LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Goldman Sachs upgraded HSBC Holdings (UK:HSBA 655.90, +18.20, +2.85%) [s:hbc] to buy from neutral Tuesday, saying it now believes the bank's HSBC Finance Corp. unit will cease to be a major drag on group earnings from 2010. Goldman said the division's core credit card portfolio shrank rapidly in the first half of 2009, while the broker had been expecting modest growth. Goldman still expects net charge-off rates to rise from here, reflecting rising unemployment. However, the broker said it now expects cumulative net losses in the division from 2009 through 2012 to be $9.4 billion, down from its previous forecast of $17.6 billion.
