SharesXpert Reviews

And membership in Facebook’s social network won’t help, no matter how much you “like” the company.

Likely this coming Friday, Facebook will be putting out on the market in its initial public offering a huge 337 million shares, with the price expected to be between $28 and $35 a share.

At the midpoint of that range, the social network will be raising $10.6 billion from investors.

First in line are those with the big resources and long-term investment plans, such as insurance companies, pension funds and mutual funds. They will get the lion’s share of the handout.

There will be a good chunk available to small investors — though “small” is a relative term.

Retail brokers say requests for the shares are high, and they will mostly divvy up what they receive between their best customers.

At Fidelity, one of the largest US brokers, hot IPOs normally go to clients with half a million dollars in their accounts, or those who make at least 36 trades a year, according to a company agent.

But depending on how valued you are, a $250,000 account could be enough, she said.

“It’s definitely not a first-come, first-serve basis,” she told AFP, not wanting to be identified.

And even then, the broker won’t promise even a minimum 100-share allocation.

“You could get the full amount (you request), or part of it, or none.”

At TD Ameritrade, the hurdles are an account with at least $250,000, or 30 trades in the past three months.

In addition, said spokeswoman Beth Evegan, the client’s general investment objectives and financial status can be considered. Brokers generally do not want someone like a pensioner who could would be hit hard by a trading loss to trade in risky stocks.

Even then, Evegan added: “We are expecting to receive an allocation… We do not know how many shares we will receive.”

Other retail brokers have similar requirements for their clients. But for most, there is another catch: small investors who win the allocation lottery might find themselves unable to take advantage of an opening day spike in the share price.

Many retail brokers insist their clients hold onto the IPO shares for a fixed period rather than sell into a first-day rally. Fidelity sets a 15-day rule; for some, it is 30 days.

Analyst Rocco Pendola of The Street had words of encouragement for the little guys who cannot get a piece of the action.

“Let’s face it: You have little chance of getting Facebook shares in the IPO,” he wrote.

On the other hand, “You’ll have plenty of time to hop on the bandwagon. This is a long-term, highly-sustainable and scalable business; it’s a myth that Facebook is a fad or run by some green punk.”

Investors are looking to “catch their breath” after a stressful beginning to the year, said Gregori Volokhine at Meeschaert.

But, “with the challenges coming from Europe, it’s very difficult,” he said.

The main stock indices posted a second straight week in the red.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.7 percent over the week, closing Friday at 12,820.60.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 0.76 percent to 1,353.39, while the tech-rich Nasdaq also shed 0.76 percent, to 2,933.82.

In debt-wracked Greece, another election was almost certain after austerity opponents blocked the formation of a new government again Friday.

Socialist party boss Evangelos Venizelos was the third party leader who tried and failed to cobble together a government after inconclusive elections Sunday.

But analysts at Charles Schwab & Co. said that Europe’s troubles were overshadowed Friday on Wall Street by shocks from the world’s two biggest economies.

“China released a plethora of disappointing data today, accentuated by industrial production expanding at its slowest pace since 2009. Back in the US, JPMorgan Chase disclosed a $2 billion trading loss on a failed hedging strategy,” they said.

The disclosure by JPMorgan, which has been leading the industry’s fight against new US financial regulations, sparked calls from politicians and analysts for tighter reins on government-insured banks trading on their own portfolios.

JPMorgan’s blunder battered markets Friday, but stocks showed resilience, paring opening losses to end mostly lower, with only the Nasdaq making a fractional gain.

A smattering of modestly better US economic data this week helped to take the sting off a poor April jobs data last Friday.

New claims for unemployment benefits, a sign of the pace of layoffs, fell for a second straight week.

The US trade gap widened in March, but analysts focused on record imports as a sign of sturdy demand.

With energy prices sinking 1.4 percent in April, US wholesale prices fell for the first time this year, reaffirming the Federal Reserve’s view that inflation remains subdued. Consumer prices data is slated Tuesday.

“Most recent indicators suggest that the disappointing April jobs data were more of a technicality than representing a fundamental slowdown,” said Douglas Porter at BMO Capital Markets.

“Receding jobless claims, strong import growth, and easing gasoline prices all hint that the economy will improve in the months ahead.”

The highlight of next week’s calendar will be the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s April 24-25 policy meeting.

Investors are expected to pore over the Federal Open Market Committee information for clues to the direction of the US economy and interest rates.

Retail sales numbers for April are due Tuesday, followed Thursday by April construction starts and building permits and the weekly jobless claims data.

But the big buzz building on Wall Street was being generated by Facebook, the world’s leading social network, which is expected to make its long-awaited stock market debut next Friday, May 18.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, Facebook set a price range of $28 to $35 for its shares, which would value the firm at between $70 billion and $87.5 billion.