DealZone

Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang has quit the company he started in 1995, appeasing shareholders who had blasted the Internet pioneer for pursuing an ineffective personal vision and impeding investment deals that could have transformed the struggling company.

Wall Street views the exit of “Chief Yahoo” Yang as smoothing the way for a major infusion of cash from private equity, or a deal to sell off much of its 40 percent slice of China’s Alibaba, unlocking value for shareholders.

Yang’s exit removes one of the last vestiges of a management team chided by investors for failing to find a buyer or negotiate a sale of stakes in Asian assets worth more than $10 billion, Bloomberg says.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s fourth-quarter profit fell 56 percent as trading and investment banking revenue plunged, but the bank managed to beat analysts’ expectations, which had dropped considerably in recent weeks.

How much does a Goldman employee make? Average pays at Goldman Sachs is $367,057 for 2011, that’s down 15 percent from a year ago, according to Deal Journal.

Solyndra failed to attract any bids from buyers who could have restarted production, brought back some laid off staff and kept the bankrupt solar panel maker operating.

Samsung says BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is not on its immediate shopping list.