Goldman Sachs and the Facebook IPO

World Wide News

On the heels of “The Social Network” winning the Best Drama/Director/Screenplay trifecta at the Golden Globes, it’s a pretty interesting and volatile time for Facebook.  In fact, there’s an argument to be made that the movie has done a lot to increase Facebook’s profile and profitability.  It’s not as though Facebook was struggling before the movie but it definitely helped crown Facebook the king of all social networks–even if the movie paints founder Mark Zuckerberg as being pretty unscrupulous and Machiavellian.

Even with all that success, the big investment from Goldman Sachs has hit a bump, and Facebook’s old privacy concerns could also be a problem for the network’s future.First, Goldman Sachs has pulled its Facebook offer from US clients.  Initially, there was a huge amount of interest from private investors in the U.S., but that’s hit a snag. According to Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times:

Just over a week after Goldman Sachs offered its most prized clients a chance to invest in Facebook, the firm rescinded the opportunity from clients in the United States because of worries that the deal would run afoul of securities regulators.

The withdrawal of the offer–which valued Facebook at $50 billion–is a major embarrassment for Goldman, which had marketed the investment to its wealthiest clients, including corporate magnates and directors of the nation’s largest companies.

Cry not for Facebook as they’ll get a huge influx of money from other sources, but it’s interesting this latest development in the social network giant’s evolution is as clouded by controversy as its cinematically portrayed beginnings:

The firm said in a statement: “In light of this intense media coverage, Goldman Sachs has decided to proceed only with the offer to investors outside the U.S. Goldman Sachs concluded that the level of media attention might not be consistent with the proper completion of a U.S. private placement under U.S. law.”

This bit of controversy comes at the same time as new privacy concerns about Facebook and these new complaints are particularly bad.  Facebook may seem all powerful right now, but remember, so was MySpace back in the day.  There could come a time when critical mass rises up against problems such as Facebook recently opening the door for app developers to request a user’s addresses and phone numbers as announced on its Facebook Developer blog in a post Friday night by developer liaison Jeff Bowen.

So far, Facebook has failed to mention the change on its general announcement blog for users or any other network-wide methods. The company has dealt with privacy concerns for years, with a focus of criticism being third-party app makers’ access to user data.

For Facebook users, this means address and phone numbers already listed in their profile will be given to a developer who requests such
information by way of the “Request for Permission” dialog box that pops up when a user begins the process of adding an application to their
profile.

Sharing an email address is one thing, but a phone number or physical address?  This is going to seriously creep people out.

Personally, I didn’t totally buy the premise of “The Social Network.”  Sure he took an idea from someone else, but what Zuckerberg built took that idea into a whole other stratosphere.  Also, the story of Zuckerberg siding with Napster founder, Sean Parker, rather than his original partner is not all that surprising–of course he’d be more enamored with the rock star developer who brought the music industry to its knees.  His partner, after all, didn’t have the greatest ideas about the project either.  I also think the movie missed some of the joy of creation, i.e.; building Facebook wasn’t just about screwing people over, but creating something fun and useful.  But these new problems with Facebook don’t exactly inspire confidence in the entire operation.

What do you think?  Facebook = evil empire?  How about “The Social Network”?  Oscar-worthy or not?

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High Yield Income

In this article I will talk about HYIP (high yield investing programs) and I will make you some recommendations.

A High Yield Investment Program is also known as a HYIP. Many HYIPs are Ponzi Schemes, however some of them (few) are legal businesses but because the majority of these High Yield Income Programs are some type of fraud you should always remember The Golden Rule: Do Not Spend More Than You Afford To loose!

Before investing in HYIPs you should consult a HYIP Monitor to see what programs are paying. If you want to invest in these kind of online investment funds then I recommend you to read the following reviews about:

• NextGenMarket
• AimTrust
• Pana Money

You can also discuss with other investors on different money making forums such as Collective Investment Forum.

Marketiva Forex Broker

As you can see, FREE Money Maker has a special category for Foreign Exchange Trading because an online investment on Forex Market is a good opportunity for you to make some big profits. In order to trade foreign exchange you’ll need a serious forex broker.

Our first article will be about a MARKETIVA.

MARKETIVA has established itself as an industry leader thanks to its advanced trading platform and its highly recommended customer service. MARKETIVA state they have “more than 260,000 serviced users, 150,000 unique and live trading accounts, and more than 2.7 million live orders executed each month”.

No minimum deposits are required to open an account with MARKETIVA. Actually, when you first log in, your account is already charged with $2.5 in real money, and $100,000 virtual money. The same account and platform are used for practice money and for the real money, so only a click of a button is needed to determine which funds you wish to use. Best of all, a $5 reward is given for opening a new account and depositing only $1. MARKETIVA’s rates are between 2-4 pips for the major pairs, offering less than 20 pairs all together. The leverage they offer is of 1:100, allowing a minimum trade unit of 1 lot! In addition to FOREX trading, MARKETIVA also allows trading funds, offering a list of 7 funds to choose from.

The process of opening up a MARKETIVA account is quick and easy. Registration process is simple, and requires only minimal details for opening the account. No further procedures were required for downloading the software, which is also a quick and easy process.

Streamster, MARKETIVA’s software, is known for its ease of use and flexibility. It has a high-tech look & feel, yet it is simple and intuitive enough for a beginner to understand. The software includes advanced charting tools, which are fully customizable, and enable opening positions right from the charts themselves.

Accounts can be managed through the “Account Center” on MARKETIVA’s website, so it is not necessary to actually be logged into the Streamster download software, to follow account balance, open positions and trades.

Deposit and withdrawal processes are executed through the web “Account Center”, and are clear and easy to follow through.

There are different payment methods available to make a deposit on MARKETIVA. No fees are charged for deposits, however, these payment methods do accrue charges for withdrawals.

The fee for withdrawing by wire transfer is $14.00, while for all the rest it is $7.00 and only for the first withdraw.

Around the clock customer support is available from professionals with any questions that may arise, technical as well as trade related. MARKETIVA’s support standard is regarded by users as one of the highest in this field. This is despite the fact that support is provided mainly via email, and through the public chat-room, open be read by all clients.

A multitude of additional services and resources are offered the trader. A section of FAQs, dealing with general issues of trade in the FOREX market, as well as specific questions about operating their software, is available on the website. The answers cover lots of ground, although not in the most enticing way.
Market news and alerts are provided from within the system, to aid traders with their decision making processes.

Instrument Profiles are also provided. These profiles contain detailed information categorized in several sections, allowing the trader to make a better decision on which instrument to trade.
MARKETIVA enables clients to chat online with other traders, so they can discuss market events and trends, and exchange ideas and tips.

To further enhance the community atmosphere, MARKETIVA runs Marketiva Masters Tournaments. MARKETIVA posts a list of traders who made the most profits during the last month and during the previous year. The #1 earner is named Marketiva Master of the month or year.

The user-friendly software, high quality support, advanced community tools and low risk requirements, all make MARKETIVA very attractive for a newcomer to the FOREX market.