Facebook Inc (FB), First Solar, Inc. (FSLR), and This Past Week’s Five Smartest Stock Moves

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If you’re feeling good about the market, you’re not alone. Take my hand as we go over some of this week’s more uplifting headlines.

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)

1. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) calls shotgun
General Motors Company (NYSE:GM)
is ready to give Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) a test drive.

The automaker is testing a mobile advertising campaign on Facebook, marking the first time that GM is a marketing customer of the social networking giant since a very public parting of ways 11 months ago.

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) left Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) at the worst possible time last year, just as the dot-com speedster was ready to go public. The move led investors to wonder if other advertisers would follow suit or if marketing in general through Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) was effective.

GM’s return isn’t going to move the needle financially. GM was never a major part of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s advertising revenue, just as Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) was never a major component of GM’s marketing budget. However, it’s a symbolic return that validates the power of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and the marketer enhancements that the site has initiated over the past year.

2. Solar gets brighter
It may be time to warm up to solar energy stocks again.

Shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) soared after the solar panel maker provided surprisingly strong guidance for the year ahead. First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) now sees a profit of $4 to $4.50 a share on $3.8 billion to $4 billion in revenue. Wall Street was only holding out for earnings of $3.51 a share on $3.1 billion in revenue.

The stock jumped 45% on the upbeat outlook, even though some analysts weren’t convinced. Between the call for gross margins declining this year and projections that some skeptics feel may be aggressive, analysts at Raymond James Financial and Pacific Crest made comments suggesting that the rally was an overreaction.

Well, given the way that solar energy plays have fallen out of favor over the past two years, it’s easy to see why the market’s getting giddy on good news.

3. Austin goes on a high Fiber diet
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)
has picked out a second market for its ultra-high-speed Internet and TV service. Austin will be the city that follows Kansas City in getting wired for Google Fiber.

Offering online connectivity at speeds 100 times faster than traditional broadband for $70 a month is a deal, but the bigger bargain is the slower service that consumers can get for free if they pay $300 for a connection. There’s also the $120 bundle of Fiber that includes high-def TV, a package that will give cable providers a run for their money.

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