Facebook’s shares have fallen dramatically - more than 40 per cent of its value has been wiped off since it started trading on May 18.

The disappointing results make it the second-worse performing IPO in the US this year – the first being Renewable Energy Group, which saw a 51 per cent decline when it went public back in January.

Exchange operator Nasdaq, which oversaw Facebook’s public debut, is being blamed for the mammoth decline - UBS in particular has every reason to be upset.

A series of technical errors in Nasdaq’s system meant UBS clients were handed more shares than they had ordered – it’s believed the bank will begin legal proceedings against the firm to recoup all of its losses, reported to be $356m.

According to other reports, Wall Street could now be overwhelmed by Facebook staff attempting to sell their company-awarded shares, which they can start doing after August 16.

Source: PCR