Thursday July 2, 2009, 8:31 am
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws." Mayer Amschel Rothschild

Goldman Sachs has played a crucial role in creating every market bubble since the 1920s -- and has profited from not only the bubbles, but from the crash that followed as well, says a new expose in Rolling Stone magazine.

On his blog, Taibbi has begun a discussion of the public reaction to his article.
Some commenters have suggested that Taibbi's understanding of high finance is limited, accusing him of misreading Goldman Sachs' actions.

Thursday July 2, 2009, 8:43 am

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"Goldman shorted their own (mortgage) cr@p, which means they knew that what they were selling was a loser."

MATT! This is "Manufactured Insider Trading" which is far worse then even "Insider Trading" in that you are NOT taking advantage of an existing situation but you are "Manufacturing" the situation! This means you have NEAR PERFECT or PERFECT KNOWLEDGE ahead of time!

They should serve a far longer term than M@rtha Stew@rt served for her small and far less CALCULATED infraction!

Thursday July 2, 2009, 1:28 pm
"Banks like JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs already have active carbon trading desks that deal in instruments connected to Europe's cap-and-trade system and voluntary markets here. But business will explode if a cap-and-trade system becomes law. So it's no surprise that the financial industry has taken an intense interest in the fine print of the Waxman-Markey bill. According to data compiled by the Center for Public Integrity, the financial services industry has 130 lobbyists working on climate issues, compared to almost none in 2003. They represent companies like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and AIG (before it was shamed into temporarily halting its lobbying activities last fall). The industry "wants lawmakers to create a brand-new revenue stream for its bottom line, and cap and trade would do it," says Tyson Slocum of Public Citizen, who is a member of a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) advisory committee considering how carbon trading should be regulated."
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/06/could-cap-and-trade-cause-another-market-meltdown

Thursday July 2, 2009, 2:39 pm
Is Canada trading yet, Judy?

Saturday July 4, 2009, 12:51 pm
When are we going to realize we need to stop supporting these guys? If we all stopped putting in those hard earned bucks in banks, credit cards, Insurance, stocks, etc., we just might actually make a difference! Stop feeding the animals!!!

Saturday July 4, 2009, 5:54 pm
Taibbi: Impending Rule Change Means Goldman Sachs Stock Manipulations Can't Be Tracked

Sunday July 5, 2009, 1:51 am
Thanks for this input Blue. Most informative.

Sunday July 5, 2009, 2:23 pm
FLASHBACK - California Screaming - Goldman Sachs urged bets against California bonds it helped sell
Goldman Sachs & Co. urged some of its big clients to place investment bets against California bonds this year, despite having collected millions of dollars in fees to help the state sell some of those same bonds.


Goldman Sachs Tips Hand By Applying For New Charter


Paulson's Conflict of Interest Paulson holds 500 million in Goldman shares, now Buffet is putting five billion into Goldman. Why? Because, he has a guarantee from Paulson that Goldman will be supported by taxpayers.


The Long and Short of It at Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs sold hundreds of Billions in subprime/CDO's and shorted them at the same time.

Monday July 6, 2009, 10:18 am

Monday July 6, 2009, 7:18 pm
US Attorney Kicks Own Goal (On Goldman)?
One has to wonder....

“The bank has raised the possibility that there is a danger that somebody who knew how to use this program could use it to manipulate markets in unfair ways,” Facciponti said, according to a recording of the hearing made public today. “The copy in Germany is still out there, and we at this time do not know who else has access to it.”

Uhhhhhhhhh.....

Let's see.... so someone who knows how to use this program can use it to manipulate markets can they?

Is that manipulation "in fair ways" if Goldman uses it, but "unfair ways' if someone other than Goldman uses it?

That seems to be a rather different claim than this:

July 6 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. may lose its investment in a proprietary trading code and millions of dollars from increased competition if software allegedly stolen by a former employee gets into the wrong hands, a prosecutor said.

Well of course. That's what these sorts of cases are usually about. Someone misappropriates some trade secret material and by using it they would give someone the same advantages in a marketplace that the rightful owner (who spent plenty to develop it) has.

But that's not market manipulation, is it?

Once again, the claim made in open court:

“The bank has raised the possibility that there is a danger that somebody who knew how to use this program could use it to manipulate markets in unfair ways,” Facciponti said, according to a recording of the hearing made public today.

Did Assistant US Attorney Facciponti make an erroneous statement, or did he just lay a nuclear egg on the table, step back, and set it off - on accident - admitting in open court that the software in question "can be used to manipulate markets"?

Inquiring minds would like to know.

Thursday July 9, 2009, 8:54 pm



Wall St. Cheat Sheet: Interview with Rolling Stone journo, Matt Taibbi

Thursday July 9, 2009, 10:44 pm
Too Big To Jail? Prosecutors Pass On Major Wall Street Executives

Sunday July 12, 2009, 9:50 pm
THEY'RE GOLDEN
GOLDMAN SACHS EXPECTED TO REPORT 'BLOWOUT' PROFITS

Monday July 13, 2009, 10:42 pm
Goldman Execs Sold $700M Of Stock, Most Of It During Bailout

Tuesday July 14, 2009, 8:50 pm
With Huge Derivatives Holdings, Is Goldman Sachs One Big Credit Portfolio?

Tuesday July 14, 2009, 9:33 pm
Goldman Sachs Earns $3.4B In Q2 Profits, Way Above Estimates Execs Sold $700M In Stock, Most During Bailout

Wednesday July 15, 2009, 6:46 pm
Goldman's Path To Profits

Saturday July 18, 2009, 6:56 pm
Paul Krugman: The Joy of Sachs

Goldman Sachs’s record quarterly profits show us that the investment bank is very good at what it does. Unfortunately, what it does is bad for America.