oops!

“FairPoint Communications Inc. completed its purchase of Verizon Communications Inc.'s wired telephone lines and high-speed Internet service in northern New England, and was promptly punished by investors.

“FairPoint's stock fell 12%, or $1.24, to $9.02 in 4 p.m. composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

“Goldman Sachs analyst Jason Armstrong added FairPoint to his ‘sell’ list and said the multibillion-dollar deal will push risk ‘materially higher.’

“Wall Street's reaction came as FairPoint CEO Gene Johnson touted the deal's closing in New York as catapulting the North Carolina-based phone company into one of the nation's largest.

“‘This is a great day in our progression. Many dedicated employees have worked tirelessly to achieve this milestone and I am ever grateful,’ Mr. Johnson said. ‘The result of our efforts is the creation of the eighth-largest telephone company in the United States’."

(“FairPoint Closes Verizon Deal and Sees Shares Fall.” Wall Street Journal. April 1, 2008. pg. B.2)

RISK not only comes with increased leverage in a slowing market, but with complexities heretofore not perceived.