This week Facebook confirmed its plan to become a public company. It’ll get a lot of attention (and most of it about as useful as your uncle’s status updates) but here are a couple of things to consider.

The front page of The Age covers the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warning that ‘the world will face a “1930s moment” of the kind that brought on the Great Depression, unless money can quickly be found to support nations such as Italy and Spain’.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the Fogey Awards for 2011 – the annual ceremony celebrating the characters who add some sugar and spice to the all-too-serious world of investing.

You don’t need to slug it out in a in a suburban shopping centre this silly season. Instead make a beeline to your local bookstore and give your loved ones the gift of knowledge.

More homes unsold means more choice for buyers, meaning sellers will eventually drop their prices – as we’re experiencing right now.