Facebook $50 Billion

Facebook $50 billion: We all know by now that Facebook has 500 million users. Now, a deal with Goldman-Sachs and a Russian investor places the value of the social network at $50 billion. The investors are ready to pump $500 million into 26-year-old Mark Zuckerberg’s company. (New York Times)

Fight looms over debt limit: The first shots in the expected battles between a Republican-dominated House of Representatives and a Democratic White House have been fired, as conservative lawmakers threaten to block a hike in the nation’s debt ceiling to force budget cuts. White House officials say such a move would be catastrophic. (Reuters)

The silent alarm: European iPhone users got an unpleasant surprise on the first day back to work in 2011. Their iPhone alarms didn’t go off, though Apple said it had fixed a glitch that caused the problem over the weekend. (Reuters)

Go-time for iPad rivals: Just as many NFL fans are saying wait until next year as their teams miss the playoffs, potential rivals to Apple’s iPads are saying wait until later this year for their competing tablets to emerge. (New York Times)

Intel strikes Hollywood deal: Chip giant Intel has cut a deal with Hollywood studios that will make it harder to pirate movies from personal computers, and at least in theory “safer” for the studios to make premium movies available. (Reuters)

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