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If Barry Diller is looking for somewhere to unload IAC’s Ask.com search engine, he’d be wise to consider Microsoft–if he doesn’t have that in mind already. Analysts reflecting on Diller’s recent remarks about Ask’s “speculative future” say Microsoft is the most likely buyer if IAC is truly serious about dumping the little search engine that couldn’t.

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Oracle may be mulling acquisitions, but Brocade isn’t one of them. At the company’s annual shareholder meeting today, CEO Larry Ellison dismissed recent speculation that he might attempt to to acquire Brocade.

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Brocade investors are smiling into their coffee cups this morning after reports that the networking-gear maker has put itself up for sale sent the company’s shares soaring. People familiar with the matter tell The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg that Brocade is seeking a buyer and that both Hewlett-Packard and Oracle are among its potential suitors.

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Apple put some of the vast $28 billion in cash and short-term investments it has socked away to good use this week by raising its stake in Imagination Technologies. The $5.16 million investment nearly triples Apple’s original 3.6 percent stake, giving it 9.5 percent ownership of the British chip designer whose PowerVR graphics technology figures prominently in the iPhone and iPod touch.

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Qwest just became interesting again. Shares of the smallest of the Baby Bells are on the upswing this morning following reports that it is considering selling its long-haul voice and data network. Sources familiar with the matter say Qwest is in the early stages of seeking a buyer for the unit, which could be valued at about $2 billion to $3 billion.

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To hear tell from the National Venture Capital Association, the VC landscape is as burned out and desolate as the ashen vistas of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road.” According to its latest data, not a single venture-backed company went public in the first quarter of 2009 or the one that preceded it. That’s the first time the association has ever recorded two consecutive quarters with no issues.

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So much for eBay’s Feedback Profile. The online auction pioneer has been getting quite a bit of negative feedback for its decision to ban sellers from leaving “negative” or “neutral” comments about buyers.
Announced last week along with some other changes, the move is designed to eliminate retaliatory feedback. Apparently, eBay believes its slowing growth is [...]

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