Shorting Facebook on first day: Only for the brave
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Shorting the Facebook IPO on its first day of trading is not for the faint of heart, but some traders are trying. As the hottest initial public offering in recent memory, Facebook has drawn 1990s-style tech-mania interest from mom and pop investors and big institutions alike. That intense appeal means short-sellers are both attracted by the stock’s high valuation and wary, at least for now. “I have no interest in shorting a cultural phenomenon,” hedge fund manager Jeffrey Matthews of Ram Partners in Greenwich, Connecticut, told Reuters in an email interview. …
If your company was worth $104 billion, what would your Facebook status be?
After sucessfully going public with the largest-ever IPO for a tech company in history, Mark Zuckerberg had one problem left to address…what to set as his Facebook status.
Yahoo shares climb on report Alibaba deal near
(Reuters) – Yahoo Inc shares rose as much as 6.7 percent on Friday after a report that it was close to selling part of its valuable stake in the Alibaba Group. Shares of Yahoo climbed as high as $15.87 before easing to $15.64, up 5.2 percent. Yahoo and Alibaba Group, the Chinese Internet group that runs e-commerce site Alibaba.com, are close to an agreement that could happen as soon as Monday, according to a report in All Things D, citing unnamed sources.. Yahoo would sell one-half of its 40 percent stake back to Alibaba. …
‘Madagascar 3′ roars: Twitter highlights from Cannes
“Cannot wait for Madagascar 3 to come out,” say Twitter users after the animated film made its Cannes debut. Further online reaction to this latest edition in the much-loved animated franchise can be found below in this latest article from Relaxnews examining social media reaction to the Cannes Film Festival.
Insight: Who got Facebook IPO shares? Fairness may not come into it
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A lot of loyal Facebook fans and occasional investors are discovering a hard truth this week: Money and connections talk, especially when it comes to a hot deal handled by Wall Street. The scramble for shares in what is one of largest initial public offerings in U.S. history quickly divided the haves from the have-nots on Thursday. Those with big brokerage accounts and a long history as customers of Wall Street firms likely got at least part of their orders for Facebook shares filled, but would-be buyers who had no such ties were lucky to get any. …
Mediaset fears internet challenge amid ad slump
MILAN (Reuters) – An executive at Mediaset said on Friday internet giants could challenge Italy’s biggest commercial broadcaster’s business model in coming years, while the advertising outlook remains grim. Mediaset, controlled by ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, is Italy’s leading advertising seller but in the last few years its dominance has been eroded by pay-TV satellite competitor Sky Italia and the proliferation of new channels enabled by the switch to digital television. “I’m afraid that the future is Internet connectivity. …
Twitter index: Ian Curtis remembered, Donna Summers mourned, The Script questioned
Users of the microblogging site are remembering former Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis, who passed away on this day 32 years ago, grieving for disco queen Donna Summers and asking questions of band The Script.
Google+ trends: iPhone rumors, Facebook IPO
Ahead of Apple’s WWDC on June 11-15 Google + users are buzzing about rumors that the latest iPhone, the iPhone 5, could feature a 4″ or bigger display.
Investors brace for Facebook debut on Wall Street
(Reuters) – Investors are bracing for Facebook’s Wall Street debut on Friday after the world’s No.1 online social network raised about $16 billion in one of the biggest initial public offerings in U.S. history. Valued at $104 billion, Facebook is larger than Starbucks Corp and Hewlett-Packard combined, sparking intense speculation on how much higher its valuation will rise once shares start trading. “A 15 to 20 percent pop is in the realm of possibility,” said Tim Loughran, a finance professor at the University of Notre Dame. …
GM ad move followed failed Facebook pitch: sources
DETROIT/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Facebook may only have itself to blame for why General Motors rained on its IPO parade this week. GM announced the decision to drop Facebook paid ads on Tuesday in what was the first highly visible crack in Facebook’s strategy and illustrated doubts about its perceived advantage over traditional media. GM’s decision followed Facebook officials’ failure to convince top marketing executives at the U.S. automaker of the benefits of Facebook’s paid ads at a meeting that took place in the past few weeks, people familiar with the meeting said on Thursday. …
