TechBiz

By Jonnelle Marte

While Facebook (FB) nabbed the lion’s share of media attention heading into its record-setting IPO on Friday, an older Internet giant’s stock was quietly rising.

Google (GOOG) shares have jumped more than 7% since Facebook filed for its initial public offering on Feb. 2, while the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index is down about 1%. How to explain this market-beating performance? Some analysts say Google is likely benefiting from the hype surrounding Facebook -- and the inability for most regular investors to get in on the IPO at a decent price. It’s also seen as an attractive option for tech investors who can’t stomach the risks of investing in newly public companies, says Devin Pope, a wealth adviser for Albion Financial Group in Salt Lake City. "Google is a way to get exposure to social media without the risks and some of the potential unknowns from a company like Facebook," he says.

By Merrill Goozner

Everybody is ogling the fortunes being made from the investors and owners cashing out at Facebook (FB) -- Mark Zuckerberg taking $1.1 billion, Goldman Sachs (GS) taking out nearly the same, and Peter Thiel of PayPal collecting nearly $600 million.

Their good fortune raises an obvious question. Who’s buying? Who is plunking down the estimated $6.5 billion for the 180 million public shares that hit the market today? (The rest of the 421 million publicly registered shares will be conversions from the private stock held by insiders, venture capital firms and institutional investors -- the private parties who owned Facebook before the initial public offering.)

If you are looking to join huddled masses yearning to enrich the real friends of Facebook, there’s no need to make a frenzied call to your broker. You probably already own shares. And whether you want to or not, you are about to own a lot more.

By MSN Money staff

While the world watches the market debut of Facebook (FB), one of its big partners is suffering.

Trading in shares of Zynga (ZNGA) were halted during morning trading after a 13% drop. The shares rebounded when trading resumed and rebounded before a second freeze. This afternoon, they're trading again near the day's lows.

The social-game company makes many of the most-popular games on Facebook, including "Farmville," tying its fortunes closely to the giant.

Zynga shares hit the market late last year near $11 each; they were trading at $7.80 when trading was halted the second time.

Shares of several other social-networking names, including LinkedIn (LNKD) and Groupon (GRPN), are also trading lower today.

By James Rogers

Facebook (FB) may be basking in the glow of its mega-IPO, but CEOs and CFOs see plenty of upside elsewhere in Silicon Valley following the biggest ever tech offering.

"From a Silicon Valley standpoint, the success of a company like that in the tech space and the social network space plays very well," Frank Calderoni, the Cisco (CSCO) CFO, told TheStreet. "As it pertains to the economy and jobs, that's important."

By Maeghan Ouimet

U2 front man Bono finally has found what he's looking for -- at least when it comes to tech investments.

The rock star is a cofounder of the investment fund Elevation Partners, which owns 1.5% of Facebook (FB), a stake that could be worth $1.5 billion following the social network's upcoming initial public offering. That's a considerable reversal of fortune for someone once called "the worst investor" in America, thanks to some highly embarrassing misfires.