Yahoo Hires PayPal Prez as CEO

Yahoo fired Carol Bartz over the phone—no word on whether it made the offer to its new CEO in the same manner. PayPal President Scott Thompson has been selected to take the reins of the troubled Internet company, which has been without a permanent CEO since Bartz was kicked to the curb in early September. Thompson will begin on Monday, reports the Wall Street Journal. Yahoo is currently discussing whether to unload its Asian assets, possibly to China's Alibaba Group; the Journal notes that it's not clear what impact the leadership shakeup may have on any potential deals.

Yahoo's chair praised Thompson's track record of building on existing resources "to reignite innovation and drive growth," calling it "precisely the formula we need at Yahoo." Yahoo shares fell 28 cents, or 1.7%, to $16 in morning trading; the AP notes its stock price hasn't risen above $20 in three years. (More PayPal stories.)