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Fraud*
According to the Collins English Dictionary 10th Edition fraud can be defined as: "deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage".[1] In the broadest sense, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation. Defrauding people or entities of money or valuables is a common purpose of fraud, but there have also been fraudulent "discoveries", e.g. in science, to gain prestige rather than immediate monetary gain
*As defined in Wikipedia

Friday, April 9, 2010

Goldman Sachs: Spinning Gold

Another excellent article by Janet:

BTW, will we ever see real solutions being discussed by Congress?
Goldman Sachs: Spinning Gold
by Janet Tavakoli

Goldman Sachs claims great risk management skills, while it shirks responsibility for its role in the near collapse of the U.S. economy. The former is a myth, and the latter is a dodge. [1] As taxpayer wealth was destroyed, Goldman exploited the financial crisis it helped cause, while the U.S. was (and remains) at war.

Goldman Sachs released its 2009 annual report today showing it made net revenues of $45.17 billion with net earnings of $13.39 billion. In its shareholder letter, Goldman says it repaid TARP money, but did not mention the massive new taxpayer subsidies it continues to enjoy.

"Goldman did not and does not operate or manage our risk with any expectation of outside assistance."

Yet due to the influence of highly placed Goldman Sachs former officers, Goldman received--and continues to receive--enormous assistance from taxpayers.

Goldman cleaned up at the expense of average citizens. For example, hard-working U.S. taxpayers bailed out Goldman Sachs, Goldman's trading partners, and AIG. Goldman grabbed new status as a financial holding company, FDIC debt guarantees, access to near zero-cost taxpayer-subsidized borrowing, new lax accounting standards, and more. Now Goldman is making a killing as the Federal Reserve keeps interest rates near zero. Goldman reaped windfall profits to replenish its capital, and paid bonuses of over $16 billion to its employees.

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Read the rest here

6 COMMENTS:

Anonymous said...

I love GS, it is a great company with terrific corporate culture. Let it go...this company isn't evil - it doesn't hurt anybody physically, it doesn't pollute the environment...there are bigger things to worry about in life. The American public has really moved on - the protests have stopped, let it go. Pull the plug on this website, save your money, spend time with your family and loved ones instead.

Anonymous said...

I agree - the whole financial industry is just so complicated, i just don't get it. I try reading NYtime and bloomberg - i just don't understand it all. Now I understand why so many people have never heard of goldman sachs, people don't understand the newspapers, let alone the business they operate. I saw a link to this site from another blog but ya know, i've never had a problem with GS and have never been in one of their bank branches.

Larry Rubinoff said...

@Anonymous who said: "i've never had a problem with GS and have never been in one of their bank branches."

Well Anonymous, that's because THEY DON'T HAVE ANY BANK BRANCHES. That is one of the problems with them as they continue to rip of taxpayers - that's you. They have friends in high places and can pretty much do what they want.

Unless you have not been affected by the Recession or indeed, have not heard of it - GS was a major cause of it.

@Anonymous who said: "I love GS, it is a great company with terrific corporate culture. Let it go...this company isn't evil - it doesn't hurt anybody physically, it doesn't pollute the environment...there are bigger things to worry about in life. The American public has really moved on - the protests have stopped, let it go. Pull the plug on this website, save your money, spend time with your family and loved ones instead."

No the public has not moved on nor has the media nor have the unions. But this statement you make reallyl gets me:

".this company isn't evil - it doesn't hurt anybody physically".

I guess you mean they don't shoot anybody or beat them up with a baseball bat. Well, you are right but they HAVE HURT millions worldwide, left a trail of homeless, hungry and broken people who once enjoyed having a home, food, cars and the ability to support their kids. That is a living death for many and painful beyond what you could ever imagine nor want to imagine.

You say "you love GS", you must be an employee or an investor with little regard for mankind. But this is America - still - and you are entitled to your views and opinions as we are here. We will continue to offer them.

Thank you for visiting our site and for taking the time to comment. All views and comments are always welcome.

Larry
Editor

Guava said...

There is a lot to discuss about Goldman's actions prior to the financial meltdown, but this commentary will focus only on the largest part of the U.S. economy, the housing market.

Anonymous said...

To all anon...Anyone who does not like transparency, does not like fair dealing, does not like independent government...would love gs!

Re read ..
Inside The Great American Bubble Machine
Matt Taibbi on how Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression

http://tinyurl.com/lys3m3


The Banks

It is a well documented fact that a few big American banks have long fostered and enjoyed close relationships with U.S. regulators and agencies such as the Federal Reserve Board and the U.S. Treasury. History is also replete with Goldman Sachs executives attaining government postings such as the Secretary of the Treasury; including Robert Rubin and Hank Paulson of recent decades. These relationships of trust are developed and nurtured over time to the point where advice is sought and information exchanged regarding situations on a strictly confidential basis. It is difficult for Long Wave Analytics to believe, for example, that the Federal Reserve didn’t send up a trial balloon last February musing about the prospect of initiating a quantitative easing program involving new Treasury bond issues. How else could Goldman amass $27 billion (U.S.) in trading profits in the first nine months of the year. A 50 basis point move in yield on a 10-year maturity, for example, translates into a price change of $4.20 per $1,000 bond. On a long position of $1 billion (U.S.) of a 10-year Treasury bond, this means a capital gain of $42 million (U.S.).

Who’s in charge? We believe it to be the big American and European banks because, after all, they are the owners of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

http://tinyurl.com/ykracq2
Rubin blamed financial system, not any errors of his own at Citi. And his defense of Greenspan is, in my opinion, the work of a guilty conscious. He and Greenie both supported, and even pushed for:

• Repeal of Glass Steagall

• Exempting of Derivatives from Regulation

• Encouraging Citi to take on more leverage in 2004

• Ultra-low interest rates during, and after the 2001 recession

http://tinyurl.com/5wz7qf

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

I love GS, it is a great company with terrific corporate culture. Let it go.

No


Some are asking just how much of Goldman's profits come on the backs of U.S. taxpayers.

http://tinyurl.com/y3de9ng


You can review these, too:

http://tinyurl.com/yarzf48

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