Goldman Sachs

[DGuller]

  It seems like the culture of obscene profiteering is back.

Obscene profiteering is in the eye of the beholder. Objectively it's just called profit.

I was actually reacting to expected record bonuses.  That just further encourages plundering when the going is good, and turning tail and leaving the government with the mess when the going goes bad.

[DGuller]

I agree that it takes a lot of effort to not be a conspiracy theorist when it comes to Goldman Sachs.  It also saddens me that it seems like we're on track for never learning anything from the previous debacle.  It seems like the culture of obscene profiteering is back.

I don't consider myself poor.

[Eddie Teach]

I don't consider myself poor.

Yet you bargain with muggers to get a better deal.

[DGuller]

I don't consider myself poor.

Yet you bargain with muggers to get a better deal.

[Neil]

You know, if the company has actually turned a profit, and all of this isn't smoke and mirrors, then the guys deserve their monster bonuses.

[DGuller]

You know, if the company has actually turned a profit, and all of this isn't smoke and mirrors, then the guys deserve their monster bonuses.

Not necessarily.  In that business you can turn a big profit by sheer dumb luck.

[The Minsky Moment]

they bailed out AIG to avoid a major diplomatic incident.

What does that refer to? All the European financial institutions that would have gone done without the AIG money?

Exactly - there were huge counterparty exposures among Euro banks and pressure was put on treasury and the Fed to fix the problem

[The Minsky Moment]

I wonder why the shareholders of Goldman Sachs don't demand higher dividends and a bit lower bonuses. It's not like everybody would immediately jump ship if they only got an average $200,000 and not $300,000 bonus. Sounds like the other banks are currently incapable of paying such high bonuses.

the senior guys get compensated in the tens of millions, and the company attempted to seriously ratchet back, they are at the level where they could probably start there own firms or get huge offers from competitors.

[Ed Anger]

I don't consider myself poor.

It is a joke son. kids these days.

[DGuller]

I don't consider myself poor.

It is a joke son. kids these days.

I don't consider myself a kid.

[Ed Anger]

[Monoriu]

Even the janitors who work for GS in Hong Kong are paid like 20 months of salary per year. 

[Jaron]

I thought this was that Jew baby disease.

[Caliga]

I thought this was that Jew baby disease.

You mean chronic inflammation of greed?

[DontSayBanana]

Whether they posted the profit by luck or design, the fact remains that they did make the money. They repaid their TARP injection, and it's not like FDIC coverage is a brand-new concept among banks.

This seems like a case of "we just want them to feel our pain," since I haven't heard any complaints about "big government" interfering when FDIC directly takes control of a failed bank, without the pesky middleman of a clearing house. I didn't hear complaints from those with bank accounts between $100,000 and $250,000 when FDIC raised the amount it would insure, even though somebody's paying for that, too.

Even if 95% of their profit was in CDS transactions, when they did it, it was not against the rules. For those of you who want to see it become more difficult for a bank to turn a profit, you'll be happy to hear that the Fed is demanding a system where the SEC and CFTC take on oversight of all derivates, and just to make sure we've got them coming and going, they're finally talking about how to do away with overdraft fees, so get ready to see higher monthly banking fees.