Microsoft mulls media options, no new talks: source

By Eric Auchard and Kenneth Li SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp has had no new negotiations on deals involving Yahoo Inc , but preliminary talks with media companies continue, a source familiar with the software giant's thinking said on Wednesday. The media companies have included Time Warner Inc , which owns AOL, and News Corp , parent of MySpace, the source said. Shares of Yahoo jumped as much as 9 percent earlier in the day, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft, positioning for a new run for Yahoo's search business, had in recent days approached media companies to join together on a deal that would effectively lead to Yahoo's breakup. However, the Reuters source and a CNBC report, citing unnamed sources, later said there were no new talks or negotiations. The Journal also reported... [read full story]