21 May /12

Translating Numbers into Money: Facebook enters the NASDAQ

wallstreetThis morning’s record breaking initial public stock offering of social network giant Facebook underscores the immense power of the stock market to transform arbitrary numbers into a real-life financial windfall. The well-calculated hype surrounding Facebook going public that climaxed in Mark Zuckerberg’s remote controlled ringing of the NASDAQ’s opening bell, undoubtedly, guarantees the company that its stocks will remain one of the hottest NASDAQ commodities in the near future.

The marriage between the NASDAQ and Facebook certainly makes a lot of sense for both parties. Not only do they both bring together people, as in the case of Facebook, and companies, as in the case of NASDAQ, from all around the globe in one virtual space, but they also both are spaces of exchange. While the myriads of Facebook followers from all around the world will certainly keep the stock in the news for the foreseeable future, the NASDAQ will also benefit from the positive media attention in a time where news from the stock market are usually concerned with the next investment mistake from yet another overpaid investment banker.

What makes the case of Facebook particularly interesting, however, is the fact that this is a business model that successfully transcends language barriers by translating one concept, that of social networking with the help of technology, into almost all languages and cultures. To some financial analysts this might not be enough to support the immense expectations that the shareholders will have for the newest member of the NASDAQ, and they would like to see a more concrete business model that can support an IPO of this magnitude. Regardless of if we eye the introduction of the social network giant to the stock market skeptically or enthusiastically, it most definitely reveals the importance of such global companies for the financial marketplace.

While we cannot help you decide on your investment choices, we can help you successfully navigate the world of financial translations by providing certified expert translations from and into all languages used by NASDAQ companies.