On May 18, 2012, Facebook, Inc. (FB) went public. The long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) for the social media giant was marred by mistakes.

Days before the IPO, Facebook's Chief Financial Officer, David Ebersman, decided to increase the number of shares offered to investors. The decision increased the number of shares offered by 25%. According to The Wall Street Journal, the decision may have doomed the company from having a successful offering.

In addition, NASDQ's computer systems failed on the morning of the deal. The result was that investors were unable to place or cancel stock orders and were unable to verify that their orders had been fulfilled.

There are also allegations that Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter for the IPO, may have selectively disclosed material information related to the offering. It is alleged that Morgan Stanley cut its earnings forecast in the middle of the offering but only told certain investors. A class action lawsuit has already been filed and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) are investigating.

"There's a real chance Morgan Stanley will have legal liability," stated Andrew Stoltman with Stoltman Law Offices. "Other underwriters might as well. We will see as regulatory investigations expand who else might be liable."

Facebook's stock initially traded at $38.00 per share at the IPO. Since then, the stock has fallen significantly. Facebook (FB) closed the week trading at $31.50.

Heinz Gets Squeeze in Latest Earnings

H.J. Heinz Company (HNZ) reported its fourth-quarter and year-end earnings last week. Heinz delivered its 28th consecutive quarter of organic sales growth.

For the quarter, Heinz's operating income grew by 6.9% to $414 million. The company's net income grew by $16.8% to $261 million.

For the year, the ketchup-maker's sales grew by 8.8% to a record of $11.6 billion. The company posted net income of $923 million for the year.

"Heinz delivered strong fourth-quarter results led by our trio of growth engines – Emerging Markets, Global Ketchup and our Top 15 Brands," stated Heinz Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer William R. Johnson. "Excluding special charges, Heinz grew earnings per share by more than 17% and we delivered our 28th consecutive quarter of organic sales growth, supported by increased investments in marketing, productivity and Emerging Markets capabilities."

H.J. Heinz includes brands such as Heinz, Smart Ones, Weight Watchers and OreIda.

Shares of H.J. Heinz Company (HNZ) closed the week at $53.48.

Tiffany & Co. Loses Sparkle

Last week, Tiffany & Co. (TIF) reported its first-quarter earnings results. While sales increased, earnings stayed flat.

For the quarter, Tiffany reported net sales of $819 million. Sales increased by 8% over the same period last year.

Tiffany's net earnings increased by 1% for the quarter. Earnings increased to $82 million or $0.64 per diluted share. In the same quarter last year, Tiffany reported earnings of $81 million or $0.63 per share.

Michael J. Kowalski, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, responded to the earnings report stating, "In terms of our sales for the first quarter, regions outside the Americas performed generally as expected. However, the Americas region underperformed, continuing a soft trend that began in the last quarter of 2011 and compounded by the difficult comparison to substantial sales growth in last year's first quarter. These sales results led to net earnings modestly trailing our expectations."

For the week, Shares of Tiffany & Co. (TIF) closed at $56.83.

The Dow started the week at 12,369 and closed at 12,455. The NASDAQ started the week at 2,779 and finished at 2,837. The S&P 500 started the week at 1,295 and ended at 1,318.

Greece's latest elections resulted in significant uncertainty about the nation's ability to form a coalition government. What is more certain however, is that the political parties that gained seats are opposed to austerity.

The prospect of Greece's upcoming elections has raised concerns that Greece may fail to meet the austerity terms of two separate Euro-bailouts of the Mediterranean nation. The failure to implement the austerity measures could result in Greece's departure from the European Union.

An alternative departure from Greece leaving the EU has recently been proposed by Argentina's former Finance Secretary Guillermo Nielsen. Nielsen has suggested that Germany should exit the euro and revalue its currency to avoid the effects a Greek exit from the EU might cause. Some speculate that a Greek exit might be more costly than a German exit and threaten regional banks.

"The discussion so far has been framed by the predominant power in the region, Germany," said Nielsen. "Instead of searching for the truth, they continue to keep the discussions under politically correct guidelines. They need to break the standstill."

Nielsen suggested that a German exit from the euro would make it easier for the EU to devalue its currency. He also suggested that Greece should begin to issue paper bills as a quasi-currency to ease any transition.

The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 1.74% while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 2.84%.

Last week, Freddie Mac released its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS). The PMMS reports the average fixed rate mortgage (FRM) interest rates.

Over the past week, interest rates for the 30-year FRM averaged 3.78%. Last week, this mortgage product averaged 3.79%. A year ago, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.6%

The 15-year FRM was unchanged as compared to the previous week, holding steady at 3.04%. Last year at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.78%.

"Mortgage rates were virtually unchanged this week with fixed-rate loans remaining at record lows and helping to drive homebuyer affordability," stated Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's Vice-President and Chief Economist. "The National Association of Realtor's Housing Affordability Index reached an all-time record high in the first quarter of this year since records began in 1970. In April, existing home sales rose to the highest rate since January with an annualized rate of 4.62 million homes with purchases increasing in all four Census Regions."

The money market finished this week at 0.50%. The 1-year CD finished at 0.70%.