NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook Inc , facing a raft of lawsuits from investors seeking to recoup losses from its botched IPO, laid out on Friday how cascading Nasdaq trading glitches might have contributed to the confusion surrounding its May 18 debut.
The No. 1 social network and lead underwriters Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co. filed a motion requesting that dozens of shareholder lawsuits over its $16 billion initial public offering be grouped together in Manhattan federal court.
The filing, while standard in cases with multiple lawsuits, hints at how Facebook may choose to structure its defense.
Nasdaq spokesman Joseph Christinat declined to comment.
More than a dozen shareholder lawsuits have accused Facebook and its underwriters of hiding the company's weakened growth forecasts ahead of the May 18 stock offering, one of the largest IPOs in US history.
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc has also been sued by investors who claimed the exchange operator was negligent in handling orders for Facebook shares.
Facebook's IPO was to have been the culmination of years of breakneck growth for a social network that became a cultural and business phenomenon. But shares in the eight-year-old company founded by Mark Zuckerberg in his Harvard dorm room have shed almost a quarter of their value, or $24 billion, since their debut at $38 a share.
In the motion filed late Thursday, Facebook — which was the first American company to debut with a market value of more than $100 billion — defended its pre-IPO disclosures on mobile user revenue growth. The motion cited reports that Facebook had told underwriters about lowered revenue forecasts but not amended its prospectus.
Plaintiffs "ignore that what Facebook and the underwriter defendants allegedly did both followed customary practices and did not violate any rules," according to the motion.
Facebook also cited a series of press reports which described how trading errors compounded uncertainty on May 18, after commencement of trading in its shares was delayed by about half an hour.
The motion cited lawsuits "alleging that technical problems and other trading-related errors affecting Facebook's stock — which Nasdaq has subsequently admitted — created market uncertainty and caused investor losses."
In court papers filed late on Thursday before the US Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation, Facebook and the banks said the US District Court in Manhattan was the "most appropriate and convenient forum to oversee these coordinated and/or consolidated proceedings."
In afternoon trading on Friday, the stock was up 2.2 percent at $28.91.
Facebook points at Nasdaq in legal motion
Facebook points at Nasdaq in legal motion
Islamic finance in Oman poised for 25% growth: Fitch
RIYADH: Oman’s Islamic finance sector is on track to reach $45 billion this year, rising from $36 billion at the end of 2025, supported by a favorable macroeconomic environment, according to a report by Fitch Ratings.
The rating agency said the anticipated 25 percent year-on-year growth will be underpinned by increasing demand for sukuk as both a funding mechanism and a public policy tool, alongside government-led initiatives and growing grassroots demand for Shariah-compliant financial products.
Sukuk accounted for around 60 percent of US dollar-denominated debt issuance in 2025, a sharp decline from 94.3 percent previously, with the remaining share comprising conventional bonds. Despite this progress, Fitch highlighted ongoing structural challenges, including the absence of Islamic treasury bills and derivatives, an underdeveloped Omani rial sukuk and bond market, and the limited role of Islamic non-bank financial institutions.
The performance of Oman’s banking sector continues to reflect steady advancement toward Vision 2040, the country’s long-term development strategy focused on economic diversification, private sector expansion, and enhanced financial resilience.
Operating conditions remain supportive for both Islamic and conventional banks in Oman, buoyed by elevated, though gradually moderating, oil prices, the report noted.
Expanding credit flows — particularly to non-financial corporates and households — are helping drive the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises and boost domestic investment. These trends are reinforcing Oman’s efforts to reduce dependence on hydrocarbons and build a more diversified economic base.
Fitch projects loan growth of 6 to 7 percent in 2026, fueled by rising demand across both retail and corporate segments. In addition, the proposed 5 percent personal income tax, scheduled for implementation from 2028, is expected to have only a limited overall impact on banks, according to the agency.
Islamic banking in Oman was introduced following the Central Bank of Oman’s preliminary licensing guidelines issued in May 2011, which allowed the establishment of full-fledged Islamic banks and Islamic banking windows operating alongside conventional institutions.
This regulatory framework was formally entrenched in December 2012 through a royal decree amending the Banking Law, requiring the creation of Shariah supervisory boards and granting the central bank authority to establish a High Shariah Supervisory Authority.
