How Facebook could kill off the stock market

The disastrous Facebook initial public offering (IPO) has put off other companies from floating. We could be witnessing the death of the stock market as we know it, says Matthew Lynn.

It should have been the event that breathed new life into the stock market. A giant technology firm lists its shares. Millions of small investors buy into a business that has great growth prospects, and over several years multiply their money many times over. In its wake, dozens of entrepreneurial firms join the public markets. And a generation of private investors discover that backing new businesses is a great way to make money.

Unfortunately, neither Facebook nor the bankers who brought it to market seem to have read the script or had any idea quite how much was riding on this initial public offering (IPO).

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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.