BUSINESS

Shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), the No. 1 social network that raised $16 billion in its initial public offering, the biggest in Internet history, soared more than 10 percent but closed up by only a fraction.

Shares of Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), the No. 3 search engine, jumped as much as 6 percent in early trading Friday on a rumor it had finally made a deal to sell at least part of its 40-percent stake in China's Alibaba Group (Pink: ALBCF).

India Friday announced a set of austerity measures in a desperate attempt to prop up economy and to instill investor confidence.

The European Union and European Central Bank have a contingency plan in place in the event that Greece is forced to exit the euro zone, according to EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht. However, he did not divulge the details of this contingency plan.

Investors in Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB), the No. 1 social network, got their first chance on Friday to gauge reaction to its $38-a-share public offering price that initially had valued the company at $104 billion.

The moment is finally here: Facebook, the world's most dominant social network with 900 million-plus users, is finally ready to make its Wall Street debut. Zuckerberg will ring the opening bell at 9:30 a.m. ET, but since he will be broadcasting from Facebook remotely, NASDAQ has provided a way to watch all the proceedings occur live.

Air India is poised to get its first installment of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft by the end of this month even as the crisis in the national carrier, caused by the pilots, continues.

It's Friday, May 18 and the world's largest social network, Facebook Inc., enters the market raising a whooping $16 billion in one of the biggest initial public offerings in the US history. What makes it even more eye-popping is the amount the company is now valued at - $104.2 billion.

The companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading on Friday are: ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Osiris Therapeutics, Morgan Stanley, Salesforce.com, Banco Santander, First Solar, JPMorgan Chase, Aruba Networks, Tata Motors and Carnival Corp.

A highly popular tranche of municipal debt issues is likely to feel the sting of a multi-notch ratings downgrade soon, a Wells Fargo credit strategist warned. The downgrade would wreak havoc on the portfolio strategy of a substantial number of investors in tax-exempt debt, and would also likely have noisy political repercussions in Puerto Rico, the municipality whose bonds are in the crosshairs.

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a slightly higher opening Friday ahead of the commencement of public trading of Facebook.

Asian stock markets slumped Friday as renewed concerns over euro zone crisis and lackluster economic data from US dented investor sentiment.

The Indian rupee fell to a record low Friday as it succumbed to pressures of the debt crisis looming over the euro zone and the weak domestic indicators.

Home prices in China fell in April, indicating that the government's efforts to curb the property market boom are gaining further momentum.

Asian stock markets tumbled on Friday, following an overnight slump on Wall Street as weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data and a deepening euro zone crisis dampened sentiment.

Facebook may only have itself to blame for why General Motors rained on its IPO parade this week.

Asian shares fell steeply Friday after more signs emerged of growing instability among Spanish banks and political turmoil in Greece, with the latest sluggish economic data from the United States adding to the list of risks for investors.

Rating agency Moody's Investors Services sent yet another shockwave down the spine of the European financial industry on Thursday afternoon, downgrading 16 Spanish banks after equity markets had closed in New York.

The announcement came on the heels of a survey that found one in 10 inmates are sexually victimized by other prisoners or prison staff.

JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has agreed to testify before Congress over the bank's recent trading losses, which have ignited a political debate over whether large U.S. banks need to be reined in by regulators or new laws.

A lack of new data or news saw markets run with previously established trends overnight.

Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO), the No. 3 search engine, now has three new directors from Third Point Capital, the New York hedge fund that boosted its stake in the company.

Apple hopes to make all drivers safer with a new invention, which lets users wirelessly control the music playing in their car without ever taking their hands off the steering wheel. In a patent that was quietly granted on May 15, Apple describes a new remote control that can be clipped onto any car's steering wheel.

Brazilian naval authorities are investigating yet another oil sheen seen floating near a platform owned by state oil company Petrobras.

Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), the No. 1 social network, raised $16 billion in its initial public offering, the biggest in Internet history, valuing its shares at $38.

Got 48 hours to spare this summer in Warsaw?

London will burst at the seams this summer as the world converges for the 2012 Olympic Games, but it's not too late to find a place to sleep in the British capital.

European stocks lost big Thursday as Greek banks were cut loose from European Central Bank support and Spain's borrowing costs kept skyrocketing. The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, also warned today of the extremely expensive consequences of Greece leaving the currency bloc.

Inside Joel Tenenbaum's legal crusade against the recording industry and a $675,000 penalty for file sharing.