Yahoo to remove non-core products

Yahoo's chief executive has confirmed plans to shut down dozens of products that are not seen as core to the firm.

Scott Thompson announced the move to analysts following the firm's latest financial report. He said he had asked: "How would we build Yahoo from the ground up if we were building it from scratch today?"

As a result he said it would be "shutting down or transitioning roughly 50 properties that don't contribute meaningfully to engagement of revenue".

Mr Thompson did not identify which units would be abandoned, but noted that news, finance, sports, entertainment and mail were safe.

"Each of our products and services may individually generate more engagement than most start-ups or even mid-sized companies in certain markets, but that does not mean that we should continue to do everything we currently do," he was quoted as saying in a transcript of the conference call by Seeking Alpha.