Obama: Economy, not gay marriage, will decide vote

President Barack Obama says it is "hard to say" whether his new stance supporting same sex marriage will hurt his re-election. He says there's a major difference between himself and Republican challenger Mitt Romney on the issue, but says the economy will ultimately determine the outcome of the election.

Obama made his remarks during a discussion on ABC's "The View," a daytime talk show. That interview will air later Tuesday, but ABC broadcast an excerpt on "Good Morning America."

He said churches should have the right to make their own determinations about marriage. But he said that as a matter of civil law, all Americans should be treated equally.

Obama became the first sitting president to support same-sex marriage last week. Before, he had said his views had been evolving.

Among Democrats hungering for inspiration from the man who instilled hope four years ago, you hear talk of newfound respect for a candidate they supported, before this, only halfheartedly. The word "courage" comes up again and again.

"I'm really proud of him," said Margie DeLong, a retired nurse in northern Lake County who plans now to volunteer for the Obama campaign, as she did in 2008.

The Rev. Courtney Jenkins found something else to celebrate in her Mother's Day sermon at Euclid Avenue Congregational Church. Jenkins preaches to a mostly black congregation in Cleveland, where high turnout among African-Americans will be one make-or-break factor for Obama in Ohio. She knows there are those who theologically disagree with his position; she heard as much from one colleague last week. Still, that person told her, "This is the president I've been waiting on. One who will stand up and say: This is what I believe."

Said Jenkins: "I think that's really what voters were looking for. He preached change. We've been waiting on change."

For some Republicans here, the gay marriage comments only reinforced long-held suspicions of, and opposition to, Obama. But more than that, this statement feels like another in-their-face reminder that the country is headed off-track in ways that have nothing to do with job numbers and debt statistics.

"This is the Bible Belt, and we still believe what the Bible says," said Harty Wallingford, a civil engineer in Ohio's Appalachian region. "They can change the Bible in the city, but we won't change it here. We're not like California. They've just gone crazy there."

Will this renewed debate go so far as to be a decider in the state that itself could determine the election? Probably not. Will it dominate the discussion as the campaign goes on? Not likely. This is a place, like much of America, far more concerned about jobs and foreclosures, but also matters such as student loan costs, collective bargaining rights and fair elections laws.

But has gay marriage entered into the dialogue here on the ground? Absolutely. And what we find in those conversations is what we may already know as Americans: That while our families, our pocketbooks and our communities may drive our choices come Election Day, our hearts — whether motivated or alienated — play a part as well.

Just listen to some of the many people talking now all across this bellwether state.

Malawi devalues kwacha currency by 50% after IMF calls

Malawi's central bank has devalued its currency, the kwacha, by 50% and scrapped its peg to the US dollar, in a bid to improve relations with donors.

The International Monetary Fund has long urged Malawi to cut the value of its currency, saying this would boost exports and reduce demand for imports.

However, ex-President Bingu wa Mutharika, who died in April, said devaluation would lead to inflation.

New President Joyce Banda is trying to persuade donors to restore aid.

One dollar is now worth 250 kwacha, up from 168.

 Joyce Banda has reversed several of her predecessor's policies

"The devaluation of the kwacha and the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market are expected to continue the government's efforts to reach agreement with the IMF," said Reserve Bank of Malawi Governor Charles Chuka, adding that this would hopefully lead to more donors funding in the next few months.

Economists say they do not expect the move to immediately lead to higher prices, as many businesses were expecting the move and were already using the new exchange rate.

About-turns

In recent years, Malawi has run short of foreign currency after donors cut aid and demand fell for its main export, tobacco.

This led to a lack of fuel in the country.

Last week, President Banda said she did not want Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, accused of war crimes, to attend a summit in July.

She says she feared the "economic implications" if Mr Bashir attended the African Union meeting in the country.

This was another about-turn on the position of her predecessor.

She has also fired Mutharika's widow, Callista, from her job as coordinator for safe motherhood.

Facebook IPO (initial public offering) price range

Facebook has set an IPO price range between $28 and $35. Furthermore, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will personally be selling 30.2 million shares of his company.

