After working in Silicon Valley for 15 years, I developed this theory called “The Myth of Empowerment.” While the Myth of Empowerment wasn’t intended to act as a qualitative indicator for stock picking, it turns out that it could easily be applied to the decline of Yahoo (Nasdaq:YHOO) – with the fallout inflicting damage on Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT).

It’s got to be frustrating for Jerry Yang. The 40-year-old co-founder and CEO of Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) is sitting on top of the world’s most popular web site, yet he can’t compete with Google Inc.’s (GOOG) more effective search-engine advertising machine.

Siemens Settle Bribery Charges for $1.3 Billion; Google Walks From Yahoo; Enbridge Channels 88% Profit Growth; FCC Approves Sprint-Clearwire Merger; GMAC Finance Revenue Stuck in Reverse; Time Warner Revenue Unchanged; Molson Coors Pops; News Corp. Profit Down 30%

Buy/Sell/Hold ETF Zooms 42%; Magna Reports 3Q Loss, Slashes Dividend; U.S. Factory Orders Down 2.5%; Walgreen Same-store Sales Rise 2%, Yahoo Shares Upgraded; Oil Rises 12% on Production Cuts; Archer Daniels Midland Doubles Profit; UBS Turns Profit; Verizon Cleared to Take Over Alltel.

While investors remain extremely concerned about the volatility of the U.S. stock market, the weakness of the American economy and the uncertainty of the global financial markets, last week brought “slight” relief from the excessive panic of the eight-trading-session losing streak.

Yesterday’s action from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) proves investors are desperate, says Andrew Snyder. He says investors should avoid buying into rumors that Microsoft will bid again for Yahoo! This is a perfect example of an over-hyped market trap.

Oil Prices Slide on Demand Drop; Home Prices and Sales Fall in August; Nike Adjusted Earnings Up 10%; GM to Sell Strasbourg Plant; Digg’s New Dough; Ad Sales Slump; Yahoo’s New Ad Platform; Daimler Trying to Unload Chrysler

EADS Eyes Tunisia; McDonald’s Thrives on Slump; Reynolds American Makes Cuts; DOJ Hires Big Gun to Scrutinize Google-Yahoo Deal; Google Space; Pending Home Sales Collapse; Manpower Decline; Deficit to Soar to Record in 2009

A hectic week on the economic calendar is highlighted by the initial look at second quarter gross domestic product (GDP). Remember, a recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth, so doomsayers have targeted this week’s release as confirmation of their pessimism.

Icahn’s Yahoo Victory; XM Gains Listeners; Gloomy Economic Outlook; Crude Gains on Tropical/Political Storms; Hasbro Beats Expectations; Corn Cut Down; Goldman Banker Summoned by Paulson; Union Asks Citi to Break Up Operations