Observers were skeptical of the company's insistence that it did not need the cash. Though Facebook has seen phenomenal user growth, it has been having difficulty monetizing its success in the social-networking sphere and has to spend cash on research and development as it faces a variety of rivals.

One of the big tech financial stories of the week was not about a merger, however, but about a decoupling: Time Warner announced Thursday that it would spin off its AOL unit by the end of the year, subject to regulatory and board approvals. For years, AOL has tried to shift to an online ad business model, away from its legacy as a dial-up Internet service provider. However, it has failed to keep up with average industry growth.

The situation is a far cry from 2000 when AOL and Time Warner said their merger would create the "first fully integrated media and communications company for the Internet Century."

Meanwhile, hardware sector news did little to suggest that relief is on the way for computer makers. IDC issued a report Wednesday showing that server sales dropped globally by 26.5 percent in the first quarter from last year, to around 1.49 million units. Factory server revenue was down 24.5 percent to $9.9 billion in the first quarter, IDC said.

Gartner forecast semiconductor revenue for 2009 at $198 billion, a 22.4 percent decline from 2008 revenue of $255 billion. The estimate is slightly better than the first-quarter projections, when Gartner forecast chip revenue to decline 24.1 percent in 2009.