The announcement. Top Russian Sports officials are being investigated. The World Antidoping Agency accused the Russian Sports minister and officials of overseeing a coverup of hundreds of hailed doping test. Bloomberg west is next. Emily im emily chang and this is bloomberg west. Microsoft on cloud nine after exceeding analysts estimates. The field narrows in the race for yahoo . Newshe longtime ceo of fox , roger ailes, who built the news in to the mostwatched is now in a negotiation to leave his job. Microsoft flying high on the cloud with shares hopping in afterhours trading. The company reporting fourthquarter profits and sales that topped analyst estimates. Revenue of 2 from the same quarter last year. The ceos aggressive push into software and services is going bullying revenue. Here with us to dig into the numbers are cory johnson and joining us from washington, frank gillett, research analyst. Lets start with the cloud. What is doing these numbers . Cory the business is growing at a superfast pace, even faster and amazon us web services this comes at the same time it the same time the pc business is tanking. Thought microsoft would continue to plummet along with them. But if you look at the intelligent cloud emily its a smart cloud. Cory it is way above average. Growing at 7 , so in the quarter, you saw the growth of the cloud business. We only had eight quarters to compare. Not a lot since they were recategorizing everything. Those numbers were good, not great. See thehere do you bright spots and where do you see challenges . What the bright spots are you have been talking about microsoft has been doing well making the shift from the on premises software. From that shift to go to using shared stuff that gives you better value. The challenges are as mentioned, the flatlining of the growth of he sees. Growth of pcs. The decline of the phone business once they accepted they could not take the acquisition of nokia and bump into being a big player in phones. The other challenges have to do. Ith the enterprise with a linkedin acquisition they announced, they are hoping to boost that in the long run. Insee continued progression the acquisitions and the challenges around these and trying to figure out how to grow that Enterprise Software they called dynamics. Cory 16 growth in search. It is tied to the new windows operating system. Act toiving search being, so eating is suddenly working. Being bing is suddenly working. Emily there was a quick reference made to the linkedin deal, saying they expected to close the second quarter. What should we be watching for as this deal closes . After that, how linkedin is integrated into microsoft. Frank the Technology Folks will be excited that investors will take a while to see results. The first thing they have to do is not break linkedin and then figure out how to integrate it while assuring other partners and other partners that they are not going to mess up that business and cause other problems. Its going to take time to integrate that in an expanded into dynamics and build the trust and confidence in the linkedin overall. I would stress what was just said about in search and the importance of the agent in use by employees and the work place but also by personal use at home. Cory we were talking about linkedin talking about amazon as it relates to competition. As we sit here, i just received telling me that my amazon. On back order is going to arrive because theres such demand, the kind of thing we might have imagined only a couple of years ago. Year overdoubling year thats important for the future of this business because its about companies setting their business on top of a hardware and software stack. That is really important. With mark we spoke andreessen who says amazon has lapped all of the big players. Microsoft not just taking on amazon when it comes to the cloud but with the broader Artificial Intelligence platform. Than alked about more billion dollars in restructuring they dont have a phone business really. If you look at apple and google, they have carved out their niche. Is it weird that microsoft does not have a phone business . Frank in the old model, it was a weakness, but what they are doing now is betting on peoples engagement with the microsoft account. Cloud service, what matters is people are using your service and login to skype and windows 10 and one drive and one note. If people are connected, it matters a lot less what the operating system is. What matters is the number of active users engaged in cloud isvices and how that changing. If you look at that, you again stronger picture of microsoft than counting the windows 10 devices. Frank gillett and cory johnson, thank you both. Ac shareholders have approved 60s evan billion dollars megamerger with dell. 98 of the votes were in favor. Although it still pending Regulatory Approval from china. Coming up, fox is said to be negotiating the exit terms of roger ailes. We will break down reports that the ceo is on his way out. And look at that drop netflix closing out a rough day of trade. This is bloomberg. Emily whatsapp has been blocked in brazil for the third time in seven months. A judge has suspended the app on the companys failure, socalled failure, to comply with government request. Long list ofthe difficulties the company is facing 17 days before the summer olympics in rio. We are watching the Employment Status of roger ailes following accusations of Sexual Harassment. Theis denying reports longtime executive is leaving the company, think he is at work, but a review is ongoing in the only agreement in place is in exist in contract. But a person with knowledge with the matter says he is in negotiations to leave his job. The Parent Company of fox news is discussing the exit terms. Turn to ourwant to Bloomberg News reporter in l. A. Also joining us