On eve of Facebook IPO, GM pulls millions in ads

General Motors yanks $10 million in Facebook ads. Will this affect the Facebook IPO?

Facebook IPO: five things to know before buying the stock

About 1 out of every 8 people on the planet have a Facebook account. Now, with the arrival of a public stock offering, all those people have a chance to be part owners of this social hub.

Can you really buy this stock? Should you?

Here's a glimpse inside the most publicized initial stock offering in years, including some of the things you should be aware of before deciding to buy shares.

Lots of people want to buy this stock when trading starts this week, for a simple reason: Facebook is one of the most visible companies in the world, where Internet technology meets everyday activities like chatting and sharing photos with friends. Now, for the first time, its shares will be traded on public exchanges - offering the chance for people on the outside to own a stake in the company's rapid growth and rich potential.

This won't be the largest initial public offering (IPO) ever, but it is expected to be the largest ever for an Internet company - raising some $12 billion for the firm and its early investors. When Google went public with similar fanfare in 2004, it raised about $1.67 billion.

At the expected offer price between $34 and $38 per share, the Facebook IPO will imply a market value for the whole company close to $100 billion. (That's because much of the stock held by founders and early investors is not being sold to the public.)

But if Facebook will instantly rank among the stock market's largest high-tech companies, that doesn't mean it's automatically a good buy. In fact, amid all the excitement and anticipation, it could be a money loser for incoming investors.

So do some hard thinking before placing a "buy" order. It may be that your Facebook account is a better deal ("It's free and always will be," the firm says).

The five issues covered here will help you think through this investment decision.

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Congressional critics plan hearings to probe how America's largest bank posted $2 billion in trading losses - and whether new financial regulations, still being implemented, go far enough to rein in Wall Street abuses.

Pet food recall 2012 now includes 39 states

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Nutella settles lawsuit. You can get $20.

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How to sell a house? Five reasons to auction it.

In locales across the United States, home auctions are taking place with increasing frequency. Real estate companies are opening auction divisions; agents are attending auction school to learn how to sell a house in a new way. In its first six weeks of operation, our auction portal received more than 1,000 visits from across the US and 29 nations. Two-thirds of the visitors who completed our survey had not yet listed their home with a real estate agent, meaning they were thinking of auction as their first option. These homeowners aren't in foreclosure; they're simply looking into this alternative sales method to find out if auction is right for them. Here are five benefits of auctioning your home:

Is Amazon morally wrong but legally right?

Amazon's policies may be unkind to many in the book industry, but that doesn't make them illegal.

Facebook stock: Why you can't have any

Facebook stock will be impossible to get unless you have a portfolio worth millions. There likely won't be enough shares of Facebook stock for individual investors to partake.