Post-IPO, Facebook Finds Itself in Hot Water (FB, WMT)

After its highly anticipated Nasdaq debut last Friday, Facebook (FB) has fallen far short of expectations, sinking by 16 percent in its first three days. Some shareholders are now alleging that Facebook withheld a pessimistic forecast before the IPO, and are suing for damages. This should put some of Facebook’s underwriters, particularly Morgan Stanley (MS), under scrutiny as well. Markets were mixed today, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 slightly up and the Dow slightly down. In other corporate news, Wal-Mart’s (WMT) Express stores are already profitable, when they were only launched last June.

Word on the Street

• Markets were basically flat today.
• Facebook (FB) shareholders are suing the company.
• Wal-Mart’s (WMT) Express stores became profitable in under a year.
• US new home sales rose by 3.3 percent in April.
• Oil fell to $90 a barrel.
• Macy’s (M) is expanding to China.

Interesting Tidbits

• Barack Obama, private equity king
• Obama spending binge never happened