Reuters alone with Microsoft`s Ballmer playing down acquisitions

Reuters exclusively reported on Oct. 5 that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is unlikely to make new acquisitions to take on Google in Internet search. Shares in British enterprise search company Autonomy, persistently rumoured to be a Microsoft target, slipped on the news despite two broker upgrades and news of a new license deal. The story was picked up by rival Dow Jones, quoted on CNBC and published in newspapers including the London Observer and the Irish Times. Ballmer’s comments were also the subject of discussion in blogs including influential Silicon Valley Website AllThingsD.