A Few Goldman Highlights........

More risk, more leverage ( & some kind of "creative accounting" - see end of the post ) ....... Brilliant!

Mehr Risiko, höherer Hebel ( & ein klein wenig "kreative" Buchführung - siehe Ende des Postings ) ..... Hat ja in der Vergangenheit erstklassig funktioniert.... Rechnet man mal die Jahre 2007 und 2008 heraus......

Reuters

A measure of the bank's trading risk, average daily value-at-risk, surged to $ 240 million in the first quarter of 2009, compared with $157 million for the three months ended February 28, 2008, implying that the bank took more trading risk

Goldman also disclosed that it has set aside $168,901 per employee on average for compensation in the quarter, almost 35 percent more than in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year

Bloomberg

Total assets on the balance sheet rose 5 percent from the end of November to $925 billion as of March 27. Of that, about $59 billion qualified as “Level 3” assets, which are the hardest to value, down from $66 billion at the end of November

For more details see Goldman Sachs Press Release

Für weitere Details bitte einen Blick in die Goldman Sachs Press Release werfen.

This from Zero Hedge fits perfectly.....

Diese Beobachtung von Zero Hedge paßt wie die Faust aufs Auge.......

A very interesting data point, also provided by the NYSE, implicates none other than administration darling Goldman Sachs in yet another potentially troubling development. The chart below demonstrates the program trading broken down by the top 15 most active NYSE member firms. I bring your attention to the total, principal, customer facilitation and agency columns.larger/größer

Key to note here is that Goldman's program trading principal to agency+customer facilitation ratio is a staggering 5x, which is multiples higher than both the second most active program trader and the average ratio of the NYSE, both at or below 1x.

The implication is that Goldman Sachs, due to its preeminent position not only as one of the world's largest broker/dealers (pardon, Bank Holding Companies), but also as being on the top of the high-frequency trading/liquidity provision "food chain", trades much more often for its own (principal) benefit

Also on the same topic via EconompicData

Zum gleichen Thema von EconompicData

If Goldman's Selling... Beware of Buying

Goldman's principal trading amounted to 20%+ of all program trading reported on the NYSE, up from between 3-5% one and two years back. In other words, leading up to a period when Goldman may be issuing several billion dollars in an equity offering, their own principal trading has amounted to 4-5x more volume than what had been typical, in an illiquid market, potentially driving up the value of financial equities in the process... interesting.

larger/größer

I think this comment from Jesse´s Cafe Americain nails it....

Ich denke der nachfolgen Kommentar von Jesse´s Cafe Americain faßt es ziemlich gut zusammen......

The bulk of their profit purportedly came from speculative trading for their own accounts, using 'cheap FDIC guaranteed funds.

There will be no recovery in the real economy until the financial system is reformed and banks are restrained into productive functions within our society.

Make also sure you visit this piece from Floyd Norris and his commensts from the conference call ( seeThe Case of the Missing Month ) or this little rant via Barry Ritholtz How to Puff Up Earnings, Goldman Sachs Style.......

Denke das ein Blick in den Kommentar von Floyd Norris zum Conference Call auch nicht schaden kann ( siehe The Case of the Missing Month). Um das "positive" Bild von Goldman abzurunden noch ein kleiner Rundumschlag von Barry Ritholtz ( siehe How to Puff Up Earnings, Goldman Sachs Style )......

Goldman’s 2008 fiscal year ended Nov. 30. This year the company is switching to a calendar year. The leaves December as an orphan month, one that will be largely ignored. In Goldman’s news release, and in most of the news reports, the quarter ended March 31 is compared to the quarter last year that ending in February.

The orphan month featured — surprise — lots of writeoffs. The pre-tax loss was $1.3 billion, and the after-tax loss was $780 million.

No surprise to hear this update on via Norris......

Diese Erläuterung hinsichtlich der Aufsicht im Update von Norris dürfte keine wirkliche Überraschung sein.....

What About That Other $28 Billion?

Goldman Sachs, as you know by now, wants to return that $10 billion in TARP money it got. And what about the $28 billion it borrowed in the credit markets with a guarantee from the federal government?

A spokesman tells me that Goldman has no plans to pay that back early. Nor will it say if it would have been profitable had it reported on the quarter ended in February, as it traditionally has.The spokesman did tell me something I would have included in my earlier Goldman blog had I known it, that the change in fiscal year was required when it converted to a bank holding company.

The bank regulators did not, however, force Goldman to avoid any mention of the December orphan month in the text of its earnings release, instead relegating it to a table deep in the announcement.

> What esle do you expect from a regulator that is labeling a giant hedge fund like Goldman as a bank.... ;-)

> Was soll man auch anderes von einem Regulierer erwarten der einen gigantischen Hedge Fonds wie Goldman Sachs den Bankenstatus zuspricht.. ;-)

Congratulation ( NO SARCASM ) to Goldman for placing the shares at $ 123 Goldman Sachs Raises $5 Billion to Repay TARP Funds The same kind of "creative" accounting in 2008 and the stock would have tanked 50 percent withing a day...... But at least this time it is the so called smart money ( lets hope not too many pension funds are involved.... ) and not the taxpayer on the hook.....Clearly a sign that the euphoria level is close to a peak ( Here is more evidence of some kind of exuberance ) .....

Man muß Goldman zu der Dreistigkeit gratulieren ( Diesesmal ohne Augenzwinkern ). Die haben es tatsächlich geschafft Ihre Aktien zu 123 $ zu platzieren ( siehe Goldman Sachs Raises $5 Billion to Repay TARP Funds ). Hätten die es noch vor einem Monat gewagt eigenmächtig Bilanzierungszeitrahmen abzuändern und so den äußerst verlustreichen Dezember praktisch aus dem Blickwinkel der Öffentlichkeit zu "verbannen" hätte sich die Aktie wohl binnen 24 Stunden halbiert...... Hoffe inständig das es noch weitere Unternehmen schaffen private Gelder mit welchen Methoden auch immer an Land zu ziehen..... Dann ist zumindest der Steuerzahler ( vorausgesetzt die Pensionskassen haben sich zurückgehalten ) nicht allein der Dumme....... Denke das zeigt einmal mehr das die aktuelle Marktstimmung etwas zu euphorisch ist Hier ein weiterer Beleg für eine zumindest "ausgelassene" Stimmung.......