A Fool Looks Back

Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) is extending the deadline to nominate its board of directors. Obviously, the company is trying to drum up any kind of lifeline beyond accepting Microsoft 's (Nasdaq: MSFT) buyout offer.

I don't think it will like what it finds. Valuations in the search engine space have fallen since Microsoft's initial offer, making its premium offer seem even more generous. Most of the scuttlebutt is coming from smaller companies that would like to combine their assets with Yahoo!.

There doesn't appear to be an easy escape for Yahoo! here. Accepting Microsoft's offer would mean that it wasted all of this time grinding its teeth. Backing away to pursue strategic alternatives will likely mean Yahoo! shares fall and executives get booted by angry shareholders.

Extending the deadline? This is starting to sound more like a temporary stay of execution.

Briefly in the news
And now let's take a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week.

settled a civil suit alleging that executives -- including investing guru Peter Lynch -- accepted gifts from brokers. No admission of wrongdoing came as a result of the settlement, but one has to wonder if Lynch's follow-up to One Up On Wall Street will be One Down On Wall Street.Who needs to take a daytrip through Napa Valley when you've got Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN)? The leading online retailer is looking to hire a senior wine buyer. This means, of course, that Amazon is going to enter the wine e-tail business. Either that, or it's loading up to throw some killer office parties.Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is finally making its iPhone more attractive to business users, rolling out an email pushing update that will make it more competitive with Research In Motion 's (Nasdaq: RIMM) BlackBerry. Apple? BlackBerry? If they're called smartphones, why do they have such fruity names?IAC (Nasdaq: IACI) is taking Ask.com back to its roots, returning to the natural language question format that set it apart during its Ask Jeeves days. Even if pecking out search terms is less time-consuming, it will be a good way for the site to stand out against its larger rivals. There will be layoffs, though. That leaves me wondering if disgruntled hires will return to the new Ask.com and type in: Why did you fire me?

What's the difference between Brett Favre and subprime investors? Only one is going out at the top of its game.