Goldman Sachs got fined again.
Goldman Sachs agreed on Thursday to pay securities regulators $22 million to settle accusations that it did not have adequate policies in place to stop stock research tips from being passed inappropriately to its biggest clients.
But, I wonder, does the firm even notice the loss of $22 million? Isn’t that like when we drop a penny and decide it’s not even worth the energy to bend down and pick it up? Why do we still have pennies again? And why do we pretend that we can change the behavior of financial behemoths by slapping them with penny fines? I mean, seriously, look at their earnings.
Assailed by critics on all sides, Goldman Sachs did what it does best on Tuesday, smashing estimates for its first-quarter results and setting aside $5.23bn (£3.2bn) to pay its staff.
The bank reported net revenues of $11.89bn and net earnings of $2.74bn for the first quarter which ended on 31 March, 2011.
They are making billions in profit every quarter. And they received a $22 million fine? That’s not even the cost of doing business. That doesn’t even cover their catering bill.
But remember, Booman. If we didn’t have any regulations in place, Goldman Sachs could be sued in court by the people they wronged. If only we just protected property rights! Nevermind that they own most of the property, and would just keep increasing legal fees until the Little People went away.
And where does the buck stop, ultimately?
This is an annoyingly small fine, but the trend is in the right direction. Bush would have given them a few hundred million.
Does anyone know the law on this one, I know there’s often a cap or a percentage prescribed by the law for these cases as we unfortunately discovered during the BP disaster?
Being proportional, 22 million to them is like 20 dollars to me.
Goldman Sachs gets a slap on the wrist, Darth Cheney is given a new heart and George Zimmerman is vilified in the media…especially the leftiness media. Vilified and threatened with death.
Hmmmm….
Sump’n fishy goin’ on here, Matilda.
Sump’n very fishy goin’ on.
Yup.
AG
How do you vilify a confessed murderer?
He’s a “murderer” already? Oh. I thought he trial hadn’t happened yet.
Silly me.
And stupid you.
AG
That he’s a murderer is not in question – the question is whether or not he was justified. That is what will be determined at trial, although it’s hard to see how he could be justified when by his own confession he hunted down and killed a kid.
you’re butchering semantics, Oscar.
He’s a killer by his own confession. He absolutely denies being a murderer. He is on trial for murder and a jury will decide whether he is one or whether he is not one.
Precisely. Thank you.
AG
um, he killed that kid.
Yes, he did. And justice will be served.
Of course, it will be served only to the rich, one way or another, but…hell, what’s new there?
Not a goddamned thing.
AG
laws are for little people, booman. you know that.
Also too, Goldman is too big to fail, so we must protect them at all costs. I’m surprised they got fined at all.