Ford will give up its controlling stake in Mazda by selling 20% of the Japanese automaker for $450 million. The company is in desperate need for cash after its October sales dropped by 30%. Two Ford members will get the boot from Mazda’s board of directors, but the operations of the two companies will likely continue to be cooperative in the short-term.

A cowardly anonymous analyst had this to say about the deal:

“From a strategic perspective there’s not much change, but it was a desperate move by Ford, selling at this low price, and Mazda had no choice but to buy back part of it because they couldn’t find enough buyers.”

[Reuters] Ford abandons Mazda control with 20 percent stake sale

The curtain has closed on Jerry Yang’s tumultuous 18-month tenure as CEO of Yahoo. In this somber internal memo, Yang reflects on his reign and discusses how the search for a new CEO is underway. As usual, his shift key went unused.

To: all yahoos
From: Jerry
Subject: update

yahoos -

i wanted to address all of you on the news we’ve just announced. the board of directors and I have agreed to initiate a succession process for the ceo role of yahoo!. roy bostock, our chairman of the board, is leading the effort to identify and assess potential candidates for consideration by the full board. the board will be evaluating and considering both internal and external candidates and has retained heidrick and struggles to help in this effort.

i will be participating in the search for my successor, and i will continue as ceo until the board selects a new ceo. once a successor is named, i will return to my previous role as chief yahoo and continue to serve as a director on the board.

last june, i accepted the board’s request that i assume the ceo role to restructure and reposition the company as a whole in order to more effectively meet the fast-changing needs of both users and partners. since taking on the ceo role, i have had an ongoing dialogue with the board about succession timing. thanks in large measure to your tireless efforts, we have created a more open, competitive yahoo! and we believe the time is now right to transition to a new ceo who can take the company to the next level.

despite the external environment we face, the fact remains that yahoo! is now a significantly different company that is stronger in many ways than it was just 18 months ago. this only makes it all the more essential that we manage this opportunity to leverage the progress up to this point as effectively as possible. i strongly believe that having transformed our platform and better aligned costs and revenues, we have a unique window for the right ceo to take ownership over the next wave of mission-critical decisions facing the company.

all of you know that I have always, and will always bleed purple. i will always do what I think is right for this great company. while this step will be an adjustment for all of us, i know it’s the right one. i look forward to updating you on this process as soon as the board has developments to share, and will continue to do everything i can to make yahoo! fulfill its full potential.

thank you,
jerry

[Valleywag] Jerry Yang’s memo to Yahoo staff on his exit

The CEO of Idiot Inc. real-estate superstar General Growth Properties, John Bucksbaum, has been ousted. This move comes just three weeks after GGP’s CFO was forced to resign because of margin calls on his stock. The company is struggling to find investors willing to pony up the $$$ to finance GGP’s $27 billion in debt. Good luck to the new CEO on that!

The CEO and four vice presidents have all resigned from Cadence Design Systems after a failed bid to buy competitor, Mentor Graphics. That’s not the only reason — the company’s stock has lost a healthy 75% this year.

Reuters: Cadence Design CEO resigns; shares fall

Since Monday, there has been radio silence between Boeing and its striking machinists union reportedly because the union was asked to bargain away 2,000 jobs. The company meanwhile, is losing $100 million per day because of closed factories due to the strike.

The feds have attempted to mediate the discussion, but have had about as much success with this as they have with the bailout. No further meetings have been scheduled between the company and the union.

CNN Money: Boeing strike likely to run into November at least

The Wall St. Journal has sources “familiar with the matter” who claim that Ford’s ex-CFO, Don Leclair, was pushed out by other “high-level company officials.” According to the paper’s sources, at least two of these executives discussed resigning if Leclair was allowed to continue as the company’s CFO. The article is vague about the specific reasons — it only says that there was friction because:

“Mr. Leclair had been too forceful in pursuing his own agenda without informing other vice presidents in a timely way of his plans.”

Whatever that means…

The Wall Street Journal: Ford Friction Led to Leclair’s Exit

Citigroup has filed a lawsuit in New York against Wachovia and Wells Fargo as it continues its fight to purchase Wachovia’s assets. Citigroup has asked for $20 billion in compensation and $40 billion in punitive damages. Yeah, right.

More info: Yahoo Finance

The feds have taken the reins in the sale of Wachovia to either Wells Fargo or Citigroup. Citi initially had a preliminary deal to buy Wachovia, but Wells Fargo punked them by announcing that it had reached an agreement to buy Wachovia without government aid.

Citigroup struck back in the courts, and initially won the right to negotiate for longer; this ruling was overturned today in a wind-sprint Court session.

Now the U.S. Federal Reserve is trying to broker a compromise between the companies and hopes that each will settle for a piece of the shattered Wachovia.

General Growth Properties has just announced that its $30 million dollar man, Bernard Freibaum, has been replaced as the company’s CFO. This news comes one day after the stock fell apart when the Wall St. Journal reported Freibaum had sold $30 million worth of shares at the 52 week low. Of course, we’d reported on Bernard’s insider trading ten days before The Journal, but who’s counting? Good riddance.

Further reading from: The Sun Times

Circuit City is ponying up a nice chunk of cash for departing CEO Philip Schoonover. The board was so displeased with his performance at the troubled Best-Buy competitor that it would rather pay his full year’s salary and a few more in benefits than keep him at the helm. At Circuit City, “involuntary termination without cause” is morse-code for a helluva payday. Congrats, Phil.

Get the full details from Yahoo Finance

The union members that are on strike at Boeing are about to draw their first post-strike checks of $150 this Saturday. This will be the third week of the machinists union strike that is taking place over concerns that more jobs will be outsourced. While the $150 per week is paltry for the strikers — Boeing is losing out on approximately $100 million per day. Math like this makes it pretty clear-cut who is going to win out.

Circuit City has announced that embattled CEO Philip Schoonover will be stepping down effective immediately. Captain Schoonover has been at the helm while Circuit City has lost money in four of the last five quarters and the stock has lost a healthy 91%. So far, there has been no word on Schoonover’s severance package, but we’ll keep you posted.

Memory Pharmaceuticals, a no-name biopharm. concern that studies ways to drug schizophrenics, has announced that it will be axing 50% of its employees asap. The company scapegoat is presumably CFO James Sulat — who is being replaced by the VP of business development.

Memory’s CEO, Vaughn Kailian, had these gracious words to say to about the employees being booted out the door:

“We greatly appreciate the significant contributions of those employees affected by this decision, particularly those employees who have been with Memory through its growth from an early-stage research organization to the clinical-stage development company it is today.”

Anyone interested in working for this dynamic company should check out their careers page.

Kerry Killinger, the CEO of WaMu, has been ousted from the savings and loan he has run since 1991. Under his guiding hand over the past year, WaMu’s stock has lost 90% of its value.

Leaders of Boeing’s machinists union have recommended that the 27,000 members go on strike after negotiating around-the-clock with management since August 21st. The average Boeing union member earned just over $55,000 last year. The company earned $14 billion in profit for the same period.

Background info: Yahoo Finance