Goldman to make record bonus payout

Goldman to make record bonus payout

www.guardian.co.uk

Staff at Goldman Sachs staff can look forward to the biggest bonus payouts in the firm's 140-year history after a spectacular first half of the year, sparking concern that the big investment banks which survived the credit crunch will derail financial regulation reforms.

A lack of competition and a surge in revenues from trading foreign currency, bonds and fixed-income products has sent profits at Goldman Sachs soaring, according to insiders at the firm.

(visit the link for the full news article)

And the raping and pillaging continues...

These people should be sitting in JAIL for the fraud they have committed, over and over again, not wracking up more grotesque bonuses and thumbing their noses at all of the little people who are now indebted to them and all of the other fraud criminals for generations to come. What a truly messed up world we live in.

And these crooks are laughing at us, and laughing all the way to the bank...literally.

Sad.

www.guardian.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Been staring at the screen for 8 minutes now and I can't think of a single response that won't get me banned or on a government watchlist.

Originally posted by mythatsabigprobe
Been staring at the screen for 8 minutes now and I can't think of a single response that won't get me banned or on a government watchlist.

Me too. Weren't these the same guys who were also whining about their safety a while back? Gee, I wonder why they would be so concerned? On that end of it, I am thinking someone is going to get the bright idea to Star Chamber these guys in an orderly fashion.

reply to post by mythatsabigprobe


I'll take the leap for you.Burn every goldman sachs institution to the ground and hang very corrupt shareholder from the gallows as a reminder to what happens to those who are traitorous.

Let me get this straight. They get money, loan it out to us at 10% interest and trade it by manipulating the markets (shorting as well as going long), repay the money that was given to them (at a very low interest rate), and then they pay out millions in bonuses. Damn I am definitely living life wrong

It's mind boggling, isn't it? The money-go-round never stops.

Interesting how money defies gravity. It all goes up into the hands of the top one percent(or so). Reagan was wrong with his "trickle down" theory because it doesn't go down, it goes up.

I just got done watching the movie Home - it really gives some perspective to things(look up the thread if you care to watch, but not my thread, the other one) and this concept of money disgusts me and baffles me. We put all our hopes into attaining pieces of paper to buy worthless things that we don't need. Then the greed sets in and those who have more money than most other people have to make more money than they already need, all the while ignoring the basic principles of life. Screwing the employee with low-paying jobs, raping their minds for the "corporate good" - giving them automatons they can control, giving us benefit plans that are mostly worthless nowadays because the whole health care system is a joke, completely destroying the environment in the name of profits, on and on it goes.

I am just tired of this concept of money. I don't have any answer as to what to do about it, what system to replace it with, how to fix this mess. I have worked my butt off over the years and basically never made any money. All I've ever gotten is crapped on. Why even bother anymore, the system is so slanted it doesn't even seem worth it to look for a job. So I'll get a job at eight bucks a hour, smiling and saying "Have a nice day" to a bunch of ungrateful people, dealing with people who are pissed off and angry because their lives suck just as much as anyone else, so I can pay off my miniscule debts in ten years or so while never getting ahead yet these guys make boatloads of money for doing less than nothing. All the banks do is screw us yet they make money hand over fist. If they don't make money, they just ask the government to print them up some money.

At this point, I just shake my head in amazement. I'd pull out my hair if I had any.

Whats wrong?

They just paid the TARP money back.

They are out from under the umbrella of the govt.

They can pay out bonuses as they please.

Its pretty sickening on this website sometimes when people have to complain about why others make more $ then they do. It happens quite a bit. I am sure no one in the company deserves a bonus . Last time I checked GS is doing VERY well this year through their trading profits.

Yes, bring on the flaming.

Originally posted by GreenBicMan
Whats wrong?

They just paid the TARP money back.

They are out from under the umbrella of the govt.

They can pay out bonuses as they please.

Its pretty sickening on this website sometimes when people have to complain about why others make more $ then they do. It happens quite a bit. I am sure no one in the company deserves a bonus

. Last time I checked GS is doing VERY well this year through their trading profits.

Yes, bring on the flaming.

You missed the point. It isn't that we disagree with people making money. We disagree why THEY get treated differently than WE are treated. Why do banks get tax payer money at basically 0% interest and then lend it out to tax payers at 10+%?! If people deserve bonuses for making money is such an environment then you mine as well give my dog a million dollars for remembering where he buried his chew toy outside because any idiot can make money like that. The problem isn't that they are making money, the problem is how taxpayers now are on the hook for trillions of dollars for these institutions when we can't even get healthcare for all working families. And the question is why...so they can lend it back to us at enormous interest rates and so they can push paper around while playing tricks with the markets robbing those same tax payers of retirements?!?!?!?! THAT is the point.



[edit on 21-6-2009 by RetinoidReceptor]

reply to post by RetinoidReceptor


I guess that has always happened in a way similar.

Think about it this way.

Sams club buys things in big amts of bulk.

They are able to sell it off at a much more expensive price while the consumer also gets a cut somewhat.

I think this is the same analogy on some levels.

I just dont see the problem with the bonuses.

That has nothing to do with "the system" IMO

Originally posted by GreenBicMan

That has nothing to do with "the system" IMO

If GS wants to give out bonuses to everyone that is their business. It is just perplexing how everyone was on the brink of collapse and how they helped fu*k up the economy and they get bailed out and are now fine and making record profits while the people who stopped them getting hit really hard are still suffering. Something doesn't seem right about that. And when bailouts for companies are passed without much consternation and healthcare for middle class and poor families needs "rigorous debate"...again, something doesn't seem right about that.

Also the "more risk you take the larger your bonus is" system is wrong. That is what contributes to financial crashes.

reply to post by RetinoidReceptor


Well, perhaps it wasn't quite as orchestrated as we were led to believe.

