Yahoo in Free Fall

Yahoo's investors are in a fresh round of panic now that Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer, ruled out any possibility of acquiring the search and news portal. According to the Wall Street Journal, Ballmer made the remarks at the company's annual shareholder meeting, claiming that while Microsoft might be open to some sort of search collaboration with Yahoo, it was "done with all acquisition discussions."

When Jerry Yang resigned as Yahoo's CEO, some investors hoped that his departure might clear the way for new talks about selling to Microsoft, and Yahoo's stock ticked up a bit. But the finality and publicity of Ballmer's remarks have hammered Yahoo's stock once more; the company closed yesterday with a 20 percent loss, dropping under $10 a share. Meanwhile, speculation continues over who will take over from Yang; the two most prominent candidates are News Corp. President Peter Chernin and Google Vice President Tim Armstrong.