Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs let off paying £10m interest on failed tax avoidance scheme

Leaked documents show top tax official shook hands last year on secret settlement described by sources as a 'cock-up'

the Guardian

Tuesday 11 October 2011 16.46 BST

Britain's tax authorities have given Goldman Sachs an unusual and generous Christmas present, leaked documents reveal. In a secret London meeting last December with the head of Revenue, the wealthy Wall Street banking firm was forgiven £10m interest on a failed tax avoidance scheme.

HM Revenue and Customs sources admit privately that the interest-free deal is "a cock-up" by officials, but refuse to say who was responsible.

Documents leaked to Private Eye magazine and published in full by the Guardian record that Britain's top tax official, HMRC's permanent secretary Dave Hartnett, personally shook hands on a secret settlement last December.

For article GO HERE


Shed a tear for Goldman Sachs and Lloyd Blankfein!  
If I am correct, it was revealed a while ago that Wells Fargo through their subsidiary Wachovia were laundering Mexican drug money.

Goldman Earnings Collapse, Wells Fargo Thrives

Bloomberg

12 October, 2011

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. whose shares have fallen 43 percent this year, may report its lowest quarterly profit since the 2008 financial crisis. Far from Wall Street, Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) is headed for record earnings.

Third-quarter U.S. bank earnings, which kick off with JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) on Oct. 13, will show that investment- banking businesses such as bond trading and merger advice declined, while retail operations like mortgage lending prospered, according to analysts including Richard Staite at Atlantic Equities LLP in London.

It’s a reversal from 2009 and early 2010, when rising markets and a perfect trading record propelled New York-based Goldman Sachs to its highest profits ever, as commercial lenders including SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI) in Atlanta charged off billions of dollars of delinquent mortgages.

For article GO HERE

Amid Protests, Blankfein Cancels College Talk

New York Times

11 October, 2011

The students of Barnard College were expecting to hear from Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, as part of a lecture series titled “Power Talks.”

But over the weekend, Mr. Blankfein informed the college that he was canceling his appearance, originally planned for Thursday night, because of a scheduling conflict.

“Mr. Blankfein has informed us that he must be in Washington D.C. that evening and will be unable to deliver his lecture as planned,” read a statement on the college’s Web site.

For article GO HERE