Facebook IPO: poor earnings selectively disclosed?

As Facebook officials were busy hyping the company’s $16 billion IPO, the company quietly told its underwriters Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan to scale back 2Q earnings estimates. Facebook was concerned increased mobile usage would cut into earnings and the underwriters, who analysts covering the company, were too optimistic about second-quarter earnings prospects. But who did Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan tell about Facebook’s warning? Top clients get information first. Of course, smaller investors and those buying shares in the open market never received this information. This selective disclosure provides investors close to the underwriters an advantage small investors don’t enjoy. In the three days since Facebook went public, the shares have lost…

Facebook IPO: shares on rollercoaster ride

Facebook has gone public in an IPO that could raise more than $18 billion. Facebook priced its IPO at $38 per share and is selling 180 million shares in the IPO. The shares notched up big opening gains amid high demand and frenzied trading on the NASDAQ stock market under the ticker FB. If underwriters exercise a greenshoe option, Facebook could raise as much as $18.4 billion, making Facebook’s IPO the second-largest initial public offering in history, surpassing the value of General Motors’ IPO. Insiders have found no shortage of investors to fleece. Goldman Sachs doubled the amount of its own holdings sold in the IPO. It begs the question: if Facebook is worth owning,…

Facebook IPO means billions for Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook is going public on Friday, with an IPO that’s expected to raise more than $18 billion for Facebook, mint 500 to 1,000 new millionaires and make Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, now just 28, a multi-billionaire. Facebook after the IPO is expected to be more valuable than McDonald’s in an IPO that could generate more than 10 times the $1.67 billion Google raised with its IPO in 2004. Anywhere from 500 to 1,000 Facebook employees and shareholders will become millionaires. What would you do with that kind of money? Our roving reporters asked that question to people in New York City’s Times Square. If you had as much money as Mark Zuckerberg will have on…

Dave Chappelle joins Twitter, mounts comeback?

Comedian Dave Chappelle has joined Twitter as “@chappelledavidk,” much to the delight of fans of Chappelle’s Show and Half Baked. The first tweet from the account was posted Tuesday morning, however, fans appeared to be skeptical if it was actually coming from Dave and not an imposter. Whereas some celebrities amass thousands of followers within hours of joining the social networking site, the account had only 11 by Wednesday afternoon. That number ballooned to over 17,000 followers by Thursday following confirmation from stars like The Roots drummer Questlove and fellow comic Aziz Ansari that the comic is indeed behind the tweets. Twitter has yet to officially validate the account as Chappelle’s. A veteran of the…

Instagram hits 27 million users, tests Android app

Instagram, the free iOS app that allows shutterbugs to enhance and share their photos, now boasts 27 million users. And soon among them will be people whose phones run Android. Both bits of information were revealed by Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom, who is among the tech luminaries who have posted up at the all-things-cool festival South by Southwest. Speaking to the addictive nature of the app, Systrom boasted that 67 percent of the previous week’s active users had “Instagrammed” in the previous 24 hours. Up until recently, all of that usage had been carried out on iPhones, as Instagram was designed solely with Apple’s iOS mobile platform in mind. But Systrom confirmed rumors that an…

SXSW 2012: South by Southwest kicks off in Austin

South by Southwest, an annual, 10-day event that includes music, film and interactive festivals, kicked off Friday in Austin, Texas. SXSW 2012 boasts established and rising stars alike. On the film side, a comedy remake of the 1980s TV cop drama 21 Jump Street starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum will screen, as will Casa di Mi Padre starring Will Ferrell. Fans of NBC’s Parks and Recreation will recognize buzz-worthy comedien Aubrey Plaza in the romantic comedy Safety Guaranteed, which some early critics suspect could be the hipster movie darling of 2012. Music lovers will be treated to an almost insurmountable schedule of concerts. Bruce Springsteen, the festival’s keynote speaker, will be performing a super…

Angelina Jolie leg sweeps the Internet

Angelina Jolie’s awkward pose at the Oscars on Sunday has led to a popular fake Twitter account and an Internet craze known as “legbombing.” People at the Kodak Theater and viewers watching at home were puzzled when Jolie–an Oscar-winning actress herself, on stage to present the award for Best Adapted Screenplay–silently placed a hand on side, cocked her hip and extended her right leg through a slit in her elegant black gown. Then, the Internet went to work. Within seconds, people were trading jabs about Jolie on social media, including some of her fellow celebrities. A joke Twitter page which says it belongs to Jolie’s leg itself began sending tweets shortly after the incident. It…

Google’s new search feature is bad for you

Last week, Google launched a new feature called Search, Plus Your World. When you’re signed into your Google account and perform a Google search, the results will return photos, videos and other content from Google services. Basically, Google is attempting to expand its online dominance. Comparisons are being made to what Microsoft did that resulted in an anti-trust case in 1998.