Goldman to price EAFE notes; Barclays sells $17.05 million in FTSE, Nikkei, Stoxx-linked notes

By LLuvia Mares

New York, Jan. 14 - Leading structured products news Monday, Goldman Sachs Group announced it plans to price leveraged notes linked to the MSCI EAFE index.

The deal will come structured as 0% leveraged equity index-linked notes due 2009.

"We got another standard product with 0% leverage, you have a triple upside - it's a pretty standard product," said a market source. "Emerging markets are always an interest as a way to get a quick return."

He noted the deal has 10% downside protection and no currency risk.

The notes will mature 17 to 20 months after issue.

The payout at maturity will be par plus 3% for any 1% gain in the index, subject to a maximum return of 21%. Investors will receive par if the index declines by 10% or less and will lose 1.1111% for each 1% decline beyond 10%.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. will be the underwriter.

Barclays sells $17.05 million 0% notes

Elsewhere in the market, Barclays Bank plc priced $17.05 million 0% notes due Jan. 23, 2009 linked to a weighted basket of three buffered return enhanced components.

J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. is the agent.

The basket consists of the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 index with a 45% weight, the FTSE 100 index with a 30% weight and the Nikkei 225 index with a 25% weight.

The payout at maturity will be par plus double any basket gain, capped at a return of 14.8% for the Euro Stoxx 50, 13.7% for the FTSE 100 and 17.8% for the Nikkei 225.

If a basket index falls by up to 10%, investors will receive par. Beyond a 10% drop, the return will be negative 1.1111 multiplied by the decline beyond 10%.

The maximum payment at maturity is $1,152.20 per $1,000 principal amount.

The closing basket level will be the average of the closing levels on Jan. 14, Jan. 15, Jan. 16, Jan. 19 and Jan. 20 of 2009.

Deutsche plans notes linked to Liquid Commodity index

In other news, Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch plans to price an offering of zero-coupon market contribution securities due Feb. 10, 2011 linked to the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index - Mean Reversion Plus Total Return.

The index is based on futures contracts for six commodities, including crude oil, heating oil, aluminum, gold, wheat and corn. It uses variable weights for this small set of liquid contracts to capture the mean-reverting properties of commodities.

The notes are expected to price on Feb. 7 and settle on Feb. 12.

At maturity, investors will receive par of $10,000 plus a percentage equal to the index return at maturity minus an adjustment factor of 2% annually.

The notes will be putable on Feb. 13, 2009 and Feb. 16, 2010, with the payout calculated using the same formula as at maturity.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas will be the agents.

JPMorgan prices $1.15 million exchangeables linked to Apple

Elsewhere, JPMorgan Chase & Co. priced $1.15 million of reverse exchangeable notes due April 16, 2008 linked to the common stock of Apple Inc.

The three-month notes will pay 5% for an annualized rate of 20%. Interest is payable monthly.

The payout at maturity will be par unless Apple stock falls by more than 30% during the life of the notes and finishes below the initial share price, in which case the payout will be a number of Apple shares equal to $1,000 divided by the initial share price or, at JPMorgan's option, the equivalent cash value.

J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. is the agent.

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