Senate panel to launch review of Facebook IPO

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

A Senate committee is reviewing Facebook’s problematic stock offering amid questions about whether the bank handling the IPO gave select clients a negative assessment of the company.

A Democratic aide to the Senate Banking Committee said Wednesday that members want to know more about the initial public offering.

The aide said members of the Democrat-controlled committee want to meet with Facebook executives and regulatory agencies for an informal inquiry. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the committee's planned inquiry hasn't been publicly announced.

Regulators are examining whether lead IPO underwriter Morgan Stanley selectively informed clients of an analyst's negative view of Facebook's prospects before the high-profile stock offering last week.

A group of shareholders have sued Facebook and the investment bank, alleging the IPO documents contained false statements and omitted important facts.

Meanwhile, the House Financial Services Committee is gathering information and facts about the issues related to the IPO but no hearings have been planned, spokesman Jeff Emerson told Fox News.

“Our staff is receiving briefings,” he said. “While no hearings specifically focused on this IPO are planned at this time, the committee will have hearings over the coming weeks where this topic is likely to be raised.”

The initial offering was $38 a share, but the price quickly dropped the $31 and has now stabilized at about $32 a share.

The announcements follows Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro telling the Senate committee Tuesday that the agency also is review "issues" related to the IPO.

The offering also had technology issues, the result of glitch on the Nasdaq exchange, which also is reviewing the situation. The debut offering had to be delayed several hours Friday reportedly as a result of an overwhelming order for shares.

The top securities regulator for Massachusetts, William Galvin, said he had subpoenaed Morgan Stanley. Galvin said his office is investigating whether Morgan Stanley divulged to only some clients that one of its analysts had cut his revenue estimates for Facebook before the stock hit the market on Friday.

The bank said late Tuesday that it "followed the same procedures for the Facebook offering that it follows for all IPOs," referring to initial public offerings of stock. It said that its procedures complied with regulations.

________

 

Facebook follies.

[clearvision]

It is stupid the Senate/House feels the need to grandstand about every little thing that goes "wrong" in this country. We have a huge government infrastructure already in place for most of these things.

[Pepper]

Face it, for all those who lost, a bunch made money. That's how things work.

 

Facebook – Cry Me a River

 

Do you seriously want me to feel bad for anyone who participated in this Facebook ($FB: no positions) IPO process? Huh? Why?

Let me retreat just one step: I feel bad for one group of people: the traders whose orders got lost in limbo due to NASDAQ systems issues on Friday morning, and spent hours not knowing their actual position in the stock. That sucks, and it’s impossible to manage risk and PnL when you don’t know your positions.

Take this post as tough love. Take responsibility for your actions.

 

I don’t think I read a single piece of analysis, research, commentary, punditry, etc in the weeks leading up to the Facebook IPO that said that Facebook was going to be priced at a bargain level. People got hosed on Facebook for a very simple reason: greed. Everyone was chasing the free-money huge first day pops from IPO days of yore.

[Valin]

It is stupid the Senate/House feels the need to grandstand about every little thing that goes "wrong" in this country. We have a huge government infrastructure already in place for most of these things.

 

Well its not like they have anything else to do.

[pollyannaish]

Oh good grief.

 

This whole thing is idiotic. The government can't bother to put a budget together, they don't read the constitution, they can't seem to figure out their heads from their backsides....

 

But they can spend all day pontificating about Facebook, and hopped up baseball players and college girls birth control.

 

What a bunch of loosers!