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News In Brief

MIDDAY UPDATE: Goldman Sachs and Facebook

Katharine Crnko Jan 3, 2011

Investment bank Goldman Sachs has “friended” Facebook. The mega-bank is pouring half-a-billion dollars into Facebook, boosting the social network’s worth to about $50 billion. Seems like Facebook is finally getting some “street” cred — Wall Street that is. But when asked about taking the company public, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says, “Don’t hold your breath.”

We’re expecting 2011’s first unemployment report from the Labor Department on Friday. While the private sector has tried to create jobs, the growth rate is too slow to accommodate “new” employees like recent grads and people who have lost their jobs.

Finally, this week Las Vegas will host the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show — one of the world’s largest gadget tradeshows. And this year’s hottest trend? Beating the Apple iPad. With an estimated 13 million iPads sold, companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, and Blackberry maker RIM are lining up to introduce new competitors.

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