Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said Wednesday that he is still open to a strategic partnership with Yahoo only on a search engine deal. He went on to say that Microsoft is no longer interested in a full acquisition of Yahoo and a search partnership is now an only option. Ballmer’s comments sent the Yahoo stock price up about 12% and it is now trading at about $9.88 just one hour before the closing bell. Jerry Yang recently stepped down from his post as CEO after intense pressure as he was the one responsible for foregoing a $47.5 billion (about $33 per share) Microsoft take over. In addition, Google recently pulled out of a Yahoo ad partnership after government scrutiny. A search partnership between Microsoft and Yahoo will likely have opposition, including from Google, but it shouldn’t have any problems with the Fed.