Brian Hunt brings you the New Highs and Lows of note last week.

Shares in internet search company Yahoo (YHOO) dropped 10% yesterday as the prospect of a deal with Microsoft ended.

According to Bloomberg: “Yahoo said yesterday it scrapped talks after Microsoft refused to pay the $47.5 billion it offered last month. Instead Yang unveiled a partnership with Google Inc. While that deal may add $800 million to annual sales, it may not be enough to revive the stock, said analyst Colin Gillis of Canaccord Adams.”

Lowe’s Reports 1Q Declines; Oracle of Omaha for Obama; Microsoft, Yahoo at it Again; Staples Launches Hostile Takeover of Corporate Express; News Corp. Increases Premier Stake; Take-Two Snubs EA; Pacific Ethanol Stock Surges Despite Loss; Feds to Investigate DeVry.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) bankers recently contacted Facebook Inc. and made inquiries about purchasing the popular social networking site, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Shares of Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) tumbled 15% yesterday (Monday) to close at $24.37 a share as investors responded to Saturday’s news that Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) would drop its $47.5 billion dollar bid for the beleaguered search engine firm.

But the tough times are just beginning for Yahoo, which must now prove why it is worth more than the lofty price Microsoft was offering.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) last Saturday yanked its $44.6 billion bid for struggling Internet-search pioneer Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) after the two companies were unable to come to terms over the buyout price.

Canada Lowers Key Rate 50 Points; Source: News Corp. Swipes Newsday from Tribune; AT&T Dials Up Fourth Quarter Profit; Oil Gushes to Another High; Home Sales Kept Falling in March; Merrill Raises Cash; Yahoo Flat Without Alibaba.

How does the prospect of $4 a gallon gasoline sound to you? Undoubtedly, it doesn’t sound all that great. But what if I said that gasoline prices were headed for the $4 a gallon level, but once they got there, they’d head no higher?

MySpace.com, the social network web site owned by News Corp. (NWS), announced plans for a new online music download service that will pit it directly against Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iTunes, raising the stakes on the digital media battlefront.