Yahoo! gives up quest for search dominance

Yahoo! Inc., one of the first Internet search companies, has capitulated to Google Inc. in the battle for market dominance.

"We don't think it's reasonable to assume we're going to gain a lot of share from Google," Chief Financial Officer Susan Decker said in an interview. "It's not our goal to be No. 1 in Internet search. We would be very happy to maintain our market share."

Yahoo!'s comments underline the difficulties any Internet company faces in trying to challenge Google's dominance of the Web search industry. Google has at least double the market share of Yahoo! and Microsoft Corp. in Internet search, the largest and most profitable segment of online advertising.

"In some countries, it's already game over in search, with Google the clear victor," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Jordan Rohan in New York. "Google's product development pipeline runs at such a fast rate that it's very difficult for any company, Microsoft or Yahoo! to catch up."

Shares of Yahoo! fell as much as 13 percent Wednesday, the day after the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company reported fourth-quarter profit that missed analysts' expectations. The stock rose 43 cents to $34.17 Monday in Nasdaq stock market composite trading.

"It kind of makes you wonder about how serious they are about search," said Danny Sullivan, editor of London-based SearchEngineWatch.com, which tracks the search industry. "It really ought to be their goal" to be No. 1, he said. "Whether it's realistic or not."

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/256748_yahoo24.html

Why big retailers are shuttering stores

Growth in online shopping, high energy costs, and overcapacity are among the factors being blamed for a recent spate of store closures.

" NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - It's only three weeks into the New Year but retailers have already gotten their hands dirty with an early bout of in-house spring cleaning.

Instead of talking about their growth plans for 2006, many big-name retailers instead are announcing store closings.

It's a "bit unusual," said retail analyst Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, who attributed the trend to a "unique confluence of events."

Among those retailers closing locations are jeweler Zale Corp. (Research), which is set to turn off the lights at more than 30 of its high-end Bailey Banks & Biddle stores.

Office supplies seller OfficeMax (Research) announced it will close 110 of its 950 U.S. outlets this year as part of its ongoing restructuring efforts. Department store chain Mervyn's plans to close a third of its stores in 2006.

Toy seller Toys R Us is closing 75 of its namesake stores, most of them by springtime, and converting 12 others to Babies R Us locations.

Music retailer Musicland Holding Corp., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this month, is considering a "significant number of closings of unprofitable stores" under the Sam Goody and Suncoast names, company spokeswoman Laurie Bauer told CNNMoney.com Monday ..."

http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/24/news/companies/retail_retrenchment/index.htm