Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell told analysts that the "chances of us buying Yahoo on a full acquisition basis are so small that they are essentially negligible." He said that Yahoo isn't worth what is was in February and will be worth less with every passing day. "We took the view and we still take the view that Yahoo is essentially a declining asset. We made a credibly generous bid with a very high premium because we were looking for speed." Maybe Microsoft-Yahoo never worked out because "negging" — the practice of insulting a prospective lover to make them "fall from the clouds and be interested in talking to you," as UrbanDictionary explains it — doesn't work in corporate courtship, either.

In deals like the potential Yahoo-Microsoft merger, "speed is of the essence," Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell said during yesterday's earnings call. But since Microsoft offered to buy Yahoo in February, this one "has been anything but speedy." Microsoft's options, Liddell told analysts on the line, are to bring the "offter to Yahoo's shareholders," "withdraw our offer," or "consider other investments." Liddel said raising its bid is not such an option: