We have seen that Blackrock will buy about $1 billion of the shares itself as part of a share repurchase plan.  Still, that leaves about $5 billion that the market will have to absorb and this comes at a time when it is an understatement to say that Main Street is not exactly hot on Wall Street investment banking and money management firms.

Barclays is unloading these shares before new Basel rules apply which would have forced the company to count the share stake as capital. The offering is being conducted by Barclays itself along with the firms of Morgan Stanley and BofA Merrill Lynch.  Barclays owns 32,178,505 shares of the series B convertible preferred stock and 3,031,651 common shares per the filing, and this comes to roughly a 19.6% economic interest in Blackrock.  The applicable percentage of ownership for the selling stockholder is based on 139,564,123 shares of common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2012.

Blackrock also has a filing for a note offering which will ultimately be led by Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, and by Wells Fargo Securities.  Blackrock shares were at $180 as recently as May 11 and the shares closed at $171.91 just this last Friday.  Shares closed at $167.73 on Monday and now shares are down another 1.2% to $165.86 in mid-day trading in New York.

Blackrock’s big issue here is that it rarely trades 1 million shares in a day, with only 8 trading days of 1 million or more shares in just the last three months and just ten trading sessions with 1 million shares or more in the prior three-month period.

Blackrock has traded in a range of $137.00 to $209.37 over the last 52-weeks.  The market value today is $29.8 billion, so this is going to be a large offering to absorb.

Dow Jones has listed that the secondary offering is set to price on Wednesday evening for Thursday trading.

JON C. OGG

The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) files suit against Walmart (NYSE: WMT) over bribery allegations in Mexico. (Reuters)

Greek elections could reverse much of what the nation did to get bailout funds. (Reuters)

Yahoo!’s (NASDAQ: YHOO) board says it will review mistakes in the resume of its CEO. (Reuters)

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) may settle claims by former Merrill Lynch brokers over pay. (WSJ)

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) will launch a low-cost electronic bond-trading program to compete with BlackRock (NYSE: BLK). (WSJ)

Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) says government officials had begun an informal investigation into the pay package of its CEO. (WSJ)

The Obama Administration will set new environmental safety rules for hydraulic fracturing on federal land. (WSJ)

General Motors’ (NYSE: GM) recovery is hurt badly by Europe. (WSJ)

New Samsung Galaxy phones represent more challenges to the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone. (WSJ)

The head of the European Central Bank says higher taxes could hurt the region’s recovery. (NYT)

The ECB’s president expects a recovery in the region this year. (FT)

The launch of an Apple TV may help it compete more effectively with Samsung. (FT)

LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) sales and profits surge. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

The International Monetary Fund receives $320 billion in new funds that could be used to fight the crisis in the European Union. (Reuters)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is anxious to set a trial date on e-book price-fixing charges. (Reuters)

Europe’s effort to put money into its banking system to help the sovereign debt crisis may no longer work. (WSJ)

Gas futures begin to drop, which is a sign consumers may get some relief. (WSJ)

Ebay (NASDAQ: EBAY) earnings show it has emerged from a slow period. (WSJ)

Bankrupt AMR details a number of nonunion cutbacks aimed to save it more money. (WSJ)

General Motors (NYSE: GM) and its Chinese JV partner will set terms to give the U.S. company more of a say in decisions. (WSJ)

Federal regulators set the first major rules for fracking. (WSJ)

The senate in Argentina moves to nationalize YPF (NYSE: YPF). (WSJ)

U.S.-based multinational companies increase jobs overseas faster than in the U.S., according to the Commerce Department. (WSJ)

EU antitrust officials will approve a deal by Sony (NYSE: SNE) and partners to take over EMI for $2.2 billion. (WSJ)

Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) comments on earnings may reveal more about plans for Windows 8. (WSJ)

The bad debt of Spanish banks reaches a high. (WSJ)

Instagram negations are based on a $104 billion valuation for Facebook. (NYT)

BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) says it may have to move some of its money if major U.S. banks are downgraded by credit agencies. (FT)

The IMF says EU banks face needs for deleveraging that could total $2.6 trillion. (FT)

The central bank of Brazil cuts rates over concerns about growth. (FT)

Large investors gamble the Fed will start QE3. (FT)

Growth in Japan’s exports helps raise the economic outlook for the nation. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Exports from Japan improve. (Reuters)

The Fed’s Beige Book reports concern about energy costs. (Reuters)

The World Bank expects China’s expansion to slow this year. (Reuters)

Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO) and BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) ore output will drop because of low demand in China. (Reuters)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) tries to fix malware problems with some Macs, but the PR fallout has been significant. (Reuters)

BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) will set its own bond trading platform to bypass normal markets. (WSJ)

The Justice Department claims Apple and five publishers illegally set e-book prices. (WSJ)

More fast-food chains sell company outlets to franchisees as a way to cut costs. (WSJ)

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) launches a $4.4 billion casino complex in Macau. (WSJ)

The federal deficit narrows as tax receipts rise. (WSJ)

Competition in the locomotive business rises between General Electric (NYSE: GE) and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT). (WSJ)

The CFO of JCPenney (NYSE: JCP) is pushed out. (WSJ)

Record labels and digital sites reach an agreement on royalties. (WSJ)

California solar-power developer BrightSource Energy will go public. (WSJ)

Volkswagen and BMW set sales records in the first quarter on improved luxury demand. (WSJ)

China Q1 auto sales fall 3.4% (WSJ)

The Greek crisis leaves Cyprus with huge debts. (NYT)

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) will cut e-book prices. (NYT)

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is fined $1.2 billion for its promotion of drug Risperdal. (NYT)

A report by the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program says the Treasury has done a poor job of helping the housing markets. (NYT)

A board investigation into conduct by Best Buy’s (NYSE: BBY) former CEO Brian Dunn will continue. (NYT)

Spotify opens its streaming system to other websites. (FT)

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) may have to split its low-end handset business from its smartphone operations. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) Raised to Hold at Soc-Gen.

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions (NASDAQ: MDRX) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Focus Media Holding Limited (NASDAQ: FMCN) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO) Cut to Underperform at Wells Fargo.

Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $55 at Credit Suisse.

Inergy L.P. (NYSE: NRGY) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Jarden Corporation (NYSE: JAH) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.

Kinder Morgan. Inc. (NYSE: KMI) Raised target price to $36 from $32 at Credit Suisse.

LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Loews Corporation (NYSE: L) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) Started as Outperform at RBC.

OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN) Raised to Buy at Benchmark.

Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Raised estimates and maintained on Focus List at Credit Suisse.

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) Raised to Outperform at National Bank.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

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JON C. OGG

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has seen targets raised this morning by Oppenheimer to $700 and by UBS to $675; see the strange downgrade from Thursday.

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) Cut to Neutral at Wedbush.

Coach. Inc. (NYSE: COH) Raised estimates and target to $83 from $75 at Credit Suisse; Started as Buy with $90 target at Argus.

Corn Products International Inc. (NYSE: CPO) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) Cut target to $29 from $30 at Jefferies.

KB Home (NYSE: KBH) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

The Kroger Company (NYSE: KR) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) Raised to Buy with $39 target at Argus.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS) Started as Neutral with $49 target at BofA/ML.

Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.

SBAC Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: SBAC) named as Top Pick at Credit Suisse.

Synovus Financial Corporation (NYSE: SNV) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: AMTD) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Veolia Environnement (NYSE: VE) Raised to Neutral from Sell at UBS.

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JON C. OGG

Read The 10 Largest Hedge Funds in America

What is even more amazing than the funds’ individual size is the size of the hedge fund world. In the U.S., funds that had $1 billion or more in assets cumulatively had assets under management of more than $1.3 trillion. Well over $1 trillion of those assets tracked were distributed in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The industry may be huge, but it is not stable. That’s because so many funds take such outsized risk to grow more rapidly than their competitors. Thousands of funds closed in 2008 after the fall of Lehman Bros. In what was probably the worst quarter in the industry’s history, Hedge Fund Research reported that 700 U.S. funds closed in the third quarter of that year. The funds not only lost money on investment, but also could not repay loans taken from banks that gave them leverage to help increase their asset bases.

