Massive Shorting Denied by Goldman Sachs

A 650 page report titled, Wall Street and the Financial Crisis: Anatomy of a Financial Collapse was published last week by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Many in the Senate including Senator Carl Levin from Michigan, believe Goldman Sachs saw the impending economic and market collapse, as early as 2005-2006, and positioned themselves accordingly, essentially betting against the market values of outstanding debt that was backed by mortgages. The CEO of Goldman, Lloyd Blankfein, denied last year in a hearing that Goldman had a massive short position, particularly on housing. I see this issue resurfacing, it will be interesting watching the latest developments and any further investigations.

Goldman Sachs CEO Faces Inquiry

Many believe large firms like Goldman Sachs were not only over leveraged with too much risks on their balance sheets, but that the severity of the 2008-2009 market drop was partly do to Goldman Sachs Shorting the Stock Market, while also betting against bonds that were backed by mortgages, sub prime mortgages in many instances. Senator Levin is now considering sending the matter to the Justice Department, as he's convinced Goldman Sachs misled not just investors, but the committee set up to investigate the market collapse. By having a huge short position, when things went bad, stocks would fall and fall hard. This is exactly what they did from 2008 to 2009. Goldman is accused of profiting heavily from this and using their influence to dodge committee questions or further investigations. The New York Times reported Mr. Blankfield had told a close friend, he was thinking of retiring, saying he was exhausted from leading the firm; and may step down soon.





As speculation of a succession plan began circulating, Goldman Sachs appears to be once again in the hot seat with the feds. William D. Cohan is the Author of the new book, "Money and Power - How Goldman Sachs came to rule the world." I haven't personally read it yet, but added it to my books to read. I'm curious as to how Goldman's rise is portrayed, whether accurately or biased. Ordered today, will blog about it later after I've read it. I'm currently reading another book written about Goldman Sachs that is entitled, Chasing Goldman Sachs by Suzanne McGee. So far, it is very interesting. I know that many bankers appeared to have taken too much risk and consequently were bailed out by Tax payer dollars. Now that some of that risk taking is coming to light, we are getting a glimpse into the world that Goldman Sachs influences through its standing as one of the largest investment firms in the world. The way its reputation seems to be getting tarnished, could put downward pressure on the company's share price in the near term while the recession and anger at bankers is clearly visible not just in the U.S. but around the world, similar to sentiment for years after the Great Depression.