Goldman apologises for role in crisis – Financial Times
Goldman Sachs apologised for its role in the financial crisis on Tuesday and pledged $500m over five years – or about 2.3 per cent of its estimated bonus and salary pool for 2009 – to help 10,000 US small businesses recover from the recession…..
Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman’s chief executive, told a corporate conference in New York that the bank regretted taking part in the cheap credit boom that had fuelled the pre-crisis bubble. “We participated in things that were clearly wrong and have reason to regret,” said Mr Blankfein. “We apologise.”….
Report Rebuts Goldman’s Claim on AIG – Wall Street Journal
For more than a year, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has maintained that it wouldn’t have suffered material losses had the government allowed one of its major trading partners, American International Group Inc., to collapse.
A government report throws cold water on that claim.
Goldman was among the largest beneficiaries of a decision by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to bail out insurer AIG in September 2008 at the height of the financial crisis. The Fed agreed to pay Goldman and 15 other banks, in full, for $62 billion of insurance contracts they had with AIG to protect against price drops of mortgage securities they held…….
Goldman, Buffett Establish $500 Million Small-Business Program – Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., under fire in Washington for setting aside billions of dollars for bonuses a year after getting a taxpayer bailout, is joining Warren Buffett to provide assistance to 10,000 U.S. small businesses.
The $500 million charitable effort coincides with one of the Obama administration’s top economic priorities: spurring hiring at smaller companies. The initiative aims to provide assistance — ranging from counseling to obtaining funding — to 10,000 businesses. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is the largest shareholder in New York-based Goldman Sachs…..
It’s BofA-foonery! – NY Post
It seems Ken Lewis isn’t the only Bank of America executive whose career has gotten tripped up by congressional testimony.
Brian Moynihan, a onetime leading candidate to replace Lewis as CEO, yesterday thwarted his chance to look chief executive-like after he appeared ill-prepared and ill-focused while facing a grilling from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and its chairman, Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-Brooklyn)…..
Citi Pays Forese, Gerspach, Volk $11.7 Million Shares – Bloomberg
Citigroup Inc. gave $11.7 million in stock awards to trading chief James Forese and two top executives a month after the bailed-out bank got approval for the payouts from the Treasury Department’s special master for executive compensation.
Forese received $5.43 million of Citigroup stock, Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach got $2.92 million and Vice Chairman Stephen Volk received $3.4 million, the New York-based bank said today in a regulatory filing. The awards, termed a “stock salary,” are restricted until 2011. A third could be sold then, another third in 2012 and the remaining third in 2013…..
Boats seized in Madoff scandal sell for $2 million – Reuters
Four boats seized by U.S. authorities from imprisoned swindler Bernard Madoff and his right-hand man, Frank DiPascali, sold for nearly $2 million at auction on Tuesday, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
A 61-foot (19-metre) Viking Convertible motor yacht that once belonged to DiPascali, Madoff’s chief financial officer, brought the highest price — $950,000, the Marshals Service said.
Madoff’s 55-foot (17-metre) restored 1969 Rybovich fishing boat “Bull” sold for $700,000. “Sitting Bull,” his 38-foot (12-metre) 2003 Shelter Island Runabout, brought $320,000 and “Little Bull,” a 23-foot (7-metre) Maverick, sold for $21,000…..
Gold hits record near $1,150/oz as dollar slips – Reuters
Gold hit a fresh record high near $1,150 an ounce on Wednesday, boosting precious metals across the board, as a dip in the dollar index added to momentum buying as prices broke through key technical resistance levels.
In non-U.S. dollar terms, gold also climbed, hitting multi-month highs when priced in the euro, sterling and the Australian dollar….
Geithner, Bernanke, Schapiro Met Panel Probing Financial Crisis – Bloomberg
The U.S. commission investigating what caused the financial crisis met Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke as it scrutinizes regulatory failures that contributed to losses at Wall Street banks.
Geithner and Bernanke met the commission privately in Washington today, said panel spokeswoman Susan Baltake. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro met panel members yesterday….
Paulson Hedge Fund Sees BofA Almost Doubling by End of 2011 – Bloomberg
Paulson & Co., the hedge fund firm run by billionaire John Paulson, expects Bank of America Corp.’s stock to almost double in the next two years as writedowns abate, according to a letter sent to investors.
The bank, ranked first by assets and deposits in the U.S., may rise to $29.81 by the end of December 2011, Paulson said in a quarterly letter sent to investors. Paulson expects “banks will have passed the current writedown cycle and have visibility for growth in 2012,” the letter said. Bank of America closed at $15.77 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading……
Trump Abandons Casino-Control Bid – Wall Street Journal
Donald Trump, whose name is synonymous with Atlantic City gambling, abandoned his bid to regain control of the three New Jersey casinos that bear his name.
He and his daughter Ivanka Trump reached a settlement with a group of creditors they were battling for control of Trump Entertainment Resorts, which filed for bankruptcy protection in February. Under the deal, the Trumps will drop a $116 million bid for the casinos they had been making with Beal Bank, the company’s largest secured lender…..
Tags: AIG, Apologies, Bank of America, Bernie Madoff, Bonuses, Citigroup, Compensation, Credit Crunch, Donald Trump, Fed, Gold, Goldman Sachs, John Paulson, Politics