The surge in the stock market and improvement in the economy lifted the hedge fund industry back toward record levels last year. According to HFR, the number of new funds rose to 1,113 last year from 935 in 2010, the most since 2007 when 1,197 were counted. Obviously, the success of the business is based to a large extent on the health of the economy, although some of the funds on this list have done well enough to defy that lesson.

A recent report from Absolute Return lists U.S. hedge funds according to their assets under management as of January 2012. A look at the top 10 hedge funds reveals several rather well-known names, but also shines a light on several completely unknown ones.

24/7 Wall St. examined the top 10 hedge funds and outlined their respective units. We also provided the funds’ investment strategies and included some of their top holdings if available.

Alcatel-Lucent, S.A. (NYSE: ALU) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) Cut to Neutral at Baird; named as Momentum stock of the day at Zacks.

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) Cut to Market Perform at Raymond James.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $46 at Argus.

KB Home (NYSE: KBH) named as Bear of the Day with Underperform rating at Zacks.

Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) Raised to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.

MetroPCS Communications Inc. (NYSE: PCS) Maintained Buy with $15 target at Argus.

Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW) Cut to Neutral at UBS.

Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF) Raised to Outperform at Raymond James.

TAL International Group Inc. (NYSE: TAL) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.

Texas Capital Bancshares (NASDAQ: TCBI) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Travelers Companies (NYSE: TRV) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.

Unum Group (NYSE: UNM) Raised to Outperform at RBC Capital.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox.  We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers and more. Sign up in the box below.

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JON C. OGG

The iShares Emerging Markets Dividend Index Fund (NYSE: DVYE) seeks investment results which track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Dow Jones Emerging Markets Select Dividend Index.

iShares Asia/Pacific Dividend 30 Index Fund (NYSE: DVYA) seeks investment results which correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Dow Jones Asia/Pacific Select Dividend 30 Index.

These launched with 100,000 shares each and they are expected to grow through time if you track the other emerging market ETF products that are already in existence.

These are not the only emerging market and international dividend ETFs out there.  Investors already have the SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (NYSE: EDIV) with $300 million in assets.  There is also the  WisdomTree Emerging Markets High Yielding Equity (NYSE: DEM) has more than $2 billion in assets.

There is also the WisdomTree Emerging Markets SmallCap Dividend ETF (NYSE: DGS) with more than $800 million in assets, but that targets small caps in emerging markets.

JON C. OGG

Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone loses market share in China, based on Gartner data. (Reuters)

Improved odds of a Greek bailout lift markets. (Reuters)

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to target consumer collection agencies. (Reuters)

Chinese search company Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) will pursue mobile applications for growth. (Reuters)

Ally may be sold because its IPO plans have faced difficulty. (Reuters)

Alibaba says it will not work on foreign M&A in the future. (Reuters)

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) used tracking software to take private information on people who use the Apple mobile OS. (WSJ)

UBS (NYSE: UBS) traders establish schemes to set interest rates around the world. (WSJ)

EU-based banks find stability in U.S. consumer operations. (WSJ)

European Central Bank and German plans to aid Greece probably will allow the southern European nation to finally get its bailout. (WSJ)

The Export-Import Bank may match financing set by countries like China to help U.S. exporters. (WSJ)

Twitter launches a program to attract small advertisers. (WSJ)

The International Monetary Fund will offer austerity rules in Greece that will spread the effects over many years. (WSJ)

Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR) says it may need to raise more capital. (WSJ)

The EU airline emissions fee faces challenges from a number of quarters. (WSJ)

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) to pursue its $13.7 billion bailout of Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN). (WSJ)

Large investor Blackrock (NYSE: BLK) may determine the fate of the Xstrata and Glencore International merger. (WSJ)

Congress wants to auction TV airwaves to raise money to help improve the deficit. (NYT)

Positive comments from investigators examining Apple supplier Foxconn may be premature. (NYT)

U.S. taxpayers will help support a deal on mortgages set between the federal government and five banks. (FT)

Germany wants one voice from EU ministers set to rescue Greece, which would include approval of an ECB debt swap. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre