InfoAnda - Insight: Who got Facebook shares? Fairness may not come into it |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

U.S. Posts First Rise In Teen Pregnancy Since 1990s, Abortion Rate Also Up | 27 January 2010
China to lend relics to Taiwan: state media | 16 February 2009
Morales: U.S. seeks excuse to meddle in Latin America | | 23 November 2010

False alarm over package at U.S. embassy to Vatican | | 29 December 2010

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Insight: Who got Facebook shares? Fairness may not come into it |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Social Pulse Business Video The Freeland File Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Issues 2012 Candidates 2012 Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Social Pulse Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Jack & Suzy Welch Frederick Kempe Christopher Papagianis Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Lipper Awards 2012 Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (0) REUTERS VIDEO Lab mice reveal path to dementia cure Scientists in Australia have discovered a molecule in the brain that may hold the key to preventing or even curing dementia. Video Paralysis patient tastes freedom through thought control Stem cell therapy credited with saving girl's life Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Iran attack decision nears, Israeli elite locks down 12:39pm EDT Insight: Swing states: Could Europe decide the U.S. election? 2:43am EDT Turkey says Israeli plane violates N.Cyprus airspace 10:29am EDT Hanging caused death of wife of Robert Kennedy Jr.: autopsy 12:50pm EDT Facebook's Saverin says to pay millions in U.S. tax 3:27pm EDT Discussed 158 Germany’s Merkel dealt heavy blow in state vote 113 Weary warriors favor Obama 103 Americans split on Obama’s gay marriage decision Watched A look at the UK’s most beautiful face Thu, May 10 2012 Paralysis patient tastes freedom through thought control Wed, May 16 2012 Surfer rides 78-foot wave to world record Fri, May 11 2012 Wealth and Investing Center Pictures Reuters Photojournalism Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption Inside Greece An insider's look at the people and places that define Greece. Slideshow Transgendered Indian Seema is transgender, one of hundreds of thousands in India who are ostracised, often abused and forced into prostitution. Slideshow Insight: Who got Facebook shares? Fairness may not come into it Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Facebook prices at top of range in landmark IPO 5:28pm EDT Merrill, Morgan Stanley doling out Facebook shares 3:24pm EDT Several brokerages stop taking Facebook IPO orders Wed, May 16 2012 Facebook boosts IPO size by 25 percent, could top $16 billion Wed, May 16 2012 Facebook IPO triggers retail investor craze Wed, May 16 2012 Analysis & Opinion How to resist Big Brother 2.0 Counterparties: Are you sick of Facebook yet? Related Topics Tech » Deals » Global Deals Review: 2011 Q3 » Global Deals Review: 2011 Q2 » Global Deals Review » Money » Inflows Outflows » Media » Facebook » The loading screen of the Facebook application on a mobile phone is seen in this photo illustration taken in Lavigny May 16, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Valentin Flauraud By Joseph A. Giannone NEW YORK | Thu May 17, 2012 5:12pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lot of loyal Facebook fans and occasional investors are discovering a hard truth this week: Money and connections talk, especially when it comes to a deal handled by Wall Street. The scramble for shares in what is one of largest initial public offerings in U.S. history quickly divided the haves from the have-nots on Thursday. Those with big brokerage accounts and a long history as customers of Wall Street firms likely got at least part of their orders for Facebook shares filled, but would-be buyers who had no such ties were lucky to get any. "This is worse than not scoring an invitation to the best party in high school," said Fran Carpentier, 57, a publishing and marketing consultant in New York City who wanted to get in on the social media company's IPO but could not figure out how. Facebook raised about $16 billion on Thursday by selling roughly 421 million shares at $38 each. That is approximately half a share for each of its 900 million active monthly users. Demand for the long-awaited deal, meanwhile, has been surging, helped by wall-to-wall media coverage. Orders for Facebook shares outweigh the supply by a ratio of more than 20 to 1, according to traders' estimates. Aside from wanting the cachet of owning the next big thing, investors are eager to buy something that may deliver big, even astronomical returns -- a rare opportunity in today's low-yield and turbulent markets. IPOs often offer an early pop, even if the shares stumble later, and Facebook is seen initially climbing further than most. Some analysts expect Facebook shares to rise by as much as 50 percent, or even more on the first day. Facebook and underwriters, as usual, kept mum about overall demand ahead of the IPO. Facebook, which will trade under the ticker FB, did not return calls for comment. There have been growing expectations in the market that small investors, as opposed to big pension and mutual fund managers, will get as much as 30 percent of the deal. That's a bigger chunk than the 10 percent to 15 percent that is typically allocated to retail investors. It is a result of efforts by Facebook executives to make shares available to more users. Underwriters are accommodating Facebook's wishes. But the allocation may still not be nearly enough to meet demand. That puts financial advisers and brokerage houses in the uncomfortable position of not having enough shares to satisfy Main Street investors clamoring to be a part of the hottest IPO since Google's 2004 debut. One of those investors is Mary Furlong, who runs a marketing firm for baby boomers in Lafayette, California. "I want to buy shares. I missed the Google opening," she says, but did not end up getting hold of any shares. Google, whose founders made "Don't be evil" a core principle, in 2004 issued its stock through a more transparent process known as a modified Dutch auction. Underwriters gathered bids from investors regardless of their connections or size of their portfolios. That created more of a level playing field for potential investors. Google's shares were priced at $85, climbed to $100 on Day 1 and are now trading at about $623. Facebook is selling its shares through a traditional Wall Street IPO, a more subjective process, one managed by investment bankers. "The deal is probably not 'fair,' but there's no way it can be," said Bruce Foerster, owner of South Beach Capital Markets and former head of global equity syndicate at Lehman Brothers. "If you don't have ties to Facebook management, if you don't have accounts and an investment history with firms that are co-managing the deal, why should you get any stock?" MANAGING EXPECTATIONS The demand for Facebook shares has put immense pressure on the 17,000-plus financial advisers at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, the brokerage unit of Morgan Stanley, one of the IPO's lead underwriters. On Monday the company told advisers that its retail customers would be limited to a maximum 500 shares per account, only to increase the limit to 5,000 on Thursday, according to sources familiar with the situation. Mindful that customers would be frustrated, Morgan Stanley early on distributed a script to its brokers on how to handle requests from clients, said one veteran broker. "The minute someone says 'Facebook,' we're supposed to say, 'Yes, we're the lead, but we can't talk about it,'" the broker said. "I heard from three or four clients, and I told them there is no way I'll be able to get them shares because I haven't done IPO business in years." Other brokerages are in the same boat. Bank of America's Merrill Lynch brokerage is limiting retail clients to a maximum 2,000 shares per account, according to brokers at the firm. Wells Fargo Advisors, the brokerage arm of Wells Fargo & Co, has a scoring system for allocating shares among its more than 15,000 brokers. It weighs brokers' annual revenue production, how much IPO work they do and how long their clients held positions in prior IPOs, according to one Wells Fargo broker. Then in turn, brokers score their clients based on assets with the firm, how much they have traded in the past, and how long they've held onto previous allocations of shares in IPOs. "I can't just get Facebook shares for my buddy," said one Wells Fargo adviser, who declined to be named because he is not permitted to speak to the press. At Fidelity, the funds and brokerage giant, Facebook shares will be reserved only for clients with at least $500,000 in assets, excluding 401(k) plans, or those who make at least 36 trades a year with the firm, according to Fidelity spokesman Stephen Austin. Loyalty helps: Fidelity customers who have being doing business with the firm for the longest periods get higher priority in the IPO food chain. While excluded investors may feel spurned, there's nothing illegal about banks selling shares to their best customers. Whether it is fair to everyone is another question. "People have argued that it leaves other investors out, especially for hot IPOs, where in