Yahoo! chief steps down
Tim Koogle is stepping aside as chief executive of struggling Yahoo! Inc, although he will stay on as chairman.
The California-based company also said that its first-quarter earnings will fall well short of Wall Street's expectations.
The news followed a day of intense speculation after trading in shares of Yahoo! were halted shortly after the markets opened, following the company's cancellation of an appearance at an internet conference in New York.
Shares dropped 6% in initial trading, falling $1.38 to $21 before trading was halted on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Mr Koogle, who will remain in his post until a replacement is found and stay on as chairman after that, said he and the board had decided on "building out our senior management bench strength across the company in order to prepare for our next stage of growth".
Yahoo! said it expected to "approximately break even" in the first quarter, ending on March 31, excluding one-time charges.
Analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial had been expecting earnings of 5 cents per share, down from 10 cents per share a year ago.
The company, which will formally announce earnings on April 11, also said it expected first quarter revenues to be in the range of $170m to $180m; a year ago, Yahoo! posted revenue of $228.4m.
Yahoo! said it was being hurt as the weakening US economy forced advertisers to cut back on their marketing. The company is also encountering difficulties as its advertising base shifts from internet businesses to more traditional companies.
"Even though Yahoo! is currently being affected by both the weak economy and a client base that is transitioning to traditional marketers, we remain confident that our business model will continue to demonstrate its effectiveness," said Susan Decker, chief financial officer.
