Mother Merrill upgrades FCX

Merrill now has a target on FCX of 87.

So let's go back to the first of the year when China started increasing shipments of iron ore. In fact, that was highlighted here on January 3 with this story:

BHP Billiton appears to have boosted December Pilbara iron ore shipments and may have been spared from most of a flagged 6 million tonnes shortfall from its 2008 sales target.

As spot iron ore prices rebounded somewhat in December and Chinese iron ore demand showed some signs of strengthening, BHP increased the number of ships loaded at its Port Hedland berths.

Now a month before that in December of 2008 I brought up FCX at 19.80, because China wanted to have an early settlement on iron ore shipping costs--settling them in January instead of April. I said, "didn't anybody think that China was trying to game shipping costs?"

Because wasn't China then, purposely not doing any business, so they could get lower prices for commodities and their shipping costs? Why couldn't Wall Street see that?

So how is it that the experts at Merrill Lynch and Bank of America can't come to the same conclusion, until the stock moves 400% in their face, and eight months after the fact?

Why is it that they can't see this at $19.80, but they can see it at $64?

Maybe it's because they were too busy hiding $5.8 billion of bonuses from the taxpayer!

And now, a judge has decided that the $33 million SEC fine/wristslap that BofA/Merrill is attempting to bribe the SEC with, is an explanation that is still found wanting.

And wanting, is also what is found missing on their analysis of Freeport--when they had that information eight months ago, but they did nothing with it!

Because instead of doing analysis, they were more concerned in taking money from the taxpayer, instead of making it in the public marketplace.

Where they could of actually earned a bonus in daylight, instead of having to steal it in the dark from the taxpayer!!