Roundup: Facebook’s cashout, Google-Yahoo delayed and more

Venture Beat — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:04:24 -0700

Here’s the latest action:

Google and Yahoo delay ad deal — The delay gives the Justice Department more time for its antitrust investigation. This news, as well as calls by Sen. Herb Kohl (chair of the Senate Antitrust Committee) for more scrutiny, probably doesn’t bode well for the deal, though it may buy the tech companies more time to negotiate.

Wells Fargo plans merger with Wachovia — Friday’s announcement came only four days after Citigroup agreed to buy Wachovia’s banking operations for about $1 per share. Citigroup, however, isn’t ready to give up yet — the announcement was followed by a weekend of legal wrangling, with no clear winner yet. (Wachovia chief executive Robert Steele is pictured, left.)

Facebook cashout scheduled for Nov. 1? — We’ve already reported that Facebook will allow employees to sell a small portion of their stock this fall. Now a source tells Valleywag’s Owen Thomas that Facebook employees can start selling their shares on Nov. 1, and that the company will purchase the shares, then sell them to an outside buyer.

Economy sheds 159,000 jobs in September — This was the steepest decline in nonfarm employment in five years.

Sony announces new ebook reader — Trying to stay competitive with Amazon’s Kindle, Sony will add a touch panel and reading light in the new version of its device.

BankRate purchases financial blog Bankaholic for up to $15M — The price is particularly impressive when you realize that Bankaholic is a one-man site.

Flurry launches free mobile analytics service — The San Francisco startup also named Simon Khalaf, formerly chief executive of Vernier Networks, as its new CEO and president.