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As Facebook readies for an initial public offering, its lawyers are pressing the pause button on the trading process for shares of the social networking giant.

On Wednesday, Facebook’s law firm, Fenwick & West, halted the clearance of trades for Facebook shares on the secondary market, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the transactions were private. While trades may still occur on the secondary markets, the firm will not officially sign off on any transfers until Monday, the people said.

Facebook declined to comment. Fenwick & West did not respond to a request for comment.

The move comes as investors eagerly wait for Facebook’s prospectus, the first public step toward an I.P.O. The Internet company is widely expected to pursue a multibillion-dollar offering in the second quarter, at a valuation near $100 billion, according to people close to the company. The prospectus will provide investors with an in-depth picture of Facebook’s financials and business model, including how the world’s largest social network extracts money from advertisers and third-party developers.

While Wednesday’s move raised talk that a prospectus was imminent, the law firm has previously halted the clearance of Facebook trades, especially during increased activity on the secondary markets, where private shares are bought and sold. The action allows the law firm the opportunity to review recent transactions and update its records. Activity has been robust in recent months, in anticipation of Facebook’s filling, according to several people involved in the buying and selling of the company’s shares.

On Wednesday, Sharespost, a secondary market, announced that it sold a block of 70,000 shares on Jan. 20, at $34 a share. At that price, Facebook is valued north of $80 billion.

After such a sale agreement, Facebook has 30 days to exercise a right of first refusal, when it can step in and replace the buyer. If that period elapses without any action, Fenwick & West can clear the trade and officially transfer the shares to the new buyer.

Bloomberg News earlier reported on the delay.

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Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s 13.9 percent tax rate in 2010 shows how wealthy investors can use the preferential treatment of income classified as capital gains and dividends to minimize payments to the federal government.

Filmmaker Oliver Stone, known for his liberal political views, said he would vote for GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul over President Obama should Paul win the Republican nomination.

In an interview with Rock Cellar magazine, Stone was asked if an economic collapse would lead to the fall of the American “empire.”

NEW YORK -(MarketWatch)- T-Mobile USA and AT&T Inc. /quotes/zigman/398198/quotes/nls/t T -0.16% filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission for approval of the transfer of $1 billion in wireless airwaves AT&T promised as a result of the failure of its $39 billion bid to take over its smaller rival.

AT&T said it would turn over the airwaves, or spectrum, along with $3 billion in cash to T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGY, DTE.XE) after pulling out of the deal as opposition mounted from the FCC, Justice Department, state attorneys general and rival carriers.

NEW YORK — Oil prices climbed near $100 per barrel as Iran again threatened to block shipments of crude from the Persian Gulf. The latest threat follows a widely expected decision by the European Union to embargo imports of Iranian oil.

Monday also featured a sharp turnaround in natural gas prices. Futures rose more than 7 percent after one of America’s biggest natural gas producers said it would cut production this year.

?In addition to being one of the greatest wins in Giants history, last night’s 20-17 overtime win over the San Francisco ’49ers was also one of the most improbable games in recent memory. Let’s look at some stats:

– The Giants had no running game at all and were outrushed by San Francisco 150 to 85 yards. That kind of rushing yardage ratio will lose you 3 out of 4 games in the NFL. You can’t win if you just run for 85 yards, can you?

– San Francisco converted just one time in 14 tries. (The Giants didn’t do so hot, either, converting just 7 of 21.)

– Except for 2 brilliantly executed drives, Eli Manning was thoroughly stymied all night by the ’49ers defense, which held him to 267 yards on 58 throws, allowing him to be sacked 6 times (the Giants had just 2 on SF QB Alex Smith) and recording 21 “hard hits” on him. How can you win when you can’t protect your quarterback better than that?

– Manning averaged just 4.6 yards per throw, his second worst average ever in the postseason. Smith averaged 6.8 yards a pop when he threw. In the regular season, the tema with 6.8 beats the team with 4.6 nearly 80% of the time.

– The 49ers made just one completion all night to a wide receiver, to Michael Crabtree, for 3 yards. How do you send a game into overtime when your wideouts have exactly 3 yards receiving in four quarters?

– Finally, the ’49ers, who had by consensus the best special teams in the NFC this season, lost the game on two field goals set up by fumbled punts. They had lost one fumbled punt all season.

How close was this game? You always hear commentators say “It came down to a matter of inches,” but in yesterday’s NFC championship game, it was more like it came down to an inch — the tip of the football that brushed against the sock of San Francisco punt returner Kyle Williams, the “fumble” which the Giants recovered at the Niners’ 28-yard line, setting up a cheap touchdown. Cheap or not, however, the Giants had to earn it. Eli drilled a clutch 17-yard TD pass to Mario Manningham on a clutch 3rd and 15 play. Anything less than 15 yards on that play and the Giants would have had to settle for a field goal and would have still been trailing 14-13.

Watch the “knee fumble” here, and for all you aspiring special teams coaches out there, always remember the way Bear Bryant taught them to play at Alabama: “If you’re not gonna catch the punt, get the hell away from it.”

Go to Runnin’ Scared for all our latest news coverage.

Florida GOP Primary: Gingrich 41%, Romney 32%