Twitter IPO NYSE flags 7Nov2013
The Twitter IPO lit up the Internet. Reuters

To paraphrase Sir Winston Churchill's declaration on a much more somber and noble event: Never before have so many wanted to pay so much for stock to so few.

As the market preps for Twitter shares to begin trading later Thursday, Web denizens are preoccupied -- nay, obsessed, like a dog chasing its own tail -- with blasting every detail about the social media phenom out to the interwebs, only to have them quickly bounce back to their own feeds.

We've already learned that Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's father is awake and tweeting:

GoodMorning

But, we have yet to learn what he had for breakfast.
Various sources, all anonymous of course, are being cited saying that the offering is up to 30 times oversubscribed. Obviously the Wall Street hype machine isn't behind any of that.
In a more believable anonymously sourced report, Reuters blogger Margarita Noriega says that half of the shares on offer have been allocated to a group of just 10 institutional investors.
Ten institutional investors got 50 percent of Twitter shares allocated in the IPO, and the IPO was 30 times oversubscribed, sources tell Reuters.
by Margarita Noriega (Reuters) 9:05 AM
Comment ↑0 Likes

From the annals of the this-must-be-why-they-make-the-big-bucks stating of the obvious, New York Stock Exchange CEO Duncan Niederauer told CNBC: "It feels to me, listening to the guys on the floor, it trades up a little bit on the opening. That would be my guess." Way to climb out on a limb there, Duncan.

Niederauer said he expects the shares to begin trading about 10:30 or so, after orders and available shares are matched up.

According to that same CNBC report, the Twitter CEO came across as the voice of reason as he admonished prospective investors not to fret about Twitter's inability to turn a profit before offering shares to the public that will make him and others more than well-off. CEO Dick Costolo told CNBC that investors should not be concerned about the company's current lack of profits, because it's part of a plan to invest for the long term.

Here are a few more choice Tweets from #twitteripo...

Moving higher. Spread now $42 - $46

Come back later for more coverage of the Twitter Circus on IBTimes as the day progresses, and follow us, yes, you guessed it, on TWITTER, at @IBTMoney.