Facebook IPO, China Rejects Solar Ruling: Hot Trends

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Popular searches on the Internet Friday include initial public offering as Facebook's (FB) IPO launches Friday.

In the biggest IPO for a U.S. technology company, Facebook announced Thursday that its initial public offering of common stock would be priced at $38 a share. The social network will raise at least $16 billion, valuing the company at $104 billion.

Facebook's stock will begin trading Friday on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol 'FB.'

Founder Mark Zuckerberg, who started the social networking site in a Harvard dormitory, will remain the company's largest shareholder. After the IPO, he will own 503.6 million shares, or 32% of total shares.

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Photovoltaic module is also trending. On Thursday, the Obama administration set new tariffs on China-made solar panels after a recent finding.

The Commerce Department found that Chinese companies are flooding the U.S. market with solar cells and panels at margins from 31% to 250%. The ruling indicated the Chinese companies sold the products well below fair price, effectively hurting American producers. If the ruling is upheld, tariffs averaging 31% could be put on Chinese solar panels.

China's government rejected the ruling, calling it "unfair." Chinese manufacturers including Yingli Green Energy Holdings (YGE), Suntech Power Holdings (STP) and Trina Solar (TSL) have all denied selling the products at unreasonably low prices. Some Chinese producers have claimed that higher tariffs could make solar equipment more expensive and could drag on renewable energy efforts.

The Commerce Department launched its investigation in November following complaints by U.S. producers.

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Comcast (CMCSA) is another popular search upon news that the company will start charging heavy Internet subscribers extra each month.

The Internet service provider will start charging when customers go over a monthly data limit of 300 gigabytes for basic Internet plans. Comcast will start by testing a $10 charge for every 50 gigabytes over that amount in select areas.

Comcast claims it needs a data limit to prevent heavy users from slowing down service for the rest of its customers. It has attempted to restrict usage in the past, putting a cap on subscribers at 250 gigabytes per month, but has only given warnings to those that exceed that amount.

Comcast is the nation's largest Internet service provider, with 18.6 million Internet subscribers.

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The chatter on Main Street (a.k.a. Google, Yahoo! and other search sites) is always of interest to investors on Wall Street. Thus, each day, TheStreet compiles the stories that are trending on the Web, and highlights the news that could make stocks move.

-- Written by Brittany Umar.

Brittany joined TheStreet.com TV in November 2006 after completing a degree in Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers College. Previously, Brittany interned at the local ABC affiliate in New York City WABC-TV 7 where she helped research and produce On Your Side, a popular consumer advocacy segment.