Yahoo: Weisel Says Bartz Focused On Products, Not Deals

Yahoo (YHOO) CEO Carol Bartz is more focused on revving up the company’s products than on cutting a search outsourcing deal with Microsoft (MSFT) , according to Thomas Weisel analyst Christa Quarles . That’s nice if you’re a long-term thinker, but not so good if you own YHOO in expectations of a deal. Quarles this morning wrote a note this morning summarizing a meeting she had yesterday with Bartz. “We believe she is focused on building Yahoo for the long term and is narrowing her sights in improving the product before anything else,” she writes. “A mantra that has been missing at Yahoo for far too long: build great products and consumers will come, bringing advertising dollars with them.” That’s good. But Quarles also notes that she believes Bartz is zeroed in the products, “and not necessarily focused on a deal with Microsoft.” Quarles says that there are key strategic issues with a Microsoft search deal “and we believe ... (link)