Slap on the Wrist for Goldman Sachs, As Expected

Strange buoyancy of Goldman Sachs' shares today had a very good reason. And here it is:

Goldman to Pay Record $550M SEC Settlement (7/15/2010 CBS News)
"Wall Street Firm Agrees to Reform Business Practice to Settle Charges Goldman Sacs Misled Investors"

Misled investors??? How about "swindled the US taxpayers"? How about "help crash the housing market and the economy"?

Of $550 million, $300 million will go to the SEC the regulator who doesn't regulate (busy watching porn). $250 million will go to the investors who lost money investing in the securities that Goldman peddled - i.e. fellow international bankers.

(Here's the SEC announcement on the deal.)

Goldman's investors are celebrating the "slap on the wrist" in the after-hours market by sending the stock up another $8. (During the regular session, GS shot up $6.)


Enron's top executives went to jail and the company went bankrupt for "accounting fraud" - setting up special purpose entities to hide losses. But that's what big Wall Street banks have been doing for all these years, and not one executive has gone to jail, not even on a trial.

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