Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Regarding Goldman Sachs Blowout Earnings.

Posted by Jesse: Goldman Sachs Buries Losses to Beat the Estimates

Here's a passage written byJesse.

  • Goldman took this opportunity to realize some hefty writedowns in that December one month report, to the tune of approximately $1.3 Billion in pre-tax losses.

    So, to earn an impressive $1.8 Billion in the first quarter, Goldman disposed of their losses in a largely ignored December filing. This facilitated their share offering with the 'wonderful earnings news' which Matt Miller of Bloomberg referred to approximately every five minutes as "blowing away their numbers."

    However, this morning, Matt did mumble something about Goldman "maybe not blowing away their numbers."

    Goldman did nothing illegal in their management of their earnings, both in the way in which they parsed the losses into a 'stub month' which was ignored, or in their decision to time an early announcement of 'exceptional profits' with a stock offering. But the financial press handled this badly, and considering the huge debt and forebearance Goldman owes to the government and the public it was not befitting a major institution with strong ties to the Obama administration.

    The only thing getting blown away around here are the shareholders, taxpayers, and anyone else who buys what Wall Street in general is selling these days.

    The banks must be restrained and the financial system reformed before we can have a genuine economic recovery.

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