Obviously, I think we can all agree on the fact that "we" will never know the real or full story.

I just don't see the outrage in the bonuses.

They paid their $$ back and are on good terms IMO.

These guys make $$ hand over fist in all facets of the economy anyways, they are top dog on the global level.

What's wrong with making profits?

Everyone here missed the most important point in the entire article IMO.

"These banks are intermediaries in the bond markets where governments and companies are raising billions of pounds of new money. There is also a lack of competition that means they can charge huge sums for doing business."

Last week, the firm predicted that President Barack Obama's government could issue $3.25tn of debt before September, almost four times last year's sum. Goldman, a prime broker of US government bonds, is expected to make hundreds of millions of dollars in profits from selling and dealing in the bonds.

Where'd the profit that they're paying these bonuses from come from?

1.) Goldman (and the other banks) get bailed out from going under to the tune of $10 billion from the government.
2.) The government has to pay for the bailout some way so they issue debt (bonds.)
3.) Goldman (and the other banks) gets payed "huge sums" for brokering the bond sales.

So, in effect, the profit that they are touting is from selling instruments that would not have been necessary if they hadn't needed to be bailed out in the first place.

I'm not at all against profit, in fact I love it. But this is not profit, it's stealing from the taxpayer. Seems to me if they really needed the bailouts then why didn't they broker the bonds for free? Lol, fat chance there.

An illustration (and it's the best I could do atm): Mary needs to borrow $10 from Ned. Ned agrees to lend $10 to Mary and does so. But Ned doesn't have the money on hand so he asks Mary to broker an IOU from Ned to Hal for $10. Mary agrees to do this for a fee of $1.

The result:
Hal (bond buyer) gets a $10 IOU
Mary (bank) gets $10
Mary pays Ned (taxpayer) back $9
Mary (bank) keeps $1
Ned (taxpayer) lost $1 in the transaction
Mary is allowed to keep the interest the $10 earned while she had it.
Mary pays bonuses to her employees on the $1 plus interest profit.


This profit is the taxpayer's money. Period.






[edit on 21/6/2009 by Iamonlyhuman]

reply to post by Iamonlyhuman


So your point is that brokerage firms make $ in transactions?

That would be correct.

You should start a brokerage firm.

How they make it and what means, I dont know is the problem brother.

Someone always wins in the market, and that is the broker, that is for sure!

reply to post by GreenBicMan


Man you either got your head in the sand or are just plain naieve.

How many times do you need learned ATS members to explain the banking scams?

This is NOT a bunch of creative hard working dudes, contributing value to their fellow man, and deriving a financial profit as reward. it's a bunch of super rich, elitist cronies and their minions, whose day is spent thinking up new and more efficient ways to rob the rest of us blind.

Originally posted by GreenBicMan
reply to post by Iamonlyhuman

 

So your point is that brokerage firms make $ in transactions?

That would be correct.

You should start a brokerage firm.

How they make it and what means, I dont know is the problem brother.

Someone always wins in the market, and that is the broker, that is for sure!

No. My point is that the "profits" themselves are taxpayer money - not profits.

Read it again, perhaps I was unclear or perhaps you are intentionally trying to twist my words. I honestly don't know how to be more clear.

In case you didn't even read it the first time, I'll even help you out. I've pasted the simple example here from above.

An illustration (and it's the best I could do atm): Mary (the bank) needs to borrow $10 from Ned (the taxpayer). Ned agrees to lend $10 to Mary and does so. But Ned doesn't have the money on hand so he asks Mary to broker an IOU from Ned to Hal (the bond buyer) for $10. Mary agrees to do this for a fee of $1.

The result:
Hal (bond buyer) gets a $10 IOU
Mary (bank) gets $10
Mary pays Ned (taxpayer) back $9
Mary (bank) keeps $1
Ned (taxpayer) lost $1 in the transaction
Mary is allowed to keep the interest the $10 earned while she had it.
Mary pays bonuses to her employees on the $1 plus interest profit.


This profit is the taxpayer's money. Period.

So, in effect, the profit that they are touting is from selling instruments that would not have been necessary if they hadn't needed to be bailed out in the first place.



[edit on 21/6/2009 by Iamonlyhuman]

See, it's working kind of like a game of chess. In the opening you develop your pieces to a certain point, at which the middle game starts. This is usually characterized by fast attacks and the loss of a handful of pieces on each side. However, because the board is now more open the remaining pieces are more powerful than they were before.

Basically, with a good portion of the competition taken out, the remaining companies and firms stand to rake in the money that would otherwise have been shared by their former competitors.

It's sort of a big circle, starting with the mega monopolies of the past, into a large group of smaller corporations, and now back to a smaller number of large corporations. Only now, we have the government wanting to buy up large portions of the financial sector.

reply to post by RogerT


Oh, ok, cool

If I got all my information from ATS all my life I would be living in a tin shed with a shotgun and a fishing pole

Thanks though, Im doing ok

reply to post by GreenBicMan


I responded to you, so now it's your turn. Are you going to respond or just ignore it now?

Were you out to seriously discuss this or were you just coming in with an opinion and not willing to even discuss another side of it?

We shall see...

reply to post by Iamonlyhuman


Do you think they have made all their profits from the scenarios you are inferring to?

Their traders are THE BEST, end of story.

The best of the best work there, and they control the market, along with JPM coming in there.

They have the best analysts and the best TA chartists. They also have *a* very very very good proprietary trading platform that I was lucky enough to see at one point (REDI PLUS 9.0) - you cant beat them

__________

Although I still see how this has anything to do with the original post about the bonuses. They repaid the tarp, so lets just quit complaining and talk about UFO's or something

[edit on 21-6-2009 by GreenBicMan]