Me : I make an unwanted , unwarranted offer of 10$ CANADIAN for all your online think network plus your blog , with you as editor included !!!

What ? Seem fair to me on the basis that on the moon you would weight much less , as I plan to relocate you there … That both our combined might would make us get one more RSS reader …

You : Are you crazy my blog alone is worth 65k + .

Now you really undertstand the feeling at Yahoo :

http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-sum-of-yahoos-parts-worth-more-than-the-whole-analyst

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acquisitions_by_Yahoo!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Yahoo!-owned_sites_and_services

You do the math …

- Lay-off are part of the picture when people don’t perform as expected. When they add no value to the company and are draining money that could be put elsewhere.

- Microsoft and Yahoo combined = Less income source , because Microsoft will not be called Micro-Hoo first it’s an acqisition offer not a merger.

- They would cut the number of site and staff position that are similar , they would also be one source of income so they would charge less for publisher and pay less rewards to the affiliate and marketing as they have an incentive to attract publishing at lower cost in order to compete with Google.

- Stock value could be at 5 cents , because the price value is not tied to the company real worth , it’s what people want to pay on that day.

-If Microsoft offer you a price double/quadruple it and it’s what it’s really worth. They are known to low bid company. That’s why they usually loose bidding wars to other’s.

Microsoft first offer on Youtube was 5 million once they knew Google was interested, Google has acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion.

Microsoft Yahoo bids tell me more that Microsoft is seeing problem with it’s core market in the futur and is trying to branch out.

- Free software Office suit and free online office suite are tapping directly into it’s Office suite income.
- Making Vista almost drained there R&D ressource both in cash and developpers.
- The competition on the OS front is heating up. Withh Apple leading the way for now.
- There LIVE service are not gaining real momentum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Live

Note : I am not saying there not going to be making huge amount of money with it , I am saying that other’s combined or alone ( google , Yahoo , etc … ) will make more then them.

On the other end china markets are opening up and Yahoo is very well positionned there.

I am sorry to say but The US economy drive Microsoft for the most part. It’s not looking good on that front.

Also Bill Gate is leaving as much as I like Ballmer as a salesman and marketer he is not really a visionnary but an executor of idea.

That’s my summarized take.