is david full onflict is he in or is he out . But theoday, he is in, direction is becoming clearer and as reported this afternoon, he is in discussions about the terms of his exit. It seems pretty clear he is going. He has no confirmation left or there is any major payoff. There have been reports but fox has come out strongly saying he is in the office today and still at work. Not that he is going to be there longterm. What prompted that today were reports that megyn kelly told i fox totors hired look into the Gretchen Carlson lawsuit over Sexual Harassment, that she also received unwanted advances from roger ailes and that lit fire under this today and seems to push this in the direction it does not team to be able to come back from four top emily as someone who has covered the Murdoch Family for so long, the seems to have climaxed quickly. What is your read on this mark guest i think megyn kellys her own to share allegations that he had sexually harassed her when she was a younger reporter in the Washington Bureau a decade ago really knocked the legs out. When you have someone who is the most visible female face at fox and figure at fox and in some ways, the face of the future of fox. She was put in at 9 00 because roger ailes side bridge to a new generation of fox viewers and extending foxs dominance. If she is saying the chairman centripetal chief force of the network, the vision is powered its popularity and astonishing profits was someone who personally made sexual advances on her as a young female subordinate, it is hard not to credit Gretchen Carlsons lawsuit and others who have said he made unwanted sexual advances to them as well as. At a certain point, 21st century, 20th century fox will have incredible exposure on this if it doesnt both seem to be taking it seriously and actually take it seriously. They decided do you want to stick with a guy who has been an incredible success and a giant in cable news or do you want to present the forward face of what your Company Represents . Emily the allegations are incredibly disturbing, true or not. But when you look at the business in particular, how big a blow when this be to fox news for roger ailes to be out . Guest roger ailes is fox news. A very powerful force in cable news. Fox news accounts for about a quarter of 21st centurys of 20th centurys business. Compared to cnn, they are forecast to have a margin of 64 , well above cnn. It is a great asset for fox. Investors will be concerned, but at the same time, analysts i have spoken to have raised went that a succession would need to be in place and this has clearly accelerated it. Focusedurdoch has been on the issue of succession, elevating his own sons into Senior Leadership roles with James Murdoch now running the company. Emily we are in the height of clinical season and there are reports that the investigation has gone beyond the Sexual Harassment allegations to his controversial leadership style. That has built fox news into what it is today. Do you think this would be a loss for fox news . i think it would feel unmoored and untethered without him. Which is not to say it is the wrong thing to do to get him out. Argue insidese who fox news and inside 21st century fox at this transition should have negotiated some years ago. Murdochat the same time half sons came in. He has ensured that there isnt really a dynastic handoff at fox news in the way the family is doing it at the Parent Company. There are no successors in place to take over and do what has been done before. Executives, one who has been at fox news for some who had been put into a lateral move over certain specials and prime time programming that seems to signal roger ailes was not favoring him to replace them. Ways. Ould go one of two James Murdoch is not as conservative as his father and conservative as roger ailes. He would like a smoothing of the edges and make fox news more like sky news, which is more like what 20th century 21st entry fox owns in the u k and australia and might resemble. Ore what cnn looks like the other model is to summon up the spirit of roger ailes and say what would roger have done and hope to cling to the conservative core that has launched them for so many years. Thank you so much for calling in. Our Bloomberg News reporter in l. A. , i know you will follow the story. Coming up, yahoo getting closer to finalizing a sale. Will it the verizon, dan gilbert, or a littleknown firm called Vector Capital management . We will break it down, next. Emily the news investors are waiting for yahoo could be just a week away from a sale. Now is former yahoo what do weeric know in terms of the top three on the list . Tell us about actor capital. Guest Vector Capital is a name few people know. Sales the reasons the process has dragged on so long is that the advisors were trying to figure out how serious are some of these bids. From my sources i have spoken to, there are five bidders remaining. Are seen as the longshots at this point. So you have vector, which is typically a middlemarket technology firm, but they have raised enough financing from limited partners and have partnered with Sycamore Ventures to put forth a formidable bid to theoretically compete with verizon, which is an absolute but he mess, and dan gilbert who owns quicken loans and other properties. Andould likely take yahoo have some synergy with quicken and run yahoo better than Marissa Mayer and the team has been able to. We should know more in the next week or two. A lot of the bids want different things. Verizon is not particularly interested in yahoo s intellectual property. It is possible some of the bids would take on some of not all of the other intellectual properties. That means it needs to sell its patents to someone else. Ofres been a consortium what has been thought of as patent trolls that potentially