Goldman Sachs

Change? Yup ... a whole lot of change adds up to some real money!

The Rating Outlook revision to Negative incorporates recent legal developments and ongoing regulatory challenges that could adversely impact Goldman's reputation and revenue generating capacity. Goldman's franchise and market position are potentially vulnerable to scrutiny by stakeholders, and like peers, may be affected by the industry's regulatory evolution.

Max Keiser is in his prime discussing Goldman and Bill Clinton's hypocrisy in defending Goldman. Which is not all that surprising considering Clinton's son-in-law Marc Mezvinsky is a Goldman Investment banker. Anyway, in addition to the usual scathing observations on the life, universe and everything, Max goes head to head with Senate hopeful Peter Schiff. Good clean fun ensues, with Alan Greenspan's invitation to the Keiser show pending.

Remember, practically everybody poo-poohed my research and opinion in 2008 when I said Goldman was drastically overvalued. Those 600% to 1,000% gains on put options proved otherwise. Speaking of which, look at those July 150 puts… Can you smell what old school, fundamental analysis (you know counting profit and discounting for risk) is cookin’???

Time for the media circus to go nuts. The AP reports that the Feds have just opened a criminal probe into Goldman: now it is getting interesting. And everyone was thinking that Eric Holder is a toothless puppet (well, that still has to be refuted).

In light of the fact that Goldman Sachs actively trades against its clients, it is now high time for the U.S. federal prosecutors probe into Goldman’s trading practice of Baidu IPOs as well.

For those who have forgotten the implications of the highly leveraged and opaque financial holdings (the true value of which rests at the mercy of market sentiment) and can turn blind eye to the highly volatile nature of the trading revenues combined with a literal tsunami of regulatory pressure and potential litigious onslaught (all issues which we have repetitively brought up in the past as what appears to be the sole voice of contrarian reason), Goldman Sachs holds a strong investment proposition. However, if fundamental considerations such as the company’s solvency, true economic profit (not the accounting earnings you hear preached from your brokerage’s sell side marketing propaganda cum research reports) and the sustainability of income are to be considered, GS should NOT appear among the preferred lot.

Eleven indicted Somali pirates dropped a bombshell in a U.S. court today, revealing that their entire piracy operation is a subsidiary of banking giant Goldman Sachs. There was an audible gasp in court when the leader of the pirates announced, "We are doing God's work. We work for Lloyd Blankfein. We were functioning as investment bankers, only every day was casual Friday," the pirate said.

Long-term subsidies, like the Fed holding who-knows-what to maturity, equals soviet communism, as every hooligan knows. Short-term subsidies transfer credit risk, and they leverage parasitic behavior. Positive valuations assigned by shareholders to equities arise solely from anticipation of value transfer from firm debt-holders or resource transfers from US taxpayers. Debt-holder get a piece of this action too if governments overpay for “toxic” assets backing up their claims. But “everybody” receives more than fair value for their investments.

That is why the fat lady has sung and the SEC has acted. It is not that Goldman is the ogre that has broken the rules. Everyone has followed this same path, and there weren’t any rules either. There is only one critical difference between Goldman and the others: Goldman is the best, the most efficient. Because it is the best of the breed, the political focus will fall on them. The others will be tried only in the shadow of Goldman, after the show trial is over. Although the public relations team of Goldman came out with a very well reasoned document making their case to those of us who use the firm’s services. Of course, this has gotten great play in the financial press, but it is all beside the point. The issue is not the actual case brought up by the SEC but the entire structure of Wall Street – the fact that a 31 year old derivatives salesman is sometimes paid more than 100 times more than a manufacturing executive in Peoria. The inequality of the system is the issue or, putting it another way, the jealousy of the lunch-pail voter is the political dynamite that cannot be ignored.

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.

Dear Attorney General Holder:

While the SEC lacks the authority to act beyond civil actions, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has the power to file criminal actions against those who commit financial fraud. We ask assurance from you that the U.S. Department of Justice is closely looking at this case and similar cases to further investigate and prosecute the criminals involved in this, and other financially fraudulent acts. Furthermore, if the DOJ is not currently looking into this particular case, we respectfully ask you to ensure that the U.S. Department of Justice immediately open a case on this matter and investigate it with the full authority and power that your agency holds. The American people both demand and deserve justice in the matter of Wall Street banks whom the American taxpayers bailed out, only to see unemployment and housing foreclosures rise.

April 19 (Bloomberg) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which has been investigating whether any companies may have contributed to its bankruptcy, issued at least five subpoenas to investment firms and hedge funds including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., SAC Capital Advisors LP, Greenlight Capital Inc. and Citadel Investment Group LLC, according to court filings. Bankrupt Lehman is conducting its own probes separately from the 2,200-page report by examiner Anton Valukas that was published on March 11.

Don't be Left Behind.

Although it would seem that the Goldman-linked SEC case single-handedly killed the price of gold, it was only a catalyst to a technical correction that was overdue. Furthermore, gold’s long term outlook is further solidified by a couple of new “China factors.”