Yahoo Inc. (NDAQ: YHOO) has suddenly turned into one of the most active dealmakers in its bid to reduce the pressure from shareholders. A whirlwind of new deals were announced today with advertising partners ranging from Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) to CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS). Meanwhile, the company is desperately trying to strike a deal with Microsoft in leiu of an outright acquisition.

Shareholders like Carl Icahn are still not satisfied and are demanding a sale of the company. Many are not impressed that it took Yahoo this long to "rewrite" the company and turn it around. After all, if management was so confident in the company then why has the stock been stagnant for so long? To many investors, it comes down to a vote of confidence. Management still faces a lot of opposition that could prove difficult to qwell without a sale.

According to many shareholders, Yahoo must overcome a large (and growing) gap with Google in the search market in order to win back investors. And that might take a little longer than most shareholders are willing to wait...

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Yahoo Inc. (NDAQ: YHOO) leaders continue to contradict themselves as shareholders become increasingly fed up. Court documents revealed today that Yahoo had rebuffed a partnership with Google Inc. (NDAQ: GOOG) just one day before Microsoft Corporation's (NDAQ: MSFT) bid on anti-trust concerns.

"We are focused on long-term value creation rather than short-term gains," read a statement prepared for Yahoo executives. "Short-term analysis of the revenue for potential of outsourcing monetization may not take into account the longer term impact on the competitive market if search becomes an effective monopoly."

These comments come in sharp contrast to Yahoo's later position, during Microsoft talks, that it was conducting a test with rival Google to sell its search ads. The 180 was part of a strategy by Yahoo to seek alternatives for its business rather than selling out at Microsoft's $31 per share offer.

Now, shareholders are increasingly wondering whether or not Yahoo executives were honestly ever considering the Microsoft offer, or whether they simply will not sell out at any price. The news also comes just after several lawsuits aimed at pushing the transaction through by law or overtaking the board.

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Wachovia Crop.’s (NYSE: WB) poor results combined with the ouster of CEO Ken Thompson is fueling speculation that the firm could be for sale very soon, with analysts tagging JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) as the most likely suitor.

Charlotte-based Wachovia is facing some major trouble due to its mortgage market exposure, largely a result of its ill-timed 2006 acquisition of specialty ARM lender Golden West Financial Corp. Though the deal was designed to expand Wachovia into more of the West, its real result was Wachovia buying a huge amount of mortgages at the peak of the housing market. Even Thompson eventually admitted the purchase of Golden West was a bad move given its timing – though by citing only the timing, Thompson seems to ignore the underlying risk of the mortgage debt even without the “mortgage meltdown.”

In the wake of the acquisition, Wachovia has cut its dividend by 41% while being forced to dilute equity by issuing $8 billion worth of new shares.

Several analysts, including those at Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank, see JP Morgan as having an interest in buying the faltering bank because Wachovia has a strong presence in the Southeast – an area JP Morgan CEO James Dimon has expressed an interest expanding in.

Even so, there have been no known material talks of a sale by anyone at Wachovia with anyone at JP Morgan, leaving some analysts saying a deal remains unlikely – at least for now.

Regardless of a sale, expect more executive heads to roll at Wachovia – which, given the stock’s performance, seems a long-time coming.

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