Eagle Eye Opener: An About-Face for Facebook Shares as 1 Billionth User Signs Up

An About-Face for Facebook Shares as 1 Billionth User Signs In (Reuters)

Despite a horribly botched initial public offering (IPO) and Wall Street analysts tripping over themselves to bash the social media giant, today’s distressed share price for Facebook (FB) could offer you a serious bargain… Here’s why.

Facebook just announced that it had crossed the 1 billion mark for number of users — that’s billion, with a “b.” And just as the Internet social networking behemoth changed the way that people communicate with each other, it’s not far-fetched to think the company did the same for online advertising — considering Facebook’s massive audience. It may not happen as quickly as when Google pushed to the forefront of Internet search and cashed in, but when Zuckerberg and his minions refine that process, it’s not hard to imagine the company’s valuation (and share price) multiplying by a factor of 3, 4 or even 10? So if you have a tolerance for risk, it may be worth your while to pick up shares of Facebook.

“Clean Energy” Company Set to Hydrofrac Volcano — Release Steam & Profits… (wired.co.uk)

Clean energy proponents and investors could be in for either a windfall profit or a state-sized lawsuit when privately held companies AltaRock Energy and Davenport Newberry frac a dormant volcano in Oregon later this year. While the process has been found to be safe by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, fracking is thought to sometimes trigger minor earthquakes…

In this case, the companies hope to release the geothermal energy stored in the magma still residing within the dormant volcano. An MIT report estimated that, if successful, the clean energy produced could be 75x greater than the amount created by France’s largest nuclear reactor. Creating that much geothermal energy from a single source would be a significant victory for the clean air industry and could propel shares of Davenport’s holding company, U.S. Renewables, LLC (USRG). In fact, a successful project could aid the entire geothermal energy sector, making companies like Calpine (CPN), LSB Industries (LXU) and Alterra Power Corp. (MGMXF) hot commodities, indeed.

RedBox to Challenge TicketMaster for Event Ticket Sales Crown

There’s a new contender in the event ticket sales arena — Redbox, a division of Coinstar, Inc (CSTR), is stepping into the fray to take on current leaders Ticketmaster and Stubhub. If successful in revolutionizing this market, Coinstar investors may not be able to drive past one of the Redbox machines without thinking of potential profits. The competitive edge Redbox will leverage in its battle with today’s ticket titans is a tiny $1 surcharge for buying through the red machines… That, and its saturation presence in cities throughout the United States, provides potential customers with an almost endless supply of locations from which to purchase.

Will Redbox drive Ticketmaster and Stubhub into extinction — a la Blockbuster? If survival of the fittest is the determining factor, then the more convenient and more cost-efficient Redbox could shine. If you have a penchant for risk-taking, you may want to consider shorting shares in TicketMaster and Stubhub to profit if their fortunes fade. If shorting is not for you, Coinstar shares could make sense, too.