Failing Charter School Touted on Romney’s Education Tour By Lisa Lerer | May 24, 2012 8:08 AM EDT | | 0 Comments A day after Mitt Romney unveiled his first education policies, the presumptive Republican nominee visited students at a West Philadelphia charter school to illustrate how his plans to promote such schools would improve education. The only problem: their report card. Universal Bluford Charter School, a majority African-American elementary school in a heavily Democratic neighborhood, was put on “warning” status after failing to meet state and federal measures in reading and math for last year. According to data collected by the state of Pennsylvania, 27 percent of the students were considered proficient in math and 22 percent in reading. That’s well below the goals ... Continue reading →

By Joseph A. Giannone Thu May 24, 2012 8:50pm EDT (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley (MS.N) will adjust thousands of trades to ensure outstanding limit orders to sell will be filled at no more than $42.99 a share for Facebook (FB.O) stock from last Friday's botched initial public offering, the firm told its brokers on Thursday, according to several who listened to the call. Morgan Stanley said that limit orders to sell shares at $43 or higher that have not yet been processed because of glitches at Nasdaq (NDAQ.O) will be settled over the next few days at less than $43. Fewer than one million shares traded in a two-minute period on the opening day above $43. Shares reached a high of $45.Limit orders allow investors ... Continue reading →

By Jessica Toonkel and John McCrank Thu May 24, 2012 8:17pm EDT (Reuters) - Claims by four of Wall Street's main market makers against Nasdaq over Facebook's botched IPO are likely to exceed $100 million, as they and other traders continue to deal with thousands of problems with customer orders. A technical glitch delayed the social networking company's market debut by 30 minutes on Friday and many client orders were delayed, giving some investors and traders significant losses as the stock price dropped. The exchange operator is facing lawsuits from investors and threats of legal action from brokers.Four of the top market makers in the Facebook IPO -- Knight Capital, Citadel Securities, UBS AG and Citi's Automated Trading Desk -- collectively have probably lost more ... Continue reading →

By Suzanne Barlyn and Ryan Vlastelica Wed May 23, 2012 7:28am EDT (Reuters) - Two top U.S. financial regulators said on Tuesday the issues around the initial public offering of Facebook should be reviewed, putting fresh pressure on the company, its lead underwriter, Morgan Stanley, and the Nasdaq stock exchange. Facebook shares closed 8.9 percent lower at $31, following an 11 percent plunge on Monday. At that price the company has shed more than $19 billion in market capitalization from its $38-per-share offering price last week.Reuters reported late Monday that the consumer Internet analyst at lead underwriter Morgan Stanley cut his revenue forecasts for Facebook in the days before the offering, information that was not disclosed to the market before the stock was listed.Facebook itself ... Continue reading →

By Joseph A. Giannone NEW YORK | Wed May 23, 2012 1:22pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley told brokers on Wednesday it is reviewing every Facebook Inc trade and will make price adjustments for retail customers who paid too much during the social network company's debut last week, according to an internal memo. Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter of Facebook's initial public offering on Friday, in the memo also said "many" of the first-day trades have now been processed and are appearing in client accounts. The company did not specify how much it expected to pay in total price adjustments."All orders are currently being reviewed for best execution pricing," the memo, which was obtained by Reuters, said. "We expect there will be a ... Continue reading →

By Claire Davenport and Luke Baker BRUSSELS | Wed May 23, 2012 8:54pm EDT BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders, advised by senior officials to prepare contingency plans in case Greece decides to quit the single currency, urged the country to stay the course on austerity and complete the reforms demanded under its bailout program. After nearly six hours of talks held during an informal dinner, leaders said they were committed to Greece remaining in the euro zone, but it had to stick to its side of the bargain too, a commitment that will mean a heavy cost for Greeks."We want Greece to stay in the euro, but we insist that Greece sticks to commitments that it has agreed to," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told ... Continue reading →

New York authorities are investigating the claims of a man who has told investigators that he had a role in the 1979 disappearance of Etan Patz, the 6-year-old boy who vanished in SoHo on his way to school and is believed to have been murdered, officials said on Thursday.“An individual now in custody has made statements to N.Y.P.D. detectives implicating himself in the disappearance and death of Etan Patz 33 years ago,” Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said in a statement issued early Thursday. “We expect to provide further details later today.”The man, identified by one law enforcement official as Pedro Hernandez, was taken into custody late Wednesday in New Jersey and was taken to the office of the Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus R. Vance, ... Continue reading →

NEW YORK — Serious question: Where was this team all along? It’s a question the Rangers will ask themselves for the next few days, if not months. It’s one thing to come out and show even less life than that thing on national anthem singer John Amirante’s head; it’s quite enough to be motivated only after you’re on the verge of becoming a national embarrassment. And make no mistake, this was embarrassing. The Devils jumped all over them, and as a countervailing strategy, the Rangers curled up in fetal position. They were down by three goals before they had even played 10 minutes. They heard boos when the humiliation and futility started to drift down from the farthest reaches of Madison Square Garden, and if ... Continue reading →

Enlarge image Morgan Stanley’s Gorman Said to Join Facebook Call on IPO Price Facebook shares tumbled 16 percent through yesterday. Facebook shares tumbled 16 percent through yesterday. Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg May 23 (Bloomberg) -- Robert Prongay, an attorney at Glancy Binkow & Goldberg, talks about the lawsuit the firm has filed with a California court over Facebook Inc.'s initial public offering. He speaks with Cory Johnson on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg West." Bloomberg's Emily Chang also speaks. (Source: Bloomberg) Ryan Cefalu, who lives with his wife and two kids in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, saw in Facebook Inc. (FB)’s much-anticipated initial public offering a chance to buffer his retirement fund. His expectations fizzled along with the stock within the first minutes of trading. “It’s disheartening to know ... Continue reading →

RT @youtube Check out some of the top #women on @YouTube from @HuffPostTech in honor of our 7th birthday http://t.co/lPYJrPSI RT @hugogloss Respected astronomer from Brazil says hidden planet may be lurking at solar system's edge http://t.co/vmPWKnQS Respected astronomer from Brazil says hidden planet may be lurking at solar system's edge http://t.co/vmPWKnQS Continue reading →