Sue Decker, the president of Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), announced today that Korea is one of the company's "most important" markets. Decker said that Korea's market growth has been in excess of 20% so far (in past years), and that growth in the next four years will be even stronger than that. That's great news, but Yahoo! must figure out how to monetize more of that growth, which is the perennial problem it has faced in the last few years.

Yahoo!'s global user base is probably the most impressive among all internet destinations or properties, in terms of sheer eyeball or page-view count. Its problem is that it did not keep and manage that growth with an appropriate rise in revenue. Its chief competitor Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) managed to grow its user base at the same time it grew its revenue base with its unique form of advertising.

Yahoo!'s Korean unit, aptly named Yahoo! Korea, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary, and Decker added that the web giant's Korean unit is "certainly is a center of innovation... and we watch this market very closely." But it's time to walk the walk, and prove that Yahoo!'s growth in an important international market can carry the right amount of weight in regards to revenue.

Decker also stated that Yahoo! will continue to support Yahoo! Korea to ensure the division is "striking a good balance between globalizing and localizing." Local flavor is what catches eyeballs and keeps them (which makes for better advertising opportunity), so Yahoo! is clawing up the right tree here. Let's hope that can spread to the company's global operations soon.

Ever since I was a kid, I've always rooted for the underdog. As a Philadelphia sports fan, you have to be that way or else you will go insane. That's why I've always had a soft spot for Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO).

When others argued that the portal was doomed, I took the contrary position figuring that as more advertising dollars shifted online, the company would get more than its fair share. I figured that Project Panama would make Yahoo's search business at least marginally competitive with Google Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG). Boy, was I wrong. The company's search business continues to suck wind as it loses audience to social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. BusinessWeek points out that Yahoo is trying to go back to its geeky roots. While an admirable goal, it may be too little too late.

That thumping sound you just heard was me along with countless others jumping off the Yahoo bandwagon. For the past few months, Yahoo has been sputtering along aimlessly trying to yet again reinvent itself through its 100-day review. Judging from the market's reaction, investors don't have much faith that Jerry Yang and Sue Decker are going to come up with anything groundbreaking. Shares are down $1.01. or 3.6%, to $26.85 ahead of the release of earnings after the close of trading today. They have plunged about 15% over the past six months.

About the only thing that might move the stock is an announcement that it outsourced its search business to Google or that it's considering strategic alternatives including a sale of the company. Yahoo continues to provide good content and knows how to engage users, which would make it a good fit with Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ: MSFT) MSN.

Today's earnings conference call will be lively.

No one seems satisfied with the plans that Sue Decker and Jerry Yang, Yahoo!'s (NASDAQ: YHOO) new management, have made for the company. Concerns about slow growth of display ads and a mediocre launch of the Panama search product have caused more grumbling among investors. No one thinks Q3 numbers are going to be impressive.

Yahoo! is up 3.5% this morning. 24/7 Wall St. published a summary of a report from Bernstein Research which shows that if the portal were broken into three pieces, the company would be worth $39 a share. The stock has been trading below $27.

The break-up document shows that Yahoo! should be cut into three pieces. The first is the display ad business. The second is the search business. And, the third is Yahoo!'s subscription operation. Bernstein is convinced that the three operations would do better with new owners For example, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) would do a better job of getting money from the Yahoo! search operation.

Bernstein earlier offered another option for Yahoo!. Out-source search to Google and cut 25% of total staff. The research house says that operating income would rise 206% next year compared to consensus numbers.

It is unlikely that Yahoo! management will take any of this advice, but the analysis does make one thing clear. The company is worth more than it stock price says.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Where is Yahoo, Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) headed these days? CEO Jerry Yang and President Sue Decker are in the middle of turning the internet giant back into a revenue leader after years of losing so many races to competitor Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG). Yahoo! still has the assets and the audience, which are 10 years in the making. What is doesn't have is the execution.

That was the message last Friday when Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) CEO and current king-of-everything Steve Jobs showed up to give some insight to a gathering of Yahoo! execs. His message was clear: like Apple of the past, Yahoo! has a great product portfolio and a world-class following of customers. What needs work is listening to customers and giving them solutions efficiently.

Only one thing stood out from the meeting: it was attended by 300 Yahoo! vice presidents. Three hundred? That right there tells me quite a bit if the number is right. Why on earth would Yahoo! need so many upper-level managers?

The lone positive that an investor might come away with from Yahoo Inc's (NASDAQ: YHOO) first quarter results is that at least Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) could come back to the table and buy the company. News reports circulated in June that the former search-engine leader was in partnership discussions with the Redmond-based software giant.

The biggest concern regarding Yahoo is its organic growth rate, with so many acquisitions having been completed over the years. Also, serious questions remain about Yahoo's branding-focused versus its weak showing in direct-support advertising. There is also little evidence that Project Panama will successfully address this issue.

Further, there has to be management-cohesion questions of West Coast (Jerry Yang) versus East Coast (Sue Decker). The full management issue at Yahoo might not be fully resolved. Yang spoke of ecosystems and openness, which sounds more Google-like. Decker continued to focus more on piling products on top of each other.

At the end of the day, Yahoo! Japan, Alibaba and its Korean search assets comprise $6 per share in value, according to Yahoo's new CFO. Further, the company is a free cash flow machine and has a franchise name the can be revived with the right management. It is worth chipping away at the company, as it has traded very nicely on poor earnings news. I'd look at getting into it now and selling into any speculation that the company is about to acquired.

