A Jive IPO
The frenzy about social network stocks maintained itself as the IPO price for Jive Software priced more than 30% above its predicted range. The company will raise $131.6 million. It seems that the cratering of the prices of LinkedIn (NASDAQ: LNKD) and Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) after their IPOs has not undermined the value of the next wave of social network shares. The new big test of the market will be the IPO of Zynga, which will be followed by Facebook in the spring, according to media reports. Facebook could raise as much as $10 billion based on a $100 billion valuation.
The Fed’s Next Move
Economists predict the Federal Reserve will do nothing as it announces the results of its latest meeting. Some experts expect the Fed to begin to purchase debt, either mortgage paper or Treasuries. The economy is in enough of a recovery now, as far as the central bank is concerned, to make this action known as QE3 unnecessary. Some members of the Fed worry that another round of bond buying could trigger inflation. The Fed will do nothing until next year, if it acts at all. GDP for Q4 should be strong, which would support the bank’s current stance.
Global Hiring
Manpower Group released its quarterly survey of the global jobs situation. The employment firm’s report said that hiring in most economies, which includes notably China, will slow from the fourth quarter to the first of next year. The impact of the EU economic slowdown has spread all the way to Asia. China already has signaled that it will start another round of stimulus, in this case through lower rates and more liquidity passed through it banking system. But China cannot keep a strong pace of jobs creation if it has few export partners with good economies.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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