Facebook IPO: Stock Falters, Still Raises $16 Billion

Call it the most disappointing $16 billion raised in investment history.

Facebook stock is off to a rocky start after its highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO), jumping more than 10 percent in the first few minutes of trading before sellers swept into the market and that gain evaporated.

“The stock is trading right at the IPO price,” one expert told the L.A. Times. “They didn’t want that in a million years. A traditional IPO is up 10% or 15%.”

The stock most recently hovered at about $40, only $2 above what shares were priced at late Thursday. Shares touched $38 multiple times during trading.

Investors also had to deal with a nearly three-hour delay for the stock to open. The Nasdaq kept the stock halted as it processed a crush of buy and sell orders.

The inauspicious opening after the Facebook IPO suggests that retail investors paid close attention to reports of soft financials and big selling by insiders.

Still, Facebook raised $16 billion in what will go down as the third-largest public offering in U.S. history and the biggest ever for a technology company.

Could be worse, right? Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg rang the Nasdaq (Read more...)

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Rings The Nasdaq Opening Bell [PHOTOS & VIDEO]

Facebook, started eight years ago in Mark Zuckerberg‘s Harvard dorm, made history today in Menlo Park, CA and ceremoniously rang the Nasdaq opening bell at 6:30am PT. Zuckberg and the company’s COO celebrated IPO day by counting down the seconds and pressing the button to throngs of cheers in “Hacker’s Square.” Facebook began trading at roughly [...]

Facebook Co-Founder Renounces Citizenship To Avoid Taxes

At least that's what the popular opinion is!

Remember the guy Andrew Garfield played in The Social Network? He's causing all sorts of outrage right now!

Eduardo Saverin, a co-founder of Facebook, renounced his U.S. citizenship last fall and the government thinks it's to avoid paying taxes on the billion dollar fortune he accumulated as an American.

Since he owns about 4% of Mark Zuckerberg's company, his stock is estimated to be worth $3 billion to $4 billion as of today and he won't have to pay $600 million in capital gains tax in the future.

In response to what many consider a slap in the face of America, two senators have proposed a new bill that would slap him back with a mandatory 30% tax on future capital gains AND bar him from reentering the country.

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York told sources:

"This is a great American success story gone horribly wrong. Eduardo Saverin wants to defriend the United States of America just to avoid paying taxes. We aren't going to let him get away with it."

The young billionaire swears he didn't renounce his citizenship for any reason other than moving to (Read more...)

Mark Zuckerberg Rings The NASDAQ Bell As Shares Of Facebook Stock Go On Sale

Shares of Facebook officially go on sale today on the New York Stock Exchange and Facebook creator/CEO Mark Zuckerberg was on hand this morning to ring the bell to start trading. The hoodie-wearing Zuckerberg did not make his way to NYC, NY to ring the bell … he did his bell ringing duty via satellite from Facebook headquarters here in California. Click below to see photos and watch video of the hallowed event and be a part of the Facebook hoopla that has taken the world by storm today.

Mark Zuckerberg, wearing his trademark hooded sweatshirt, remotely rang the bell to open the Nasdaq Friday, marking a historic share offering for Facebook that confirms the growing importance of the social network giant. Amid a crowd at Facebook’s California headquarters, Zuckerberg and hundreds of employees cheered as the 28-year-old co-founder rang the bell via video for the New York-based Nasdaq. Facebook shares were to start trading later in the day in the richest-ever initial public offering for a technology firm. Zuckerberg wore a dark hoodie, unfazed by criticism from some on Wall Street about his casual attire. And most of those on hand for the ceremony were wearing similar sweatshirts (Read more...)

Why Is Selena Gomez Learning To Shoot A Gun?

Sweet little Selena Gomez is shooting guns – what is the world coming to? Today we get to see pics of Selena at a shooting range after she posted a couple of photos onto her Facebook page and Twitter account. From the pics it really looks like she knows what she is doing too! Her back is to the camera, but it’s quite clearly her, as she points the pistol toward a paper human target. Damn, these pics are a little scary and also somewhat bizarre, check ‘em out. Is Selena trying to shed her good girl image?

“Released some stress today,” Selena tweeted alongside these pictures of her at a shooting range in Bulgaria.

In my mind the lil’ 19 year old Selena is innocent and sweet, still a young Disney girl who is dating the equally innocent (but light beer drinking) Justin Bieber. It looks so out of character to see her at a shooting range with the sound muffling headphones on and a big ass gun in her hand. She has the stance and body language all down pat too. Could this be from growing up in Texas?

OK, so I don’t think Selena has quite (Read more...)

Mark Ronson FUMING Over Village Voice Misquotes!

Womp womp!

Some reporter at NYC newspaper The Village Voice is in troooouuble!

Music producer Mark Ronson, who collaborated with Amy Winehouse on her EPIC album Back To Black, is pretty pissed at a Villiage Voice article that quotes him as saying:

"What little time we had, well, it was tense. She was in a bad state, God knows why. I think that the Adele thing had Amy freaked out. She liked her, but Adele's success was making Amy feel upset, competitive, restless."

