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Unable to come to terms even about coming to terms, Steve Ballmer and Jerry Yang have been reduced to negotiating via the Wall Street Journal. The latest update: Microsoft may, repeat, may launch a hostile bid for Yahoo as soon as Friday; Yahoo is awaiting Microsoft's decision. Microsoft might offer as much as $33, to appease Yahoo shareholders who think its original bid is too low, but those same shareholders want something in the range of $35 to $37. Yang, despite his public noises about selling Yahoo if offered its full value, does not seem to want to sell at any price. Does no one else see the grand joke here?

Microsoft, last year, declared that it was embracing "radical transparency," a tactic of divulging every detail of its every move to gain wide support. Yahoo has more recently pursued a strategy of "openness." But at this key moment, which will surely shape both companies' fates for years, neither company is practicing what it preaches.