Facebook today once again updated its filing for an initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This is the fifth time it has done so, and the biggest update is that Facebook has set a price range of $28 to $35 per share. 

Let's hope Mark Zuckerberg has deep pockets in his hoodie.

The Facebook CEO plans to sell 30.2 million shares of his stake in the social network when it publicly offers its stock later this month. If the company's IPO prices at the top of its $28 to $35 per-share range, Zuckerberg would pocket a "cool" $1.1 billion.

Given the sale of some 337.4 million shares, this means the company could raise between $5.04 billion as much as $6.30 billion for itself, and between $4.41 billion and $5.51 for its investors. The company estimates it will likely net $5.6 billion from the offering if it achieves a mid-point price of $31.50 per share.

However, most of that cash will go straight to Uncle Sam and California. Zuckerberg plans to partially exercise a major stock options grant, and will use almost all of the cash he raises from his IPO sale to pay off the taxes on that maneuver.

It's the day techies and investors have been waiting for: Facebook set a price range of $28 to $35 per share for its initial public offering. It also upped the maximum size of its offering to $13.6 billion, up from its previous $5 billion estimate.

Facebook currently has around 2.1 billion shares outstanding, so if its IPO prices at the top of the range, the company would be valued at just shy of $75 billion.

Many Facebook employees and executives, including Zuckerberg, hold unexercised stock options. The company itself is also holding some shares for future employee equity grants. If all of those shares were exercised, Facebook's outstanding share count would rise to around 2.8 billion, pushing its valuation closer to $98 billion. 

Facebook's target price range isn't binding, and could change several times before Facebook actually makes its debut. The company will set its final price the night before it begins trading. That's expected to happen sometime in mid-May, with May 18 the current target date.

Institutional investors who purchase shares directly from Facebook's underwriters, including lead banker Morgan Stanley, will buy in at the IPO price. Regular investors will get their shot the next day, when Facebook begins trading on the tech-heavy Nasdaq exchange under the ticker "FB." 

The target range set on Thursday could be lowballing. Facebook said in a filing last month that it internally valued its shares at $30.89 each, as of January 31 -- up from $29.73 a month earlier.

Facebook's user base is growing. The site had 901 million monthly active users as of March 31, up 33% compared to the same date last year. User growth is fastest in Brazil, India, and the United States, Facebook said.

Zuck's windfall: Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg plans to sell 30.2 million shares in the IPO offering. If Facebook prices at the top of its range, that will net Zuckerberg about $1 billion -- cue the Sean Parker "you know what's cool?" jokes.

But Zuckerberg won't be hanging on to his cash. The company said he will use the "substantial majority" of the windfall to cover the whopping tax bill he'll be hit with, thanks to his plan to exercise a large stock-options grant that will substantially increase his ownership stake in the company he founded.

In 2011, Facebook CEO Zuckerberg pulled in a $500,000 base salary. But he requested -- and will receive -- only $1 per year in salary starting January 1, 2013.

Zuckerberg, who remains the largest shareholder in the company he created, still takes home a hefty pay package. His total compensation in 2011 came to $1.48 million, according to Facebook's calculations.

Facebook, Inc. is offering 180,000,000 shares of its Class A common stock and the selling stockholders are offering 157,415,352 shares of Class A common stock. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders. This is our initial public offering and no public market currently exists for our shares of Class A common stock. We anticipate that the initial public offering price will be between $28.00 and $35.00 per share.

Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will personally sell 30.2 million shares for the IPO. Despite this, he will still control the majority of the company: 57.3 percent of voting shares after the IPO.

But even after the tax man takes his bite, Zuckerberg will be a paper billionaire. His remaining 504 million shares will make him worth $17.6 billion if Facebook hits the top of its IPO range -- enough to make him one of the 50 richest people on the planet, by Forbes' calculation. Bloomberg has already give him a spot in its Billionaires Index.

It will be the Facebook CEO's biggest payday by far, though he has collected plenty of cash over the years. Last year, he made $483,000 in salary, took home a $220,500 bonus, and received additional perks like private jet travel valued at $783,000.