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Marketplace Morning Report for Friday, May 18, 2012
May 18, 2012

Marketplace Morning Report for Friday, May 18, 2012

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Happy Facebook IPO Day! The company priced its IPO yesterday at $38 a share, for a market valuation of $104 billion. But just exactly how is Facebook going to live up to that market cap? On the table at the House of Representatives are big budget cuts for the military; one of the casualties of defense budget cutting is the $45 million Technology Innovation Program. The U.S. Commerce Department has announced steep tariffs on solar panels from China. And this year, the cost of going to prom is a bit higher than usual.

Segments From this episode

Families choose to splurge for prom

May 18, 2012
It's prom season, and surveys show that American families will be spending $1,000 on average for prom this year, up a third from last year.
Surveys show that American families will be spending $1,000 on average for prom this year, up a third from last year.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

PODCAST: The Facebook IPO arrives

May 18, 2012
Happy Facebook IPO Day! The company priced its IPO yesterday at $38 a share, for a market valuation of $104 billion. But just exactly how is Facebook going to live up to that market cap? On the table at the House of Representatives are big budget cuts for the military; one of the casualties of defense budget cutting is the $45 million Technology Innovation Program. The U.S. Commerce Department has announced steep tariffs on solar panels from China. And this year, the cost of going to prom is a bit higher than usual.
Ed Jones/AFP/GettyImages

U.S. puts tariffs on Chinese solar panels

May 18, 2012
The U.S. believes China is dumping solar panels at below-market prices in America and has hit back with a penalty of 31 percent. That tariff is surprisingly steep and many in China are not reacting well. Could they backfire?

Government bond interest rates near all-time low

May 18, 2012
The yield -- or interest rate -- on 10-year government bonds has fallen down to 1.7 percent, which is close to the all-time low.

Innovation funding gets the ax

May 18, 2012
The Technology Innovation Program helped fund a lot of innovations, but now the program has been eliminated.

Twenty years later, lessons from Hurricane Andrew

May 18, 2012
Almost 20 years ago, the storm devastated south Florida. The Annual Governor's Conference this week in Ft. Lauderdale is focusing on what business and government have learned.

The initial launch of the Facebook IPO

May 18, 2012
After opening later than expected, the first few hours of the Facebook IPO are suggesting that the company might have misjudged the value of its shares.

How Facebook's IPO compares to Google's

May 18, 2012
Facebook leaves investors wondering about its true worth, but it's still leaving Google in the IPO dust.

Should Facebook continue to be free?

May 18, 2012
Facebook finally goes public today in the biggest IPO in Silicon Valley history. The market valuation will surpass $100 billion; that's more than well-established companies like Disney and Kraft.

Merkel likely to feel pressure at G8 summit

May 18, 2012
The G8 summit of the world's richest industrialized nation's gets underway this evening at Camp David in Maryland. German Chancellor Angela Merkel could be the center of attention. She's under pressure to get behind stimulus programs for Europe.

Student protests heat up in Quebec

May 18, 2012
In what's seen as the most intense student demonstrations in the history of Canada, students in Quebec have been protesting hikes in tuition since the winter. Now the government there is debating emergency legislation to temporarily close some universities and to levy penalties for protesting of as much as $35,000 for individuals, $125,000 for student organizations.

Happy Facebook IPO Day! The company priced its IPO yesterday at $38 a share, for a market valuation of $104 billion. But just exactly how is Facebook going to live up to that market cap? On the table at the House of Representatives are big budget cuts for the military; one of the casualties of defense budget cutting is the $45 million Technology Innovation Program. The U.S. Commerce Department has announced steep tariffs on solar panels from China. And this year, the cost of going to prom is a bit higher than usual.