Well, that's apparently not at all what Ronson said, and he took to his Facebook page Thursday to ream out the reporter AND to set the record straight.

We've always felt Adele and Amy inspired each other...?

Read Mark's HEATED response to the article ...AFTER THE JUMP!

"I rarely ever respond to misquotes and wrong information. plus, it only serves to bring attention to the matter. however in this case, i will not fucking tolerate it. some journalist quoted me as saying Amy was "freaked out" by Adele's success. jesus christ. i read the interview for the first time just now, and there are so many wrong quotes in there. i can tell the (Read more...)

Mark Ronson FUMING Over Village Voice Misquotes!

Womp womp!

Some reporter at NYC newspaper The Village Voice is in troooouuble!

Music producer Mark Ronson, who collaborated with Amy Winehouse on her EPIC album Back To Black, is pretty pissed at a Villiage Voice article that quotes him as saying:

"What little time we had, well, it was tense. She was in a bad state, God knows why. I think that the Adele thing had Amy freaked out. She liked her, but Adele's success was making Amy feel upset, competitive, restless."

Well, that's apparently not at all what Ronson said, and he took to his Facebook page Thursday to ream out the reporter AND to set the record straight.

We've always felt Adele and Amy inspired each other...?

Read Mark's HEATED response to the article ...AFTER THE JUMP!

"I rarely ever respond to misquotes and wrong information. plus, it only serves to bring attention to the matter. however in this case, i will not fucking tolerate it. some journalist quoted me as saying Amy was "freaked out" by Adele's success. jesus christ. i read the interview for the first time just now, and there are so many wrong quotes in there. i can tell the (Read more...)

Eduardo Saverin, Facebook Co-Founder, Renounces U.S. Citizenship in Advance of IPO

Eduardo Saverin, the billionaire Facebook co-founder portrayed by Andrew Garfield in The Social Network, is no longer an American citizen.

Saverin, 30, renounced the U.S. citizenship he gained as a teenager in advance of the company's impending IPO, a move met with criticism.

He's accused of trying to skip out on taxes with the move, though the Brazilian-born resident of Singapore has done nothing illegal at any point.

Eduardo Saverin co-founded Facebook at age 21, was forced out two years later, sued CEO Mark Zuckerberg and ultimately settled out of court.

He was given a share of the company that left him phenomenally wealthy.

His stake, 4 percent of the company, will most likely be worth more than $3 billion when Facebook goes public Friday. Hence his exit now.

Saverin joins a growing number of people giving up U.S. citizenship, a move that can trim their tax liabilities when residing in lower-tax nations.

Said Tom Goodman, a spokesman for Saverin, in an e-mailed statement:

“Eduardo recently found it more practical to become a resident of Singapore since he plans to live there for an indefinite period of time.”

He professes ignorance about his taxes and refuses to discuss (Read more...)

Katie Couric Interviews The British Royal Family

Oooh! This could be good!!

Katie Couric pulls back some fancy British tapestries to give most Americans a view they rarely see, the REAL Queen Elizabeth II.

ABC teases its upcoming regal interview (above) with clips of Couric speaking in detail to Princes William and the Hippo-less Harry about a variety of subjects, including Her Majesty’s Facebook account!

We wonder if she plays Words With Friends! LOLz!!

In the two-hour broadcast, Couric speaks with the Royal family, support staff at Buckingham Palace, and even noted British celebrities like Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Elton John -- all in an attempt to paint a clearer portrait of Queen Mum.

What questions do U hope Katie asks the Queen?

How many crumpets does she eat with her tea? Did she think King Ralph with John Goodman was HIGHlarious??

P.S. CLICK HERE to "follow" Perez on Twitter!

P.P.S. CLICK HERE to "like" Perez on Facebook!

[Video via ABC.]

Columbia Pictures Beats Social Network Lawsuit From Former Zuckerberg Classmate

Well, that was a waste of time.

Aaron Greenspan, one of Mark Zuckerberg's Harvard classmates, filed a lawsuit against Columbia Pictures for his name being omitted from The Social Network.

He claimed to be robbed of glory for his role in the creation of Facebook because there was no mention of him in the movie or the book that inspired it, The Accidental Billionaires. The jaded Harvard grad also tried to convince the presiding judge that both the book and movie were copyright infringements of his own autobiography.

The judge, however, didn't see any unlawful similarities and didn't buy his argument of "defamation by omission."

Greenspan has argued in the past that he was essential to the creation of Facebook because he originally created his own social networking site called "the Face Book."

Regardless of how accurate his claims are, he still got a chunk of Zuckerberg's success. In 2009, Greenspan settled out of court with the billionaire when he fought the trademark of the site's famous name.

This most recent lawsuit sounds like an unsuccessful attempt to milk his connection to Facebook for everything it was worth.