Goldman Sachs Charged

This seems like a big deal. Their stock took a dive and the Dow dropped.
sec.gov/news/press/2010/2010-59.htm

They’re probably just shorting themselves.

This American Life did a great episode on exactly this type of scam, albeit at a different outfit. Put together a crappy risky package, sell it, bet against it failing.

Funny, no one bangs on any longer about why CEOs are worth hundreds of millions in annual salary.

I think CEOS are often paid too much and prefer the Asian style consensus management styles where remuneration between workers and managment is closer.

That being said, being a CEO or in an executive position in any organization is a lifestyle. People SMS you at all times of the day, you’re on call 24-7, often have to butt heads with different corporate divisions, and it requires strong leadership skills. It takes a special type of person to be a CEO and an even more unique person to inspire and lead people and turn average companies into great ones.

I disagree with the salaries CEOs of long term unprofitable companies receive. That’s why I’m against bailing out dying auto companies or subsidizing any companies at all. When government decides these sort of things, they generally pick the loser. :laughing: It is even more outrageous that taxpayers pay for bailing out these uninnovative companies. Unfortunately, the manufacturing states/provinces often are vote rich, right?

Good. :raspberry:

[quote=“Jaboney”]This American Life did a great episode on exactly this type of scam, albeit at a different outfit. Put together a crappy risky package, sell it, bet against it failing.

Funny, no one bangs on any longer about why CEOs are worth hundreds of millions in annual salary.[/quote]
This one?
thisamericanlife.org/radio-a … inside-job

Yeah, that’s it.

Meet the fund manager at the center of this:

[quote]Paulson & Company

Alan Greenspan - advisory board member

Hedge fund manager John Paulson has profited more than anyone else from the financial crisis. His $3.7 billion payday in 2007 broke every record, and he made it all by betting against homeowners, shareholders, and the rest of us.

Paulson is the most conspicuous of Wall Street’s winners. Paulson & Co.’s funds (with an estimated $36 billion under management and growing by the day) were up a staggering $15 billion as the markets teetered in 2007; one fund gained 590 percent, another 353 percent. All this reportedly garnered him a personal payday of $3.7 billion, among the biggest in history.

By scoring returns of this magnitude, Paulson has dwarfed the success of George Soros.

Paulson makes no apologies. He describes in detail how he pulled off the greatest financial coup in recent history—a two-year bet that the calamity we are now experiencing would take place. It was a megatrade involving dozens of financial instruments, along with prescient wagers that banks like Lehman Brothers would eventually go under.

tinyurl.com/y6vvbql[/quote]
Good background on Paulson at link. He has made a lot of money in his career.

So far however, Paulson is unindicted:

[quote]“Paulson’s fund is a private entity and his records are not public, which is probably why you haven’t seen charges brought against him,” says Keith Springer, president of Capital Financial Advisory Services. “The government may still be gathering information, but I can’t imagine them not going after him.”

In light of today’s SEC’s allegations, it seems inevitable that questions will arise regarding whether Paulson was manipulating the subprime market for his hedge fund’s gain, and what lengths he went to in order to make sure his big bet against the American economy came up a winner.

money.cnn.com/2010/04/16/news/co … /index.htm[/quote]

Apparently most of those filings and allegations are dropped by judges presiding over those SEC-initiated cases after the defendant responds, typically on the claim that most of the allegations were taken out of context or something.

It’s sad how some of those Wall St finance guys are just going to get away with it.

The vote was Democrats vs. Republicans apparently.
Goldman Sachs CDO Lawsuit Split SEC Commissioners in 3-2 Vote
That’s kind of sad. The Republicans are trying to stop a government takeover of the investment scam market I guess.

[quote=“TainanCowboy”]Meet the fund manager at the center of this:

[quote]Paulson & Company

Alan Greenspan - advisory board member

Hedge fund manager John Paulson has profited more than anyone else from the financial crisis. His $3.7 billion payday in 2007 broke every record, and he made it all by betting against homeowners, shareholders, and the rest of us.

