Free Republic

Now that Lloyd Blankfein says he plans to extend his reign as the chief executive of the controversial investment bank Goldman Sachs, it’s nice to know that he’s developed a new policy to address one of the most pressing matters facing his employees, shareholders and investors around the world: He’s now in favor of gay marriage. No joke. Now, plenty of people support gay marriage (myself included). But why does the head of a big bank feel compelled to publicly announce his position on a topic that, when all’s said and done, has next to nothing to do with running...

The Obama administration plans to arm Italy’s fleet of Reaper drone aircraft, a move that could open the door for sales of advanced hunter-killer drone technology to other allies, according to lawmakers and others familiar with the matter. The sale would make Italy the first foreign country besides Britain to fly U.S. drones armed with missiles and laser-guided bombs. U.S. officials said Italy intends initially to deploy the armed drones in Afghanistan. Lawmakers who question the planned deal say the decision to “weaponize” Italy’s unarmed surveillance drones could make it harder for the U.S. to deny similar capabilities to other...

Your Charles Krauthammer moment. But first give me a few paragraphs to set up today’s GS hearings. I will not defend Goldman Sachs. But what occurred in today’s Senate hearings today was a day of nonsense. Once again the Senate dodges its role and responsibility by demonizing another. In the past it was AIG, BOA and Merrill Lynch. Today it was Goldman Sachs. Let me say I have always had a problem with index funds, and synthetic financial instruments backed by nothing more than trading activity. Selling short has never been a family trait. Betting on failure has never been...

Dylan Ratigan: Goldman Sachs magic trick - 10/16/09 How did Goldman, Sachs & Co. -- saved a year ago by the US taxpayer -- magically make $3 billion in 3 months a year later? This as the US dollar collapses, unemployment soars and foreclosures hit a record? Here is the Goldman, Sachs & Co. revenue break down for the past 3 months: Financial Advisory-M/A: 325 million. Equity Underwriting: 363 million. Debt Underwriting: 211 million. Trading-Principal Investments: 10 billion. Notice that 10 billion is much bigger than two or three hundred million made from the traditional Wall Street businesses. That $10...

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Reuters) - China's growth is Asia's ray of hope as the world eyes a meltdown on Wall Street, warplanes over Iraq, a sluggish U.S. recovery and a Japanese government desperately seeking solutions to financial chaos. The World Economic Forum's conference on East Asia opened in Kuala Lumpur Sunday to worries over storm clouds building and little talk spent on recent forecasts of strong growth. Wall Street struck five-year lows last week, Japan's stock market is at levels unseen for 19 years and leading Asian corporates have ditched planned bond issues. "We have an extremely challenging international environment,...