Can Yahoo's Semel Survive?

Predictions on Terry Semel's fate as Yahoo (YHOO - NASDAQ) CEO have been all over the map for the last year and a half. Yesterday's first quarter report was a disappointment to Wall Street despite the fact that the overall numbers came close to Yahoo's earlier first quarter guidance.

Yahoo's perception on Wall Street which has been somewhat negative recently showed signs of moving in a more positive direction until yesterday's earnings announcement. Despite some positive feelings about Yahoo's new search/advertising technology, Project Panama, and its deal with Ebay/paypal and recent deal with newspapers many pundits are again predicting Semel's demise.

Semel predicts Project Panama will show real results in the second quarter. Even if true, will it stave off the calls for his head? Acting CFO, Susan Decker is often touted as his possible successor but that remains in question. The real issue is what could a new CEO, whether from within or outside the firm, do to help Yahoo compete more effectively with Google?

For more on the Semel saga check out:

Businessweek
Bloggingstocks
GigaOm
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