Big brokerages like Fidelity, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo Advisors and TD Ameritrade have stopped taking retail orders for an initial allocation of Facebook shares, amid signs that retail demand was strong for the much-ballyhooed IPO. While demand was described by some as a near-frenzy, there's still no way to predict how the stock will trade when it debuts. There are no guarantees, and we've seen negative sentiment about the company's long-term advertising prowess crop up as we head toward the debut. It will be interesting.

Thanks a lot JPMorgan. That might be the sentiment felt at other big banks that have watched their bonds suffer since JPMorgan unveiled its surprising $2 billion--and counting--trading loss.

The bonds of Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup have suffered in sympathy with JPMorgan's, a nasty turn of events for all. From April 30 to May 10, the average five-year credit default swap spread these four banks widened by just six basis points, compared with a nine basis point widening by the main investment-grade credit index, the IG CDX.18, according to Reuters.

Gen110 said it received an investment from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. No terms were disclosed.

PRESS RELEASE

Gen110 Announces Kleiner Perkins Investment

Silicon Valley pillar backs distributed energy company as a new breed of electricity provider

The Facebook IPO is at hand, and the great debate about its prospects as a public company will rage until the moment the stock hits the market.

It's quite possible that the fate of the IPO in the immediate after market will be determined by retail investors. Discount broker E*Trade Financial, which according to Reuters was added to the list of IPO underwriters at the last minute, offers some help. Last week, its home page offered a pop-up box explaining how investors can place orders for the shares.

The highest profile IPOs tend to have hiccups, if only because the scrutiny is so intense.

Recall the accounting snafu that bedeviled the Groupon IPO. Recall also the article in Playboy that caused so much regulatory consternation when Google went public.

You can bet the PR people at JPMorgan weighed in on just how CEO Jamie Dimon should express himself in the wake of the $2 billion trading fiasco. One author suggests that he was canny by saying the bank was stupid and sloppy. The message is that they were dumb and messed up but that they were certainly not fraudulent.

elicit, a software as a service company has secured $1.5 million in Series A Funding. Investors include Greycroft Partners, First Round CapitalPRESS RELEASE and ff Ventures.

elicit, a software as a service (SaaS) company that has designed technology to help marketers easily improve the on-site search experience — and improve conversions via on-site search — today announced $1.5 million in Series A Funding.

SilkRoad, a Chicago-based company focused on online human resources and “social talent management,” has raised a $35 million Series C financing round. Investors in the round include new investors Keating Capital and NTT Finance. Existing investors including Intel Capital, Crosslink Capital, Foundation Capital, Azure Capital and Tenaya Capital also joined in the round.

Since 2003, SilkRoad has raised roughly $160 million from investors. The company says its new funding will help it to prepare for a “potential 2012-2013 initial public offering.”

Since the financial crisis of 2008, a big power transition has occurred in the alternatives industry.

Limited partners gained much more clout, which has allowed them to wrangle some concessions that would have been all but unthinkable before the crisis. Redemptions are easier, that's for certain. Towers Watson has been at the fore of the movement to reform asset management fees in the alternatives industry, and it has come out with new research that hits some of the key issues. Its recommendations are certainly eye-catching.

Just how ugly is the $2 billion--and counting--trading debacle at JPMorgan going to get?

Usually, these sorts of public fiascos are followed by an airing of dirty laundry, and we're starting to see that now. DealBook reports that in the years preceding the big losses, various internal officers raised issues with some of the bets coming out of the chief investment officer's office.