In addition to the federal money it took last fall, it benefited from the government’s bailout of the American International Group, being paid 100 cents on the dollar for its $13 billion counterparty exposure to the insurer, and it has $28 billion in outstanding debt issued cheaply with the backing of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
They simply should not be allowed to continue doing this. Making record profits by trading with tax payer protection is not going to create the jobs that are needed for the economy. Gasparino has some remarks about the topic in the video below.
Goldman will have an earnings blow out and… pay its employees royally to continue to support the company. The employee “bonuses” are darn well worth it — the last thing Goldman needs is another rogue employee who reveals more about Goldman’s government-sponsored monopoly.
Startling, too, is how much of its revenue Goldman is expected to share with its employees. Analysts estimate that the bank will set aside enough money to pay a total of $18 billion in compensation and benefits this year to its 28,000 employees, or more than $600,000 an employee. Top producers stand to earn millions…
Top producers are the ones who know the most… Still we would really love to see more information about Goldman Sachs, Rapes and Pillages appearing from a new “Deep Throat” at Wikileaks. Maybe one or two of those who only get $600,000 will feel slighted and find a way to angle for more from outside of the company.
Macroman has a humorous, yet insightful take on Goldman’s recent earnings hype:
“Meanwhile, back in the US, Goldman recorded super earnings in the first part of the current fiscal year, announcing Q1 earnings of $3.39 per share, well above the consensus expectation of $1.64. Except that they didn’t. Buried in the small print, it appears that as the Easter Bunny was delivering candy and eggs to children all over the world, he also deposited a small turd in the GS income statement. In December, which magically falls outside the aegis of any reporting period (falling through the cracks, as it were, in the transition from investment bank to bank holding company) , the firm lost $2.15 per share. Add that to the Q1 earnings figure, and you get a result that is comfortably lower than consensus.
More telling was the GS announcement of their intention to sell shares to the public. While Macro Man occasionally takes Goldman to task, he will happily concede that, individually and collectively, they are some of the smartest guys on the street. And when a smart guy offers to sell you something in an industry that has more than doubled in value over the past month….well, judge for yourself what the appropriate response is.”
Top Gun expresses the same or similar thoughts…
