designed to facilitate internal conversations about corporate ethics, but most people interpret it as an absolute moral stance.

iPhone

Schmidt said that a "vast majority of searches" performed on Google via mobile phones are generated on iPhones. But since Google is preparing its own mobile platform, Schmidt has been excused from Apple board meetings a couple of times. He said that Android will "likely be quite different" from the iPhone.

via InfoWorld, USA Today, Reuters, and MarketWatch