Morning Wire: If you can't beat one, join forces with another

Yahoo and eBay have both fallen to their knees in trying to one up the search & ad gods at Google. Both companies announced that they are joining forces in an effort to take a chunk of the ad pie Google has dominated for years. Its so funny that Yahoo boss Terry Semel has to now take drastic measures to compete with a company he almost bought years ago. Well lets see just how much of an impact the Yahoo! eBay union makes. It's officially the Meg and Terry Show. Yahoo! and eBay announced a strategic partnership Thursday to provide services to each others' customers.The deal, designed to boost their position against Microsoft Corp. and Web search leader Google Inc., underscores recent speculation the two companies could eventually merge.Under terms of the deal, Yahoo will become the exclusive third-party provider of all graphical ads throughout the eBay site, and sponsored search for complementary products on some eBay search results pages in the United States. In addition, eBay's online payment service PayPal will become the exclusive third-party provider of its online wallet. Sounds like Yahoo and eBay are putting the pedal to the metal on this one. read...