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The latest suit filed by two investment funds from Detroit accuses Yahoo’s board of adopting a “Just say no to Microsoft” approach that has led to “improper defensive measures” and negotiations with other firms that would be “destructive to shareholder value”.

Yesterday, lawyers asked the courts to consolidate the suit with several previous cases that all aim to prosecute Yahoo’s board for not acting in the interests of shareholders.

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The focus on Google’s recent deterioration sharpened yesterday as investors reacted to the latest evidence indicating that fewer people in the United States are clicking on the Internet ads that generate most of the online search leader’s profits.
The unsettling trend, captured in a closely followed report from Internet research firm ComScore Inc., shoved Google’s shares to an 11-month low. The drop extended a slump that has lowered the company’s market value by 33 percent, or about $70 billion, during the first seven weeks of the year. The tech-laden Nasdaq composite index has declined by 12 percent during the same stretch.
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Pop star Michael Jackson could lose his Neverland ranch if he fails to pay nearly $25m (£12.5m) that he owes on the sprawling California property. If Mr Jackson does not pay more than three months’ arrears on the property it will go to auction on 19 March, a Santa Barbara official told the BBC.

The reclusive singer has not lived at the property since his acquittal on child molestation charges in 2005.

He bought Neverland in 1987 intending to create a fantasy-land for children.
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Microsoft has struck pan-European deals with MTV International and Sony BMG to provide programme clips and music videos across its MSN Video service.

The deal will see clips of shows such as South Park and music videos from artists as diverse as Elvis and Britney Spears made available via MSN Video across European countries including the UK, France and Germany.

Microsoft’s deal with MTV, which spans nine countries, will initially involve clips from shows primarily from the company’s flagship channel such as Pimp My Ride, Punk’d, South Park, Cribs and The Hills.

Some clips from other channels such as Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and Paramount Comedy will be available in “some markets”.
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Siemens, Germany’s biggest technology group, said today it will shed 6,800 jobs at its corporate telecoms business, SEN, and is seeking an industrial partner or financial investor to take over the loss-making unit.

Joe Kaeser, chief financial officer, said in Munich that the moves underline the dramatic shift from hardware to software in the telecoms market, especially the rapid change to internet-based telephony.

Siemens has been trying to offload SEN, which lost €602m (£455m) last year, for some time as part of its overall restructuring into a global business focused on industry, energy and healthcare.
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