After covering Yahoo!'s Q2 results yesterday, I was left a little disappointed. True, current CEO and company co-founder Jerry Yang has only been in the top spot for a month or so and the April-June quarter results obviously did not reflect any of Yang's direct effort to turn the company around. Yang still aims to monetize more of the traffic Yahoo! receives as well as find new ways to break into non-traditional advertising areas to increase growth, much like competitor Google has done. Listening to Yahoo! President Sue Decker, I believe she has a firmer grip on the operational logistics than Yang, although Yang seems to be more of a spiritual leader for the company. I was left wondering if this new management combination will work.

Were Yahoo!'s (NASDAQ: YHOO) Q2 results a problem? Not necessarily, although that is the sentiment right now with the stock being hammered about 5% in premarket trading right now. The company matched analyst expectations of $0.11 EPS, but offered very little in guidance for future quarters and said that some of the revenue shift that was expected for the Q3 and Q4 period actually occurred in Q2. In other words, don't expect any stellar quarters this year at all from Yahoo!, even with its Project Panama "making great progress." Hmm.

When Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) releases its quarterly numbers tomorrow, it will blow past analyst expectations if recent history is any sign. This will, again, pressure Yahoo! management team to show that it can be as innovative and make as much cash (from any combination of areas) as its larger competitor, using internet search or anything else. In fact, Yahoo!'s position to see revenues from just as many areas as it can is increasingly important as it won't be taking search market share away from Google any time soon. The question is, can it do it?

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) had just finished a webcast discussing the resignation of Terry Semel from the CEO role and the appointment of Jerry Yang to that role. Sue Decker was appointed president. I, for one, found the webcast to be quite dull and most uninspiring.

Not that I expected discussion of Semel's inflated compensation package during times Yahoo! struggled, but there was hardly any meat attached to the bare-bones news. Yes, each gushed over the other two in his or her turn, and each gave the appropriate ra-ra-ra speech of how Yahoo! will not only be a great competitor, but a winner too. Despite all that, they didn't instill much confidence in me, not about the future of Yahoo! and not about their ability to change it. Maybe the reason is that there wasn't much of a change. Semel will remain as chairman, albeit in a non-executive role, and the other two, Decker and Yang -- names we've known for quite some time -- will be promoted. Perhaps looking outside of Yahoo! for the CEO, as Anthony Noto of Goldman Sachs suggested, would have been the better alternative. At least some fresh ideas and viewpoints would have been brought in.

There were several questions about capex, but Jerry and Sue gave no news of acquisitions or impending partnerships or inclinations to do either. There was talk of challenges, especially slower growth in display advertising, and allusion to Google's dominance. Even as Jerry said Panama was performing beyond their expectations and Yahoo! may outperform in Q2, revenue is seen in the lower half of the previous outlook.

If I were Susan Decker, I'd be rollicked with mixed emotions. On one hand, the long-awaited exit of Terry Semel as Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) CEO gives Sue a lot of room to get on with her company's renovation. She's often been seen as Yahoo!'s strongest leader and most talented executive; Semel's resignation really makes the company hers in a way it never could be before. In December, her promotion to Executive Vice President, Head of Advertiser and Publisher Group made her the heir apparent. And she's been named President, surely a lovely title reminiscent of ultimate power.

But on the other hand, this is a corporation, and the real power is in the position of Chief Executive Officer -- the job we all know she should (if she has half the ambition she seems) truly desire. Not only that, but the rest of the world agrees she's the best candidate for the position. This perfect opportunity to give her the title for which her career has been grooming her? It's been passed over, and we all have to wonder: what were they thinking? and, will she ever be the bride? and, if you were her, wouldn't you be updating your profile on HotJobs about now?

Every deep discussion of the Semel resignation contains the same perplexed question. Various answers to the why not Sue? conundrum include "because she's not an outsider" and "I just don't know." Could it be because she doesn't have the coding geek background? Because she's a woman? Or is the board really (as many suggest, but I don't buy) just biding their time until ... something ... to name her CEO?

Come on. If Susan was going to be named CEO, now would be the time. Why put off any longer? If the board really was happy with her in the role, the job would be hers, effective immediately. Last time they reorganized the entire company to give her a new-and-improved title. This one, to me, says "you know honey, maybe you're just not CEO material." What do you think?

Okay, so we all know by now that Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) CEO Terry Semel has resigned. Co-founder Jerry Yang will become CEO and Sue Decker the President. The call has just started, please refresh.

4:50: Jerry Yang is speaking. Terry, Jerry and Sue will first discuss the management changes, then give a brief business update. Wonder what that would be.

Terry started talking. In his slow drawl he says how proud he was working at Yahoo! and with Sue and Jerry (sure, what else he would say!).

Now he explains why now. He wanted to leave sooner rather than later and this way he ensures a smooth transition.

Now he says how Yahoo! had a difficult and challenging year. Is it me, or does his voice wavered a little?

Speaking of Jerry, Terry says Jerry brings phenomenal skills (he has a hard time speaking, I think).

Now he says how Sue has deserved this promotion. Her financial skills.

Jerry and Sue will be an unbeatable team and it is the right time to do it.