What will Wachovia do?

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Banks in trouble need to raise money to get out of the jam. Firstthey try to sell more shares of the company. If that fails, theyunload assets or business units. Banks that really get desperatewill sell anything that isn't nailed to the floor.
A number of banks facing serious problems are said to beconsidering sales of their money management arms. But most, like Fifth Third Bancorp. , KeyCorp, and National City Corp. , own relatively small and undistinguished investment arms.
Not so at Wachovia Corp. The troubled banking giant owns Evergreen Investments, thewell-known Boston firm that manages $246 billion in mutual fundsand other accounts. Wachovia also owns a big retail brokerageoperation. Could they be on the block?
This became a serious question last week, when Wachovia reportedthe worst loss in company history. New chief Bob Steel toldanalysts he would sell noncore assets to plug the hole. Steel neverdid say what he considered a core asset, but promised a reviewwould be finished in months.
Wachovia needs to raise some serious money. Even the companyestimates it won't be able to collect on about $9 billion worth ofadjustable rate mortgages it owns. The brokerage and Evergreencombined might fetch $10 billion to $15 billion, by one estimate.
A Wachovia official told Bloomberg News that the brokerage was offthe table. So what about Evergreen?
An Evergreen official declined to comment, but pointed me toSteel's words during his conference call with analysts last week.Sure, he was prepared to chop off and sell noncore assets. ButSteel also said: "We're strong and well positioned in so many partsof asset management, it just seems like a great business for us tocontinue to drive and grow."
I'd call that inconclusive. But the answer will be clear within afew months.
Here's the good news from GT Solar Corp.: The company's stock fellonly a fraction of a dollar yesterday.
The Merrimack, N.H., maker of equipment for solar powermanufacturers has endured a star-crossed initial public stockoffering that got off on the wrong foot last week and keptstumbling.
GT Solar was no shoestring IPO. The company made $36 million onsales of $244 million in its last fiscal year. GT Solar didn't needmoney, choosing to go public only so private investors whobankrolled the company could cash out some of their investment. All$500 million raised in the IPO went to them.
Even in a weak stock market, a fast-growing company makingequipment with 25 percent profit margins seemed attractive. Then MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. , a big maker of silicon wafers, reported financial results thatbadly missed forecasts. That was after the stock market closed butjust as underwriters were pricing the GT Solar IPO late Wednesday.
The GT Solar deal was priced at $16.50 per share, smack in themiddle of estimates, and then the shares fell hard the next morningbefore finishing their first public day at $14.59.
More bad news surfaced Friday, when one of GT Solar's biggestcustomers said it would buy equipment from a Chinese competitor.The customer, LDK Solar Co., accounted for 62 percent of revenueslast year, though GT Solar said LDK orders represent less than 20percent of its current backlog. GT Solar shares plunged as low as$9.30 on Friday before closing at $12.59.
No news was good news yesterday, though GT Solar slipped another 65cents to $11.94. The decline of nearly 38 percent from last week'sIPO price cut the company's stock market value at $1.2 billion.