Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is seen on a screen in Times Square moments after he rang the Opening Bell on May 18, 2012. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife) Facebook’s first week as a publicly-traded company has been anything but quiet, with lawsuits flying and fingers being pointed in the wake of a lackluster debut for the stock. One class-action accuses Mark Zuckerberg, the board and underwriters including Morgan Stanley of sharing material information only with certain buyers of the company’s shares. Meanwhile, trading firms including Knight Capital have announced losses from the botched opening of the company’s shares May 18, which they are trying to recoup from Nasdaq, itself the target of at least one lawsuit. Anthony Sabino, a securities litigator with Sabino & ... Continue reading →
In Thursday’s Forbes Markets Desk, Investing Editor Matt Schifrin and I talked about the ongoing turmoil over whether Greece’s days of euro membership are numbered, Hewlett-Packard’s 27,000 job cuts and a warning from Tiffany & Co. about decelerating growth: Stock averages were little changed in New York Thursday, as markets got something of a breather amid ongoing pressure from Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. Earlier Thursday, Citigroup economist Michael Saunders pegged the odds at 50-75% that Greece will leave the European Monetary Union and offered up a take on what happens when the country departs the euro currency. The first thing, once an exit is decided on, will likely be EU and IMF cooperation aimed at limiting economic damage and social upheaval during the transition, Saunders ... Continue reading →
Acting FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife) The FDIC’s quarterly reading on American banks painted an improving portrait, with profits up and the number of troubled institutions down during the first three months of 2012, but the encouraging Commercial and savings banks covered by FDIC insurance booked a combined profit of $35.3 billion in the first quarter of 2012, up 22.9% from a year earlier, though loan balances declined 0.8% to $56.3 billion after expanding for three straight quarters. Martin Gruenberg, acting chairman of the FDIC, said “the condition the industry continues to gradually improve,” touting progress in “shedding bad loans, bolstering net worth, and increasing profitability.” Though the declining loan balances are not ideal, Gruenberg cautioned against drawing conclusions from ... Continue reading →
(Image credit: AFP/Getty Images via @daylife) Several class action lawsuits have been filed on behalf of Facebook investors just a few days after the company went public, and after the closing bell Wednesday the story took another turn when trading firm Knight Capital Group disclosed a loss related to the botched debut of the company’s shares. According to an SEC filing Knight estimates a total pre-tax loss in the range of $30 to $35 million tied to the issues and problems at Nasdaq OMX Group around the opening of Facebook trading on May 18. Knight says it has submitted claims for financial accommodations from the exchange operator, and “is also evaluating all remedies available under law,” though it can not guarantee it will be able ... Continue reading →
(Image credit: AFP/Getty Images via @daylife) Several class action lawsuits have been filed on behalf of Facebook investors just a few days after the company went public, and after the closing bell Wednesday the story took another turn when trading firm Knight Capital Group disclosed a loss related to the botched debut of the company’s shares. According to an SEC filing Knight estimates a total pre-tax loss in the range of $30 to $35 million tied to the issues and problems at Nasdaq OMX Group around the opening of Facebook trading on May 18. Knight says it has submitted claims for financial accommodations from the exchange operator, and “is also evaluating all remedies available under law,” though it can not guarantee it will be able ... Continue reading →
