Yahoo 3Q Lobbying Expenses Fall To $510K

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (AP) — Yahoo Inc. clamped down on its political lobbying expenses in the third quarter even as the Internet company started to muster support for its proposed partnership with rival Microsoft Corp., according to a recent disclosure form.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company spent $510,000 trying to influence lawmakers and regulators on a variety of issues during the July-September period. That represented an 11 percent decrease from lobbying expenses of $570,000 in the same period last year.

Through the first nine months of the year, Yahoo spent nearly $1.5 million on lobbying, down 21 percent from the year-ago period.

Yahoo has become more frugal during the past year as its revenue has shriveled amid the worst U.S. recession in 70 years. The tough times have crimped the budgets of online advertisers, the main source of Yahoo's revenue.

As part of its cost-cutting, Yahoo has eliminated about 2,000 jobs — about 13 percent of its work force — in the past year.

Yahoo hopes to save even more money by relying on Microsoft's technology to power the search engine on its Web site. The proposed alliance, forged in July after months of intermittent negotiations, still needs regulatory approval.