sue other parties or collect royalties on them. At least one bid like that is in. Best outcomeverall for shareholders . What do you think would be the best home for yahoo . Eric i think the best home is verizon. Content ande in the in the technology and advertising world, it can take the assets and integrate them with what they already have and do it in a more rational fashion as opposed to a standalone buyer who has to figure out how to restructure yahoo and it needs to be restructured quite severely. That will take a lot of time and demoralize the people remaining at yahoo . Verizon is the logical buyer. You reported. Who may ask for a best and final offer from their top pick. Guest we may see one more final, final round here for partners will look at the five bids and likely call the list. They will say we are willing to sell at x price. Price . Of you reach this if one says yes and the other we may see a bidding war. The prices that came in yesterday are not necessarily the final heads. There may be one last round to get the final final did and then we get the winner in about a week. We dont know how the process will play out what do you think in any of these scenarios that yahoo survives as a destination to still go to for news . Survivehoo will because there are still about a billion people that go to their site. Emily but they are not spending a lot of time there. The time they spend their is tiny. For a quick look at the stock market but aol. Com still exists and people still go to it. Its a very different audience that you would then you would expect today in the content or social world. Any buyer has to manage that audience and transition that more toward social. Of people i couple have spoken to, the most Interesting Development will be buys it and they have this combined entity within verizon. Ive been told by several people dont expect it to be the end of whatever consolidation you may be doing. There may be another acquisition lined up after this that it gets merged with. Eric alex sherman and hippeau. Thank you both. Coming up, we will talk politics and how the Tech Industry mark im mark crumpton. Lets begin with a check of your first word news. At the Republican National convention, the state rollcall vote for Donald Trumps nomination is underway. Trumps unlikely ascendancy as gop standardbearer has put political pundits on their heels and the establishment on edge. Jeff sessions delivered a nominating speech calling mr. Getp a singular leader to the United States back on track. Reports former agriculture secretary tom vilsack is being considered as Hillary Clintons running mate. Others still in the mix include tim kaine and tom perez. And will reportedly announce her choice on friday. Two more suspects in the terror attacks in nice have then transferred to paris according to the Associated Press which reports they are among six people in custody. One of the suspects allegedly received a text from that man identified by authorities as the man who drive you drove a van into the crowd celebrating bastille day. Malcolm turnbull has been sworn prime a second term of mister of australia. He was the narrow winner in the july second election. His government will have a majority of just one seat in the house of representatives. Global news 24 hours a day powered by more than 2600 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. Im mark crumpton. This is bloomberg. It is just after 6 30 in new york. Paul allen has a look at the markets in australia. Paul a rather gloomy sydney harbor may set the tone. Up and running for 30 minutes and up often about a fifth of a percent. A similar story in australia with a modest rise of just a single point. One of the stocks in focus today is woodside, due to report secondquarter sales any moment now. Its not expected to be great. It is due to Weaker Oil Prices and brent averaging 47 as opposed to 63 for the same time last year. On the watchc after slumping the most in three years on tuesday. Im paul allen in sydney, australia. Emily this is bloomberg west im emily chang. The Republican National convention is underway and recent surveys show Hillary Clinton and donald trump again that. Company hasurvey filled the gap as many turn away from traditional polls. John cohen andh asked about many people in the Tech Industry speaking out against donald trump. Guest the immigration thing the letter was about trump and needing to be more open to immigration. Immigration is an issue that divides both parties and it divides it in interesting way. Peoplee higher educated who support liberalizing immigration policy versus lower educated people that do not. That is a divide that spans party lines. The Silicon Valley approach sides with the College Educated people but is at odds with what is going on underneath. Top and youare the are tracking as the election can itloser and how much really impact the outcome with better polling data about what he blurred thinking and feeling if most people are already decided . We will be tracking not only whos up and down, but the issues that are prominent. Intoreally digging framings trying to mike pence are on his track record on choice and abortion legislation across the country, particularly in indiana. Perceive how the candidates are standing on these issues is critical. The gun issue keeps coming up, tragically. We will really dig in on those issues and do it at the eight level. Our ability to do something not just through a Periodic National poll but where it matters. Emily if voters are already decided guest i dont think polls change the outcome. Emily it might change how the campaign charges certain groups more andt i hope with better information it will be useful in the decisionmaking process and we are working with the top pollsters in the country to see how they do. The race toing wit