Utopia Talk - Politics - All Out War: Goldjew Sucks vs US Gov

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Utopia Talk / Politics / All Out War: Goldjew Sucks vs US Gov

Paramount
Member Tue Apr 20 14:36:42
The White House and Goldman Sachs prepare for "all out war"

The White House and Goldman Sachs, long seen as virtual brothers in arms on financial policy, are now gearing up for what one senior Goldman executive, speaking to political blogger Taegan Goddard, called "all out war."

The conflict revolves around the SEC's fraud prosecution of the investment bank, announced last Friday. But that was just an opening salvo.

That battle has been rapidly folded into the larger war on Capitol Hill over legislation to reform the financial industry. This Thursday, the president is scheduled to deliver a major address on Wall Street reform at New York's Cooper Union. And the political arm of the Obama White House is clearly looking to leverage the new round of anti-Goldman sentiment triggered by news of the fraud investigation to its own political advantage.

A standard Google search using the terms "Goldman Sachs" and "SEC" yields among its top sponsored links a BarackObama.com ad touting the financial reform bill, notes Johanna Neuman of the Los Angeles Times. Goldman, no slouch in online messaging, has also devised a GoogleAds search link that sends users employing the same two search terms to the company's official response to the SEC's fraud complaint.

That online defense is just one weapon in Goldman's arsenal. A top industry official told Politico's Mike Allen that the company is taking the position that's it's being exploited as a convenient "prop" and being "set up as the villain in the administration's political campaign for Wall Street reform." Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein, who's slated to testify before a Senate subcommittee next week, sent out a rally-the-troops voicemail to the firm's employees over the weekend. He reiterated the main talking points in Goldman's pushback campaign: that the senior management condoned none of the alleged misrepresentations of Goldman's role in the disputed deals, and that Goldman had lost money on the deals in question.

The SEC alleges that Goldman bankers involved with a Goldman fund named Abacus were "short-selling" mortgage investments â?? ie., betting they would fail â?? while the bank also promoted them to clients. Today, the New York Times published a report saying that disputes in 2006 between the Goldman executives leading the Abacus group and other firm leaders concerning the future direction of the housing market reached the higher levels of Goldman management â?? perhaps as high as Blankfein's own office.

The Goldman situation has also, according to the New York Times, "emboldened Democrats to ratchet up pressure on Republicans who oppose the Obama administration's proposal." President Obama devoted his weekly radio address on Saturday to what he called "deceptive" Republican arguments against the measure serving as a permanent bailout fund for Wall Street banks. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told NBC's David Gregory on "Meet the Press" on Sunday that he was "very confident" Democrats would have enough votes for the reform bill.

Last week, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky got all 41 members of the chamber's GOP caucus to sign a letter opposing the bill â?? enough, in theory, to mount a filibuster, should the caucus continue to hold ranks. But that seems like a longshot. Democrats appear confident that the issue is a political winner for them, and as election season draws near, more moderate-leaning GOP senators may be inclined to break the filibuster threat. Democratic Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd of Connecticut , the author of the Senate version of the reform bill, said he intends to press ahead over the objections of McConnell and other GOP leaders, noting that the letter of opposition makes no explicit reference to a projected filibuster.

The delicate balance of power within the Senate on this issue means that both sides will continue trying to exploit the Goldman case to their advantage. Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner, for instance, recently argued that Goldman is a "key supporter" of the financial reform measure, and the "serious charges" against the firm should make Americans skeptical of the plan. And in a televised news conference, Dodd declared that had this bill already been signed into law back in 2006, it "would have prevented those kinds of events from happening." Republican efforts to thwart the proposal "leave the American public vulnerable once again to the kind of shenanigans that have occurred in our large financial institutions across the country," Dodd warned.

All of which suggests that, regardless of the final outcome of the SEC suit, some smart-money analyst at Goldman Sachs should look into selling short the firm's futures on Capitol Hill.

â?? Chris Lehmann is the managing editor of the Yahoo! News blog

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100419/ts_ynews/ynews_ts1680

Nimatzo
Member Tue Apr 20 14:55:11
Death to Goldman Sachs. May they and everyone working in this business die horrible deaths.

so what
Member Tue Apr 20 15:06:07
This is probably just for show. It's been a "public secret" and the fickle public may turn on GS. So it's better to let out the dirty air and bring out the "correct facts" out in the open to "educate" the public. GS owns Obama, most other politicians and has influence in most financial/regulatory institutions. The SEC is just pre-empting potentially real flack. GS gets exhonorated or pay a small fine and absolved of all further blame.

GS is crucial to the American economic system.

Cloud Strife
Member Tue Apr 20 15:10:50
The large banking institutions donate generously to both Republicans and Democrats, demonstrating the ease with which a two party system is manipulated.

Cloud Strife
Member Tue Apr 20 15:11:29
`GS is crucial to the American economic system.'

No it's not.

CrownRoyal
Member Tue Apr 20 15:13:44
GS will pay a fine without admitting guilt and that'll be the end of it. Wall street always wins.

