A Fool Looks Back

Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO  ) goes through CEOs the way Spinal Tap goes through drummers -- a recycled joke that I originally used a helmsman or two ago -- but its fifth CEO in as many years may be the charm.

The market was generally surprised at the hire of Google (Nasdaq: GOOG  ) icon Marissa Mayer as its next CEO. Mayer's revelation later that day that she was pregnant -- meaning that Yahoo! was getting two for the price of one -- added to the surprising event.

Yahoo! is still a traffic magnet. The problem is that the company's growth has been stagnant, at least on the top line.

We'll have to see what Mayer plans for the company. She wasn't at the company's quarterly conference call. However, hiring a marquee talent from a larger rival gets investors excited, and it also makes the rival weaker.

Yahoo!'s finally learning how the game is played.

Briefly in the news
And now let's take a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week.

• Jamba (Nasdaq: JMBA  ) announced that its 30th international smoothie shop has opened in the Philippines.
• Sirius XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI  ) received an analyst upgrade from Barclays Capital, and ISI Group initiated coverage with a buy rating and a $2.80 price target. Satellite radio has sure come a long way.
• How beastly is Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT  ) that it can put up with a nearly $6.2 billion charge to write down its aQuantive acquisition and a deferral of $540 million related to an upgrade offer -- yet still post positive operating income? Mr. Softy's a pretty big deal.

Moving on
Now that you've had a glimpse of the past, let's delve into the future. We're now just months away from the 2012 presidential election. Do you know the stocks that could skyrocket after the polls close? A new special report has all of the winners. It's free, so what are you waiting for? Check it out now.