Microsoft and Yahoo ‘Reach Ad Deal’

Microsoft and Yahoo have reached an agreement on a search and advertising deal, with an announcement expected as soon as today, according to US media reports. The deal, which follows Microsoft’s unsuccessful bid to buy Yahoo’s search business for $1bn (£610m) last year, is not thought to involve any upfront payment. Instead, as previous speculation had suggested, it will focus on a revenue-sharing deal between the two companies. According to reports, Bing, Microsoft’s newly launched search engine, will become Yahoo’s default search service