Paulson is the most conspicuous of Wall Street’s winners. Paulson & Co.’s funds (with an estimated $36 billion under management and growing by the day) were up a staggering $15 billion as the markets teetered in 2007; one fund gained 590 percent, another 353 percent. All this reportedly garnered him a personal payday of $3.7 billion, among the biggest in history.

By scoring returns of this magnitude, Paulson has dwarfed the success of George Soros.

Paulson makes no apologies. He describes in detail how he pulled off the greatest financial coup in recent history—a two-year bet that the calamity we are now experiencing would take place. It was a megatrade involving dozens of financial instruments, along with prescient wagers that banks like Lehman Brothers would eventually go under.

tinyurl.com/y6vvbql[/quote]
Good background on Paulson at link. He has made a lot of money in his career.

So far however, Paulson is unindicted:

[quote]“Paulson’s fund is a private entity and his records are not public, which is probably why you haven’t seen charges brought against him,” says Keith Springer, president of Capital Financial Advisory Services. “The government may still be gathering information, but I can’t imagine them not going after him.”

In light of today’s SEC’s allegations, it seems inevitable that questions will arise regarding whether Paulson was manipulating the subprime market for his hedge fund’s gain, and what lengths he went to in order to make sure his big bet against the American economy came up a winner.

money.cnn.com/2010/04/16/news/co … /index.htm[/quote][/quote]

Mr. Paulson did not cause the crash, he merely got the timing right on his investments. Good on him.

The subprime market took a well-deserved fall.

Moral story of “Goldman”. is if you make money, go quitly and depost. If you lose; make a federal or international case out of it. The conservatives have a good point?
EDIT: Why do we want to be involved in their individual choices. If they make money, I doubt we we hear
anyone complaining. If they lose money - - - - - YA, I hear it

Racy ]Rolling Stone article about Goldman Sacks a while back with this lurvely opener. . .

[quote]The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it’s everywhere. The world’s most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money. [/quote] :laughing:
Far be it for me to revel in the bad luck of a competitor, I think the case against Goldman’s is fairly weak, since they weren’t selling these structured products to the general public, but rather financial professionals. The case centres on Goldman not providing adequate warning about the nature of the risk of the products, or misleading buyers. However, the buyers of these products as financial professionals should have understood the risk. The case potentially undermines the nature of buying and selling - obviously the seller wants to make money as does the buyer - and is potentially more a witch hunt than a meaningful examination of financial liability and responsibility.

They do have a point.

As for CEO pays and compensation in the finance industry in general, if you don’t like money, there’s always teaching. However, I don’t think GS, or many others, should have been bailed out.

HG

Bush Sr and Oliver North got away with dealing drugs. Clinton got away with murder. G.W.B got away with WMD. These lying crooks will get a way with theft. NEXT !

I’m not playing a blame game or anything, but the top income tax bracket in the US between 1936 and 1981 was between 70% and 94%. In that same period, the average difference between CEOs and their average workers was what - 11:1 or something (vague memory from a post a couple months ago).

The top tax rate is now 35%, the lowest since 1931, and at the same time, the CEO:worker salary ratio is about 400:1 (same vague memory).

Tax the shit out of the slimy bastards, if they wanna change citizenship to Uganda, go for it! If they wanna move to Europe, the CEO differential is like 15:1, and the top tax rates exceed 50%. Let them take their companies with them if they wish, zealous capitalists always argue that the market will find a way, and with 300 million people, there will always be someone smart who is willing to take a $500,000 salary and not be bastard, instead of $17 million and participating in the screwing over of a whole bunch of people.

No one does any god damn thing that is worth more than say US$1,000,000 a year, and very very few people do anything that justifies them getting set up for life, along with their children’s children’s children, while people are starving and busting their ass for minimum wage and can’t properly clothe, feed, and take care of their kids.

Never happen of course, too many brainwashed teabagging masses…