Stephen Bolen

Yikes.

Warren Buffett says Berkshire Hathaway is the “dumbest” stock he ever bought.

He calls his 1964 decision to buy the textile company a $200 billion dollar blunder, sparked by a spiteful urge to retaliate against the CEO who tried to “chisel” Buffett out of an eighth of a point on a tender deal.

Ars nails it:

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston. Bridget Moynahan and Tom Brady. Romeo and Juliet. And now, there’s Microsoft and Yahoo.

You can add the Microsoft-Yahoo love story to that list of famous break-ups and jilted lovers, as Steve Ballmer has officially withdrawn his three-month-old offer to combine the companies. According to a press release close to the deal, Ballmer still believes that the “proposed acquisition made sense for Microsoft, Yahoo! and the market as a whole,” and that Redmond was prepared to raise its offer from $31 a share to $33, but Yahoo wanted at least $37 per share. That dainty Internet portal proved very hard to please.

The real winner?  Google.  Take that, Microsoft.

So, does this leave the door open for Apple to swoop in and play ball? They’ve got a lot of cash on hand and a purchase of Yahoo would add to their already awesome suite of applications.  Keep your eyes peeled — I bet those rumors will start to surface soon.