WALL STREET MEETS JERSEY AVENUE

Jon S. Corzine, the former co-chief executive of Goldman Sachs Group LP, might have something to do this summer after all.

As you recall, he said he’ll take a powder (and millions of dollars) this spring after he successfully guides Wall Street’s last big partnership’s initial public offering of 12% of itself. Now some New Jersey Democrats — and, no doubt, campaign consultants in search of billable hours — are pushing for him to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Frank Lautenberg.

If Mr. Corzine runs and wins, that would allow Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin to slip the surly bonds of the beltway, as he is said to want to do, and still keep Goldman’s Washington voice.

Of course, with Mr. Corzine’s timing (he originally planned the IPO for last fall, a faux pas that cost his job) he might better consider a vacation in Kosovo.

The likely GOP opponent, by the way, is Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, whose spouse, John, is also an investment banker. New Jersey’s Rust Belt has a broker buckle.

Winged defeat

Pegasus Funds will fly no more. The 29 former First Chicago NDB funds and their $23 billion holdings were swallowed into One Group Mutual Funds, run, of course, by Bank One Corp. (InvestmentNews, March 22). That gives the unit a total of 48 funds managing $52 billion. Note that the orthographically challenged Banc One Corp. improved its spelling, too, as part of last year’s merger with First Chicago.

Also coming together are the Evergreen and Mentor funds. First Union Corp. gets 95% of the $70 billion-asset combo, while Chicago’s Everen Capital Corp. gets 5%. The reason is Everen bought 20% of Mentor from Wheat First Butcher Singer three years ago, before the Charlotte, N.C., reaper stuffed Wheat in its overflowing barn. Everen says the deal is worth $70 million to it, pre-tax.

Invesco’s relatively new overseer, Mark Williamson, is also plowing under 11 funds that manage a total of less than $245 million. Some will be merged with similar offerings, others dumped on the compost pile.

Abbey mode

Speaking of Goldman, Abbey Joseph Cohen, the firm’s top female bull, has raised her sights for this year’s finish of both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index.

She thinks the Dow will hit 10,300, up from her previous guess of 9850, and the S&P will close at 1325, better than the earlier 1250-to-1300 range.

On the other hand, she believes S&P profits will dip from her earlier estimate of $52.50 a share to $49.

Are they callable?

AT&T Corp. rang the bell (if it’s legal to use that word) with its record $8 billion bond sale, bringing joy to the hearts of bond traders throughout the land.

Telecommunications devices were ringing off the hook as T went to the debt market for the first time in four years. Experts figure there were twice as many buyers as there were bonds, even after the offering was bumped up by a billion.

Hail, Midas

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. had a $1.04 billion first quarter, beating everybody’s estimates. Profits were up 81%, revenues 33%. Mergers and acquisitions and bond buying provided the rocket boost. The asset management unit was up too, but alas, only 40%.

Curb that yen yen

Clever-alerts at Standard & Poor’s are warning that because of structural changes and a breakdown in traditional business practices, investors in Japan face “substantially greater credit risk.”

They forgot to mention that if the sky gets dark and there are flashes in the sky followed by loud noises, you shouldn’t stand under a tree. Maybe next week.

CLOSING QUOTE

“Any fund manager or investment adviser who totally abandoned emerging markets probably did a disservice to their clients.”

-Steven A. Schoenfeld of Barclays Global Investors, on the apparent comeback in long-suffering emerging markets.Page 3.