the after-market the prices are likely to be much higher," said Jill Fisch, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Maurice Costello, a former broker who works as an accountant in the Boston area, says he has ordered Facebook at $37 a share through his E*Trade account. But he has no idea how many shares he might ultimately receive. The online brokerage, which typically caters to small investors, is one of 33 firms named by Facebook to distribute its newly issued shares. E*Trade would not comment on the Facebook IPO. For some investors, buying into the IPO doesn't necessarily mean holding on to the stock. Richard Laermer, who is CEO of social network ThankBank, is clamoring to get Facebook shares and flip, or sell them, at a profit. "I am going to do what I did with LinkedIn, Groupon, Google, Research In Motion, AOL, Netscape, Dunkin Donuts ... plus a host of 90s stocks that I can't even recall," Laermer wrote in an email to Reuters. "Buy on Day One, sell on Day Three. It never fails." (Additional reporting Alistair Barr, Olivia Oran, Jessica Toonkel, John McCrank and Jennifer Cummings; Editing by Jilian Mincer, Martin Howell and Steve Orlofsky) Tech Deals Global Deals Review: 2011 Q3 Global Deals Review: 2011 Q2 Global Deals Review Money Inflows Outflows Media Facebook Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use AdChoices Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Friday, 18 May 2012
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Russia says action on Syria, Iran may go nuclear |
Qaeda chief urges Saudis to topple ruling family |
Russian police detain protest leader, five others |
US to suspend Myanmar sanctions, but keep laws on books |
Iran threatens to sue Google over dropping Persian Gulf |
West African troops start arriving in Guinea-Bissau |
Facebook prices at top of range in landmark IPO |
Iran threatens to sue Google over dropping Persian Gulf |
Apple to use only green power for main data center |
HP mulls cutting at least 25,000 jobs: sources |
Insight: Who got Facebook shares? Fairness may not come into it |
Apple to use only green power for main data center |
AT&T eyes lower subsidies, shared data plans |
Facebook's Saverin fires back at tax-dodge critics |
Disco queen Donna Summer dies at 63 |
And the winner is? The sitcom, as networks add new shows |
Peter Berg discusses bringing Battleship to film |
Contestants? It's TV talent judges basking in fame, cash |
Second Travolta accuser drops suit, hires celebrity attorney |
Adele notches up two Ivor Novello songwriting awards |
Cannes festival opens with quirky comedy and a camel |
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
G8 leaders look to head off euro zone crisis |
China bars blind dissident's family choice of lawyers |
Poll shows Greece electing pro-bailout government |
Former editor says Murdoch sowed seeds of hacking scandal |
Retired officials urge China's ruling party to come clean |
Syria's Assad: Nations that sow chaos will suffer |
Slovenian austerity drive threatened by referendum call |
Resource-rich Mongolia plays populist card in run-up to polls |
Investors brace for Facebook debut on Wall Street |
Verizon data fans to pay more in service or phones |
ZTE confirms security hole in U.S. phone |
GM ad move followed failed Facebook pitch: sources |
Samsung gets 9 million preorders for new Galaxy phone: report |
EA must defend NCAA conspiracy lawsuit |
Insight: Who got Facebook IPO shares? Fairness may not come into it |
Toshiba plans to double operating profit by 2014-15 |
Sorkin says Jobs movie won't be straight biography |
Jessica Sanchez, Phillip Phillips make Idol final |
Broadway play's echoes of Bo scandal may prevent China staging |
And the winner is? The sitcom, TV networks hope |
Avengers may sink Battleship's U.S. launch |
Van Halen postpone more than 30 concert dates |
Iran may seek tactical gain with U.N. nuclear deal |
Growing military buildup, spying in China: Pentagon |
Police detain 400 Blockupy activists in Frankfurt |
Exclusive: Drugmakers weigh emergency supply plan for Greece |
Banks' rising bad loans add to Spanish troubles |
Spat with Iraq bares Turk plunge into regional power game |
U.S. firms eye Myanmar as sanctions suspended |
Facebook fizzles in debut, shares skirt IPO price |
Worries mount as Nokia burns through cash |
Verizon data fans to pay more in service or phones |
Ex-Yahoo CEO Thompson leaves F5 Networks' board |
Joke on Europe as Madagascar sequel comes to Cannes |
Reality TV, celebrity obsession hit Cannes screens |
Exploitation, loneliness in sex tourism film at Cannes |
Sorkin says Jobs movie won't be straight biography |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01