Bad Boy Ballmer

Stories

16 Stories

August 2008
- Microsoft's Answer to Apple Ads: Seinfeld
  
  Wall Street Journal | Aug 21, 08 7:29 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - So what's the deal with Microsoft ads? The company has enlisted Jerry Seinfeld to spearhead a new $300-million campaign, the Wall Street Journa l reports, to try to shake the negative buzz about Vista, and the nerdy, feckless image projected by John Hodgeman in Apple's popular "Mac vs PC" ads. The campaign, to start next month, will net the funnyman $10 million. More »
July 2008
- It's Google's Turn on the Hot Seat
  
  Seattle Times | Jul 14, 08 2:10 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - You have to forgive Microsoft if it indulges in some schadenfreude today, writes Brier Dudley of the Seattle Times. Archrival Google is facing a peril that’s all too familiar in Redmond. Steve Ballmer can sit back tomorrow as Google’s top execs go before the Senate subcommittee on antitrust, secure in the knowledge that he helped put them there. More »
May 2008
- Life After Gates Will Take Some Adjustment
  
  MarketWatch | May 29, 08 3:05 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft and CEO Steve Ballmer are facing a scary, new post-Bill-Gates world, Therese Poletti writes on MarketWatch. On a panel at the All Things Digital conference earlier this week, Ballmer and Gates fielded questions about Microsoft’s failed Yahoo bid and unpopular Vista operating system. “Ballmer and indeed Microsoft face many challenges on the road ahead,” comments Poletti. More »
- Best Alma Maters for Billionaires
  
  Forbes | May 22, 08 3:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Bill Gates and Carl Icahn may be college dropouts (Harvard and NYU, respectively), but most billionaires carry a sheepskin diploma with them. These top-tier universities have educated the most billionaires: Harvard: with 50, including Steve Ballmer, Michael Bloomberg, and Sumner Redstone. Stanford: was founded by a billionaire and counts 30 among alumni, including Nike founder Phil Knight and Google's Sergey Brin and Larry Page. University of Pennsylvania: 27, mostly products of its prestigious Wharton School. Alums include The Donald and SAC Capital founder Steven Cohen. Yale: 19, including Sears chair Eddie Lampert and private equity guru Stephen Schwarzman. Columbia: holds 15, most notably some guy named Warren Buffet. More »
- Ballmer's Competitive Streak Drove Yahoo Bid
  
  Associated Press | May 4, 08 7:36 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft's Yahoo bid put CEO Steve Ballmer to the test: How much would he pay to fulfill his promise to "(expletive) kill Google"? Forty-seven billion bucks was too high, but many say he'll try again—and may have a tough time convincing investors it's all cool calculation. Microsoft still lags behind Google in search advertising, and that makes Ballmer steam, the AP reports. More »
- Microsoft Retracts Yahoo Offer
  
  New York Times | May 3, 08 7:42 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft withdrew its latest offer to buy Yahoo today after the companies' chief execs haggled over price at a Seattle meeting, the New York Times reports. Microsoft CEO Steven Ballmer offered $33 per share, but Yahoo's Jerry Yang wanted $4 per share more in the blockbuster deal. More »
- Microsoft Edges Toward Hostile Bid
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 2, 08 4:52 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft appears to be edging closer to a hostile bid for Yahoo, the Wall Street Journal reports; an announcement of the company's next move is expected today. Price will be a key factor: CEO Steve Ballmer told employees yesterday he won't pay a "dime above" what he thinks Yahoo is worth. Yahoo shareholders are looking for $35 to $37 a share; Ballmer's original offer was worth $29.48 a share at the close yesterday. More »
- Microsoft Still Pondering Yahoo Options
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 1, 08 9:37 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft's board met yesterday to discuss the next move in its bid for Yahoo but didn't make a decision, the Wall Street Journal reports. Directors have given CEO Steve Ballmer broad leeway to decide between going hostile or walking away from the bid, and insiders say it could still go either way. An announcement is expected later this week. More »
April 2008
- Ballmer May Seek Middle Path on Yahoo
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 30, 08 7:13 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Steve Ballmer's next move on Yahoo is expected momentarily, and one option is to nominate a proxy slate for the board of directors, the Wall Street Journal reports, but hold off on making a new hostile bid for the company. Microsoft could buy time for setting a new price for Yahoo, which rejected the company's $42-billion bid, but keep the option of a hostile campaign later. More »
- Slumping Microsoft Needs Yahoo
  
  BusinessWeek | Apr 25, 08 11:52 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft's first quarter saw flat sales and dipping profits, all the more reason to make nice with Yahoo, Aaron Ricadela writes in BusinessWeek. Steve Ballmer has said he is ready to walk away from the attempted takeover, but with most of Microsoft's revenue coming from smaller divisions and overseas interests, his company sorely needs a big shot in the arm. More »
- Yahoo Says Microsoft Is at Fault on Stalled Talks
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 7, 08 8:12 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Yahoo execs fired back a response this morning to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's weekend ultimatum giving the Yahoo board a deadline of 3 weeks to avoid a hostile takeover. CEO Jerry Yang and Chairman Roy Bostock reiterated that the Microsoft offer is still too low—it has declined in value as Microsoft stock has continued to skid—but said they're still open to a sweetened deal. They accused Ballmer of being the one who's failing to negotiate. More »
- Microsoft Threatens Hostile Takeover of Yahoo
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 5, 08 3:09 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Yahoo has 3 weeks to accept Microsoft’s takeover before things get hostile, Microsoft warned in a letter to Yahoo execs today. “The substantial premium reflected in our initial proposal anticipated a friendly transaction,” wrote Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who promised a proxy director battle and implied a lower sale price. “If we are forced to take an offer directly to your shareholders," Microsoft's $40 billion offer would tumble. More »
March 2008
- Microsoft CEO Takes Aim at Google
  
  Seattle Times | Mar 7, 08 10:39 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer did an animated, sometimes antic, on-stage interview yesterday at Mix, Microsoft’s annual conference for web developers, emphasizing that he has every intention of taking some of Google's advertising business and using Yahoo to do it, the Seattle Times reports. "Advertising on the Internet is a big thing, and will be the next super-big thing," he said. "Search ... at least today and for the foreseeable future, it is the killer application for online advertising." More »
November 2007
- Microsoft CEO Not Impressed by Android PR
  
  PC World | Nov 8, 07 4:08 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The announcement of Google's forthcoming 'Android' phone software and its revolutionary open source philosophy has impressed many, but decidedly not Steve Ballmer. PC World reports the Microsoft CEO declined to share his thoughts on Google's initiative, saying it was hard to compare the Windows Mobile system with "some words on paper." More »
October 2007
- Anti-Vista Mom Corners Hapless Microsoft CEO
  
  PC World | Oct 11, 07 5:46 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Though he may rule the boardroom, all it took to unravel Microsoft’s chief executive was a mom on a rampage about his new Vista operating system. An analyst questioning Steve Ballmer at a conference said she’d become an early Vista adopter at her 13-year-old daughter’s request—only to revert to XP due to the new OS’ built-in difficulties, PC World reports. More »
- Microsoft Armed to Fight Google in Ad Wars
  
  New York Times | Oct 3, 07 7:13 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft is planning to bump up its commitment to the ad industry, proclaiming that within a few years advertising will account for a quarter of its business, the New York Times reports. Buying an internet ad company last August was not a speculative play, CEO Steve Ballmer told a gathering of European agencies yesterday; Microsoft is quite serious about expanding its presence in a field dominated by its arch-rival, Google. More »