Paramount
Member Tue Apr 20 15:28:10
I read yesterday that Gordon Brown was also going to investigate GS. Not personally, but the British equivalent of the SEC.

show deleted posts

Paramount Member	Tue Apr 20 14:36:42 The White House and Goldman Sachs prepare for "all out war" The White House and Goldman Sachs, long seen as virtual brothers in arms on financial policy, are now gearing up for what one senior Goldman executive, speaking to political blogger Taegan Goddard, called "all out war." The conflict revolves around the SEC's fraud prosecution of the investment bank, announced last Friday. But that was just an opening salvo. That battle has been rapidly folded into the larger war on Capitol Hill over legislation to reform the financial industry. This Thursday, the president is scheduled to deliver a major address on Wall Street reform at New York's Cooper Union. And the political arm of the Obama White House is clearly looking to leverage the new round of anti-Goldman sentiment triggered by news of the fraud investigation to its own political advantage. A standard Google search using the terms "Goldman Sachs" and "SEC" yields among its top sponsored links a BarackObama.com ad touting the financial reform bill, notes Johanna Neuman of the Los Angeles Times. Goldman, no slouch in online messaging, has also devised a GoogleAds search link that sends users employing the same two search terms to the company's official response to the SEC's fraud complaint. That online defense is just one weapon in Goldman's arsenal. A top industry official told Politico's Mike Allen that the company is taking the position that's it's being exploited as a convenient "prop" and being "set up as the villain in the administration's political campaign for Wall Street reform." Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein, who's slated to testify before a Senate subcommittee next week, sent out a rally-the-troops voicemail to the firm's employees over the weekend. He reiterated the main talking points in Goldman's pushback campaign: that the senior management condoned none of the alleged misrepresentations of Goldman's role in the disputed deals, and that Goldman had lost money on the deals in question. The SEC alleges that Goldman bankers involved with a Goldman fund named Abacus were "short-selling" mortgage investments â?? ie., betting they would fail â?? while the bank also promoted them to clients. Today, the New York Times published a report saying that disputes in 2006 between the Goldman executives leading the Abacus group and other firm leaders concerning the future direction of the housing market reached the higher levels of Goldman management â?? perhaps as high as Blankfein's own office. The Goldman situation has also, according to the New York Times, "emboldened Democrats to ratchet up pressure on Republicans who oppose the Obama administration's proposal." President Obama devoted his weekly radio address on Saturday to what he called "deceptive" Republican arguments against the measure serving as a permanent bailout fund for Wall Street banks. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told NBC's David Gregory on "Meet the Press" on Sunday that he was "very confident" Democrats would have enough votes for the reform bill. Last week, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky got all 41 members of the chamber's GOP caucus to sign a letter opposing the bill â?? enough, in theory, to mount a filibuster, should the caucus continue to hold ranks. But that seems like a longshot. Democrats appear confident that the issue is a political winner for them, and as election season draws near, more moderate-leaning GOP senators may be inclined to break the filibuster threat. Democratic Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd of Connecticut , the author of the Senate version of the reform bill, said he intends to press ahead over the objections of McConnell and other GOP leaders, noting that the letter of opposition makes no explicit reference to a projected filibuster. The delicate balance of power within the Senate on this issue means that both sides will continue trying to exploit the Goldman case to their advantage. Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner, for instance, recently argued that Goldman is a "key supporter" of the financial reform measure, and the "serious charges" against the firm should make Americans skeptical of the plan. And in a televised news conference, Dodd declared that had this bill already been signed into law back in 2006, it "would have prevented those kinds of events from happening." Republican efforts to thwart the proposal "leave the American public vulnerable once again to the kind of shenanigans that have occurred in our large financial institutions across the country," Dodd warned. All of which suggests that, regardless of the final outcome of the SEC suit, some smart-money analyst at Goldman Sachs should look into selling short the firm's futures on Capitol Hill. â?? Chris Lehmann is the managing editor of the Yahoo! News blog http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100419/ts_ynews/ynews_ts1680
Nimatzo Member	Tue Apr 20 14:55:11 Death to Goldman Sachs. May they and everyone working in this business die horrible deaths.
so what Member	Tue Apr 20 15:06:07 This is probably just for show. It's been a "public secret" and the fickle public may turn on GS. So it's better to let out the dirty air and bring out the "correct facts" out in the open to "educate" the public. GS owns Obama, most other politicians and has influence in most financial/regulatory institutions. The SEC is just pre-empting potentially real flack. GS gets exhonorated or pay a small fine and absolved of all further blame. GS is crucial to the American economic system.
Cloud Strife Member	Tue Apr 20 15:10:50 The large banking institutions donate generously to both Republicans and Democrats, demonstrating the ease with which a two party system is manipulated.
Cloud Strife Member	Tue Apr 20 15:11:29 `GS is crucial to the American economic system.' No it's not.
CrownRoyal Member	Tue Apr 20 15:13:44 GS will pay a fine without admitting guilt and that'll be the end of it. Wall street always wins.
Paramount Member	Tue Apr 20 15:28:10 I read yesterday that Gordon Brown was also going to investigate GS. Not personally, but the British equivalent of the SEC.
	show deleted posts

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