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Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Chief Executive Steve Ballmer are optimistic about the power of tech to recover from the current recession and bring business along with it, according to speeches they made at Microsoft's 13th annual CEO Summit earlier this week.

Although the event was private, Microsoft released four clips of the keynote speeches made Tuesday by Gates and Ballmer, which strike a positive tone about the future.

In his keynote speech at the summit, Gates said that overall he was very optimistic about the economy with the opportunities for innovation stronger today than ever. "The drug … Read more

Microsoft announced 3,000 layoffs earlier this week. The layoffs inch Microsoft closer to its goal of cutting 5,000 employees from its payroll. The company claims the layoffs are a part of broader strategy that aims at making the software giant more focused on others areas of its operation.

Whatever the logic, there's one person at the company that, over the past nine years, has performed quite admirably: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

I'll be the first to admit that Ballmer can be eccentric. He's often criticized for his outspokenness and willingness to mix it up with tech royalty (I'm looking at you, Apple). He has a tendency to open his mouth when he shouldn't. And he has embarrassed himself on a few occasions.

But when we look at his performance as a CEO from a financial perspective, I don't think even the most ardent Microsoft hater can say that he has done a poor job. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that these layoffs are a mark on his record, but when taken as a whole, Ballmer has proven to be one of the tech industry's most competent CEOs.… Read more

Even with all the buzz around Owen Van Natta, the former Facebook chief operating officer, as the leading candidate to replace outgoing CEO Chris DeWolfe at MySpace, I'm hearing talk that MySpace is also taking a look at Jeff Berman, its executive vice president of marketing and content.

Berman, who joined the company in 2006, was described as a dark-horse candidate, said sources with knowledge of the job search, who could not confirm whether Berman has been interviewed. Berman is well liked by Peter Levinsohn, president of Fox Interactive Media, the division that oversees digital properties for News Corp., … Read more

A search outsourcing deal with Microsoft could leave Yahoo with a little more cash in its wallet, potentially up to $1.3 billion more, according to a research report released Tuesday by Jefferies & Co.

With reports that Yahoo and Microsoft are holding preliminary talks to explore a search and display advertising partnership, Jefferies analyst Youssef Squali noted that such a deal could save the Internet search pioneer a tidy sum of money.

The parties could, for example, have Yahoo outsource its search infrastructure to Microsoft, and in turn, Microsoft would outsource its display advertising to Yahoo.

In his report, … Read more

Sprint Nextel's CEO is getting a big bonus for 2008, despite the fact that the beleaguered cell phone operator is still losing customers.

A proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission filed this week shows that CEO Dan Hesse will receive a bonus of $2.6 million for 2008, which is about 30 percent higher than his targeted payout, according to The Wall Street Journal. Hesse's total compensation package is valued at $15.5 million, including a base salary of $1.2 million and equity grants.

The proxy also indicates that Hesse received additional corporate perks valued … Read more

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz has one word for investors attempting to gather any information floating in the wind about whether Yahoo will, or won't, do a deal with Microsoft: chill.

Bartz, speaking Tuesday in San Francisco at her first investor conference since taking the helm as Yahoo CEO more than six weeks ago, relayed the same message she conveyed to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

"I said this to Mr. Ballmer, I will not negotiate with you and 30,000 of my closest friends. I will negotiate privately," said Bartz, adding to investors, "If something happens, you … Read more

Yahoo's tab in its efforts to fight off Microsoft last year ran $79 million, according to the company's filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Yahoo spent much of that bill on outside advisers who helped it weigh Microsoft's proposals, which ranged from a total buyout bid for $33 a share to an eventual offer to acquire only Yahoo's search business. Yahoo rejected all of Microsoft's proposals.

Part of the $79 million bill was also attributed to hiring outside advisers for fighting off a proxy contest by activist shareholder Carl Icahn, who eventually settled … Read more

When Yahoo's new CEO Carol Bartz met with company Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen nearly two weeks ago, she delivered him a pink slip, sources said.

And while Bartz has not given any indications of a front-runner CFO replacement, the expectation is it will be a candidate from the outside and, hopefully, soon, said sources familiar with Yahoo's thinking.

"The CFO position will be her decision to make, not the board's. She'll have an opportunity to build her own management team," said one source.

Microsoft, meanwhile, does not expect Yahoo's CFO search, nor … Read more

Advanced Micro Devices' CEO Dirk Meyer is confident about his company's ability to compete--especially with Intel--and believes a new focus on processors for smaller laptops (and possibly a Netbook chip) will be key.

During a phone interview Thursday, Meyer also addressed the finalization of its deal to spin off its manufacturing operations. As planned, AMD will become a chip-design company and spin its manufacturing operations off to a new entity tentatively called The Foundry Company. AMD will own 34.2 percent of the new manufacturing company, while the Advanced Technology Investment Co. will own the rest. ATIC is an … Read more