Is Microsoft Going to Buy Yahoo?

This isn’t as related to the social web as it is to the web in general but I couldn’t resist a post about it. Henry Blodget is at it again and is moving markets. After posting an article on his Alley Insider blog, Henry posted a similar article on the Huffington Post about Microsoft acquiring Yahoo. Those rumors have pushed up Yahoo’s stock close to 6% as of this post. Many of the traders are blaming it on options expirations but if you compare the rest of the industry stocks, they are not swinging heavily in either direction.

It may end up being true this time but Blodget’s rumors are now driving the market. Microsoft has previously set lofty search goals, this may just be another one of those. That’s like Google saying that they plan on dominating the social web via Open Social. While Google hasn’t said it, it is simply an assertion. This isn’t the first time that rumors have surfaced about Microsoft acquiring Yahoo. Honestly, it would be a great move (as you can tell by the market reaction).

I would be a little careful though about making such a bold statement (although I guess I’m somewhat of a hypocrit given my habit of making bold statements). I definitely think Microsoft should acquire Yahoo here, but they may want to hold out and see if Facebook turns out to be the next Yahoo or Google. Facebook would be a cheaper acquisition target.