Yahoo! Chairman Roy Bostock fired CEO Carol Bartz over the phone on Tuesday, ending a tumultuous tenure marked by stagnation and a rift with Chinese partner Alibaba. Chief Financial Officer Tim Morse will step in as interim CEO, and the company will search for a permanent leader to spearhead a battle in online advertising and content with rivals Google Inc and Facebook.

"I am very sad to tell you that I've just been fired over the phone by Yahoo's Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward," said Bartz in an email to employees.

Analysts believe that Bartz's departure signaled the company had run out of options after failing to dominate the advertising and content markets and handing over its search operations to Microsoft Corp.

Yahoo is still one of the most popular destinations on the Internet but faces increasing competition from social networking service Facebook and from Google, which has a market value of $170 billion, 10 times more than Yahoo.

Yahoo said a new executive leadership council would help Morse in managing day-to-day operations as well as supporting "a comprehensive strategic review" to position the company for growth.

The decision to oust Bartz was reached by an unanimous vote of Yahoo's eight independent directors late last week, according to a person close to the company. Bartz, and co-founder Jerry Yang, who are also on the board, did not participate in the vote.

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Internet giant Yahoo! has plans to invest more in video on-demand service to deliver content from popular Arabic TV series, movies and music videos as mobile and Internet penetration is growing significantly in the region, according to Yahoo!'s Chief Executive Officer Carol Bartz.Video is an important area for Yahoo! as broadband penetration continues to rise in the Middle East, said Bartz at a meeting with the press at Yahoo!'s offices in Dubai last week.

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Today, Yahoo! and Nokia announced a worldwide strategic alliance to extend the reach of their industry leading online services and offer people rich experiences that keep them connected to their world and the world around them.

Building on more than five years of collaboration, Nokia and Yahoo! will leverage each others' strengths in e-mail, instant messaging and maps and navigation services, to provide consumers with access to world-class experiences on both PC and mobile devices.

As part of the alliance:
- Nokia will be the exclusive, global provider of Yahoo!'s maps and navigation services, integrating Ovi Maps across Yahoo! properties, branded as "powered by Ovi."
- Yahoo! will become the exclusive, global provider of Nokia's Ovi Mail and Ovi Chat services branded as "Ovi Mail / Ovi Chat powered by Yahoo!"
- Nokia and Yahoo! plan to work on ID federation between their services, beginning by making it easy for people to use their Ovi user IDs across select Yahoo! properties to easily access  the online content and services they need.

"Delivering great user experiences -- both online and on your mobile - is what this alliance is all about," said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO, Nokia. "We're enabling millions of Yahoo! customers in key markets including North America to discover the unique capabilities that Ovi Maps brings. Similarly, Yahoo!'s online expertise will bring exciting mail and messaging enhancements to millions of Ovi Mail customers across almost every country around the world, many of whom will have their first Internet experience on their mobile."

"What a combination," said Carol Bartz, CEO, Yahoo!. "We're excited to expand the reach of our best-in-class Mail and Messenger services, bringing personalized experiences to more people across the mobile web, particularly in emerging markets where we are seeding the next generation of Yahoo! users. At the same time, we believe Nokia's strength and continued investment in maps and navigation will greatly enhance our existing products, enabling us to focus on areas that are core to our business."

Together, Yahoo! and Nokia will continue to deliver compelling Internet experiences that address the core needs of consumers, developers, operators and advertisers. The companies will utilize their respective global distribution advantages and brand recognition across consumer audiences.

Select, co-branded service offerings are expected to become available from the second half of 2010, with global availability expected in 2011.

Nokia is the world's largest mobile device manufacturer, with hundreds of millions of devices sold each year and a leader in digital mapping, with continuing investment and innovation focused on developing comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, now covering 77 countries in 46 languages. With more than 600 million users of Yahoo!-branded sites per month, Yahoo! is a global Internet powerhouse, a one-stop web destination enabling consumers to enjoy their online life anywhere and everywhere - all customized for their interests. As one of the leading Internet brands, Yahoo! is focused on growing its audience by providing seamless web experiences across PC and mobile devices.

Business 24|7 reports that according to Reuters, Yahoo’s revenue could grow for the first time in six quarters in the first three quarters of this year. The company pointed recent improvements to its search advertising technology which has helped it boost revenue-per-search about eight per cent. The report also stated that social media and mobile internet are key areas of focus for Yahoo going forward.

Yahoo said it expected its deal to let Microsoft provide its back-end search technology to remain on track for regulatory approval early this year. And the company pointed to recent improvements to its search advertising technology as helping it boost revenue-per-search about eight per cent sequentially in the fourth quarter.
 

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Maktoob Business reports that Yahoo! has agreed to acquire Maktoob.com, the Arab world’s largest online community, marking the first major investment by a U.S. technology company in a region where internet penetration is still in its infancy.

The global internet giant said on Tuesday it has entered into a definitive agreement with Jordan-based Maktoob Group to acquire Maktoob.com for an undisclosed fee. Yahoo! also said it expects the acquisition to be completed in the fourth quarter.

Following completion of the deal, Maktoob.com will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yahoo!, while the remaining products under the Maktoob Group will operate under a new entity called the Jabbar Internet Group.

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