Market Roundup: Best Buy Displays Paradigm Shift, Facebook IPO Coming Soon

Here’s what’s important in the financial world this morning:

Becst Buy: Before Thursday’s market open, Best Buy reported its fourth quarter earnings, exceeding analysts’ estimates. Earnings were $2.47 per share, an increase from the $1.98 per share from the previous year. Revenue was $16.63 billion, a rise from $16.26 billion year over year while same-store sales from the fourth quarter dropped 2.4 percent. The company also announced plans to cut $800 million in costs with a plan including the closing of 50 stores and layoffs for 400 positions.

Facebook: The social network will hold its IPO in May, reported The Wall Street Journal, but the timing has not been finalized. The company will also submit an amended S-1 before its offering after just filing one on Tuesday. Earlier this week, Facebook stopped the trading of its shares on secondary exchanges in an attempt to define its shareholder numbers.

EU: Germany reported its March unemployment fell to 6.7 percent, its lowest number since 1998 when records began. This number compares to February’s 6.8 percent. The decline suggests that Germany’s economy is recovering amid the eurozone debt crisis. Confidence numbers remain high for the country even though Germany’s economy saw a 0.2 percent contraction in 2011′s fourth quarter and a sideways move in 2012′s first quarter.

Asia: As Japan’s parliament battles with the country’s budget, its economy showed continued recovery signs with retail sales increasing 3.5 percent year over year in February; this represented the great rise since August 2010. Helping the numbers were a 21.4 increase in automobile sales. BNP Paribas economist Azusa Kato said of the data, “Today’s report adds to evidence that Japan’s economy will return to growth this quarter.”

[Editor’s note: the above is across post that originally appeared on Wall St. Cheat Sheet.]