An acquisition of Yahoo! would have required Microsoft to borrow over $20 billion from the bank, but as more buybacks loom, it seems possible that Microsoft will enter debt even without having to buy Yahoo. This was actually foreseen before and now it appears more likely that the hidden financial weakness will worsen every quarter. This leads to aggression.

Anyway, one report comes from Reuters, but its original source is Bloomberg, which recently reported on Microsoft's loss of over $90 billion in value this year.

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will buy back as much as $20 billion of its stock to boost its flagging share price, Bloomberg News quoted a top-rated software analyst as saying.

Here is the report in the Australia press (wide circulation).

She expects Microsoft to complete the repurchase - at least five times larger than its average per quarter in the past fiscal year - over the next three months.

"They won't announce it until it's done,'' Ms Bellini said.

It's curious that they may do so quietly, unlike Novell [1, 2].

It also appears in Bloomberg under the headline "Microsoft $20 Billion Buyback Signaled After Slump". Microsoft last had about 26$ billion left in the bank, which is a lot less than there used to be. Massive buyouts and fines are partly to blame and future margins erosion is guaranteed to cause further trouble.

Just watch what else has just been reported: Microsoft's business intelligence general manager quits the company.

Microsoft Corp. announced today that Bill Baker, a Microsoft distinguished engineer and general manager of business intelligence applications for the Microsoft Office Business Platform team, is leaving the company.

Not so long ago it was President Johnson, who left abruptly on the face of it, based on reports. It could incite panic and it does not bode well for the future. Another Microsoft executive appears to have just left quietly. He was hired by another company.

Lyn Reyes, formerly local business lead for Microsoft Dynamics, was appointed by Gurango Software Corp.'s (GSC) vice president for global sales.

Times are changing. These are truly interesting times for those who anticipate radical change in the software industry. ⬆

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