Speculation, Theories and Conjecture
The number of stories about Goldman Sachs has nearly doubled since last Friday's announcement by the SEC. As would be expected, many stories offer speculation, theories and conjecture. Some even offer so called evidence to support their position. I am sure this will be headline news in the blogs and on the web for months to come and will certainly provide enough fodder to feed all the hungry in the world.
As for me, this site and the others similar to it, it appears to be a victory of sorts. Many of us have been waiting for a shoe to fall and a crack to form and by the grace of gods servants - GS - it has
.
I am sure we will all read and I will publish links to all the opinions, speculation and theories that will roll down the hill like a rock gathering moss. It will be somewhat gratifying to be able to look at all the different views (coming from all directions) put them all together and create new opinions and conjecture.
But don't be fooled. Any definitive action in this case is a long way off and those seeking instant gratification will be very disappointed. There even exists a possibility that this will neveer even get to court. Yes, GS has hired some big guns for their legal defense but many a big gun prefers to settle a civil suit rather then go to trial. the question they will be asking themselves is how a trial will affect their already tarnished image. I would imagine that their PR department will be discussing that with the attorneys if they are not doing so already.
What will be more interesting to me and what I will be looking for throughout the coming months is how all of this will affect their business worldwide not to mentions watching to see how many hens will leave the coup. And even more interesting how many whistleblowers will surface to save themselves for possible future prosecution.
Already, some in Germany (see highlighted links below) are taking action and bailing from GS or contemplating doing so.
More important even then any GS fallout will be how far lawmakers will look through this new crack in the skin - peeling away the layers - to expose all the fraud that I believe was rampant in our financial industry. Fraud that created the cause and effect of the economic crisis. A fraud that could not have been accomplished without the help of many high ranking officials in government - possibly even Presidents or Vice Presidents. Oh, I know whatyou are thinking - here he goes again with conspiracy theories - but let us not forget the proven crimes of recent past Presidents. It is possible. The question again, is will those more honest politicians have the guts to expose them, whoever they may be.
In the meantime, stay tuned. My daily links and news will continue as will my commentary. I will follow this story as it continues to unfold offering information from many different view points. I will also be looking for how this GS case opens he doors to those other institutions that some one dubbed Too Big Too Fail offering billions of our dollars to...maybe keep the truth from coming out. This is just the very beginning. When the tip of the iceberg blows off we may have an even bigger volcanic eruption then the one in Iceland.
Oh, didn't Iceland go broke due to their investments in these real estate related securities? It will be interesting to see what they do about the man made disaster they had after they deal with the natural one.
By Hugh Son April 20 (Bloomberg)
Ruder Says SEC Should Be Able to Prove Goldman Case: Video | www ...
By marketmaker
Goldman Sachs banker Fabrice Tourre to testify in Congress
Washington Post
Banks Punished in Swaps as Industrial Gap Soars: Credit Markets
Bloomberg
OpenSecrets | Lawmakers Make Bank from Goldman Sachs, D.C. Voting ...
GOLDMAN SACHS A POPULAR INVESTMENT FOR LAWMAKERS:
IKB considers suing Goldman Sachs for fraud - The Local
Obama: No issues with Goldman Sachs case
USA Today
Senate Majority Leader Won't Return Money to Goldman Sachs
FOXNews (blog)
Goldman Sachs case has makings of an epic legal showdown
Los Angeles Times
Berlin State Officials May Boycott Goldman, Handelsblatt Says
Bloomberg
Forums - GOLDMAN SACHS will go down like all the rest
Bloomberg Opinion
What Goldman Sachs and Ben Roethlisberger Have in Common - CBS ...
By Nathan Hale
How the Goldman Sachs Suit Will Affect Financial Reform - CBS ...
By Nelson Wang
Clip Syndicate Video: Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Caveat Emptor Defense Mirrors UBS, Merrill Subprime ...By William McQuillen and Patricia Hurtado April 21 (Bloomberg)
Was the Goldman Sachs Suit Politically Timed?
CBS News
Rep. Darrell Issa
FOXNews
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Goldman Sachs just got slapped with civil charges by the SEC
Hong Kong Regulator Says Goldman Fallout in Hong Kong 'Limited'
BusinessWeek
Goldman's Caveat Emptor Defense Mirrors UBS, Merrill Lawsuits
BusinessWeek
8 COMMENTS:
Here's a column worth reading, I think:
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Three+simple+fixes+Wall+Street+reckless+ways/2936967/story.html
JR...this is pretty good, too.
The SAFE Banking Act: Break Them Up
In the American political system — where the power of major banks is now so manifest — there is no way to significantly reduce the risks posed by these banks unless they are broken up.
These banks are so powerful that they can confront and defy the government, as seen in the twists and turns of the S.E.C. versus Goldman Sachs case. They are also powerful enough to threaten a form of extortion: If reform is tough, according to JPMorgan Chase’s chief, Jamie Dimon, credit will contract, the recovery will slow and unemployment will stay high. Given the size of his bank, that’s a credible threat.
The big banks give a lot of money to politicians on both sides of the aisle and they are now digging in hard to defeat reform. Indeed, there are credible reports of various “front” organizations being used for this purpose.
http://baselinescenario.com/2010/04/22/the-safe-banking-act-break-them-up/
Bond Market Will Never Be the Same After Goldman: Michael Lewis
Ritual Sacrifice
Sadly, it will not suffice to offer up Fabrice Tourre as a ritual sacrifice. No one is going to accept a then 27-year-old Frenchman, whose job was apparently to keep sweet the patsies on the other end of your trades, as the world’s authority on your trading positions.
His name isn’t even on the top of the list of Goldman traders listed on the $2 billion Abacus deal for which you are being sued. The name on top of that document is Jonathan Egol. Egol appears to have been the bond trader at the center of your Abacus program. The same Jonathan Egol who told fellow traders in 2006 -- a year before this transaction -- that the subprime market was doomed.
The public eventually will ask: Who is Jonathan Egol and what exactly was his game?
http://tinyurl.com/26tx4vo
Some clients are exiting the sinking ship of GS:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-21/bayernlb-says-it-ends-business-relationship-with-goldman-sachs.html
Another fall-out from GS fraud--the gubernatorial race in California:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/22/MN6C1D2B0H.DTL
JR did you see this article?
What kind of business relationship can Californians expect their state to have with Goldman Sachs and firms like it if Meg Whitman becomes governor? Here's a clue: In a report called "Corporate cash boosts Whitman," the Associated Press reported that "The biggest donations came from New York investment bankers, hedge fund managers, attorneys and others." If there's one thing these guys know it's how to prime the pump.
http://tinyurl.com/yc6dpke
The SEC case looks weak...probably by design...but we all know this fraud is a game of semantics.
Economist James Galbraith: Economists Should Move into the Background, and "Criminologists to the Forefront"
Bill Black agrees:
Criminologists, Black said, are trained to identify the environments that produce epidemics of fraud -- and in the case of the financial crisis, the culprit is obvious.
"We're looking at incentive structures," he told HuffPost. "Not people suddenly becoming evil. Not people suddenly becoming crazy. But people reacting to perverse incentive structures."
CEOs can't send out a memo telling their front-line professionals to commit fraud, "but you can send the same message with your compensations system, and you can do it without going to jail," Black said.
Criminologists ask "fundamentally different types of question" than the ones being asked.
http://tinyurl.com/254ps9n
All The President’s Men (With Ties To Controversial Goldman Sachs)
http://tinyurl.com/39lfadp
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