The Markets

• Goldman Sachs and other financials pretty much dominating the day.
• The after-market news on GS is very complicated but the salient info is a dividend cut, a $5 billion equity offering to pay TARP loan, much higher operating expenses, sharply lower equities revenues, total EPS about double the consensus.  Shares are all over the map; at first higher now lower as breaking news is digested.
• The total market after-market following GS’s lead here, lower.
• Banks stocks flew based upon Wells Fargo re-affirmation of first quarter performance.
• Turn around Tuesday is setting up to be turn down Tuesday.
• I spoke with the IR folks at Freeport McMoran about the preferred M.  It is convertible on May 1, 2010 into 1.6386 shares of common if the common price is below $100/share.   The conversion ratio slides with the common share price. The lowest number of shares would be 1.3654 but should shares be over $73 there is no further adjustment.  Got that?
• When I asked the gentleman in IR how one can separate China rumors of copper purchases from rumor.  He didn’t know a solid way of determining if China is/was/will be buying.  And, he went on to say that FCX sold little directly to the country.

Cool and rainy today.  With Matt’s family  here we are watching the Cubs.  In Chicago it is 29 degrees, raining with 15mph winds.  Ugh.

Make it a great evening.