After a week in which the market finally seemed to vote that big financial companies will be OK, S&P took the holiday to slam Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH). No one was even on the floor of the NYSE to react.

According to Reuters S&P revised its outlook to "negative" from "stable" on Goldman’s "AA-minus" and Lehman’s "A-plus" long-term credit ratings, suggesting a possible downgrade in one to two years.

If the call is proactive, the agency obviously believes that a great deal more bad news lies ahead in falling revenue and further write-offs.

The market open next week just gained a bit of drama.

Douglas A. McIntyre