You are here: Home / Archives for Sachs

AFP: SEC may have destroyed crucial probe data: senator

August 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A US senator said Wednesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission may have destroyed thousands of documents related to probes into possible violations by major banks and hedge funds.

Senior Republican Senator Chuck Grassley said that “an agency whistle-blower” sent him a letter that described the SEC’s allegedly unlawful destruction of records related to more than 9,000 informal investigations.

The documents included cases arising from the 2008-2009 financial crisis, including Goldman Sachs, AIG, and the Bernard Madoff pyramid fund, according to the whistle-blower, Grassley said.

The whistle-blower, 13-year SEC lawyer Darcy Flynn, said the destroyed records related to “matters under inquiry” or MUIs — probes that precede the launch of formal investigations.

“From what I’ve seen, it looks as if the SEC might have sanctioned some level of case-related document destruction,” Grassley said in a statement.

“It doesn’t make sense that an agency responsible for investigations would want to get rid of potential evidence.”

via AFP: SEC may have destroyed crucial probe data: senator.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Subpoena Lands on Doorstep of Goldman Sachs – Law Blog – WSJ

June 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has subpoenaed Goldman seeking information on its business dealings, a move prompted by a recent U.S. Senate report that was highly critical of the bank.

Here’s a WSJ report on the development, and one from AP. The reports do not offer details about the precise scope of the subpoena.

In its 639-page report, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in April accused Goldman of betting against the housing market and failing to adequately warn investors about the dangers of risky mortgage securities it promoted.

Goldman has said repeatedly that it simultaneously took “long” and “short” positions on mortgages as part of its normal business, WSJ reported in this earlier piece about the Senate report. Goldman usually had a bullish overall bet during the housing crisis and thus suffered losses when the real-estate bubble burst, according to WSJ.

via Subpoena Lands on Doorstep of Goldman Sachs – Law Blog – WSJ.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Tablet Tipping Point Means The End Of Microsoft (As We Know It) — InformationWeek

December 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I’m revising my thesis based on research published Sunday by Goldman Sachs that is, in a word, stunning. Goldman’s analysts dropped a pair of notes in which they predict the PC industry will grow next year not by the mid-teens number most in the industry expect, but by just 8%.

At the same time, Goldman thinks tablet shipments will increase by more than 500%! And the real game changer, according to the investment bank’s world-class equity research team, is that all those tablet shipments will cannibalize PC sales at a rate of 35% in the next year alone. In other words, one in three PC sales will be lost to tablets in 2011, if Goldman Sachs is right.

Unless something changes real soon, almost none of those tablets will be running Windows software. “A tablet response is still not forthcoming,” Goldman’s Sarah Friar said of Microsoft, in her note. How much revenue is at risk? If tablets knock down Windows sales by a third, that adds up to about a $5.5 billion haircut to Microsoft’s top line. But it’s more complicated than that.

With so much platform competition, Microsoft will be forced to lower the licensing fees it charges to OEMs. “With a multitude of operating environments popping up on tablets, Microsoft may not be able to capture a dominant share in this segment of the market. For PC vendors, this may mean that they finally have a powerful negotiating tool for OS pricing,” says Goldman Sachs hardware analyst Bill Shope, in his note.

via Tablet Tipping Point Means The End Of Microsoft (As We Know It) — InformationWeek.

Filed Under: Tech Bytes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Goldman’s Golden Rules: SEC and FSA Set New Global Standards for Compliance

September 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Westlaw Business) Goldman Sachs and its regulators around the world have set a new gold standard for compliance and disclosure in the handling of deals, disclosures and enforcement. As broad as that sounds, the impact of recent rulings on both sides of the Atlantic is even broader, as Goldman is being told two things. First, act globally from a regulatory perspective, not just a deal-making perspective. Second, re-engineer business conduct from deal origination through internal communications, along with governance and compliance.

The global elements of the outcome are among the many interesting elements of the rulings. The rulings appeared in near-sequence from both the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA). Taken together, these rulings raise questions about the cross-border conduct of global banks, regulatory risk management, and the essential role that the “C-suite” has to play throughout.

via Goldman’s Golden Rules: SEC and FSA Set New Global Standards for Compliance.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Goldman Sachs hit by lurid allegations of sex discrimination | Business | The Guardian

September 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs has been hit with a sexual discrimination lawsuit from three former female employees who claim the firm has a testosterone-driven culture of press-up contests on the trading floor, male-dominated golf outings and scantily clad escorts at an office Christmas party.

Filed in New York’s federal court today, the suit alleges that Goldman’s decentralised structure gives broad discretion to managers in assigning pay, responsibility and advancement to employees.

“Goldman Sachs gives its managers, the overwhelming majority of whom are men, unchecked discretion to assign responsibilities, accounts and projects to their subordinates,” says the complaint.

“The end result is that managers, whether based on conscious or unexamined bias, most often assign the most lucrative and promising opportunities, and ‘seats’, to men.”

The plaintiffs are Cristina Chen-Oster, a former vice-president in bond sales who worked for Goldman for eight years until 2005; Lisa Parisi, who was in asset management from 2001 to 2008; and Shanna Orlich, an analyst from 2007 to 2008 who alleges she was denied opportunities to become a trader.

Their law firm, an aggressive specialist in class actions, which is also suing BP over its oil spill and Toyota over sticking accelerators, has set up a Goldman-targeted website and is urging other former employees to come forward.

The suit points out that the representation of women gets worse higher up the ranks at Goldman – 29% of its vice-presidents in 2009 were female but women made up only 17% of managing directors, 14% of partners and just four members of a 30-person top management committee.

via Goldman Sachs hit by lurid allegations of sex discrimination | Business | The Guardian.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Goldman Said to Be Fined Less Than $30.9 Million by U.K. Over Abacus Probe – Bloomberg

September 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which agreed to pay $550 million in July to settle a U.S. regulator’s fraud lawsuit, will pay a separate fine to the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority, said a person briefed on the FSA’s decision.

The U.K. regulator found that Goldman Sachs failed to notify it about the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s investigation of the New York-based firm’s Abacus transaction and of employee Fabrice Tourre’s role in it, according to the person, who spoke anonymously because the penalty hasn’t yet been made public.

The fine is less than 20 million pounds ($30.9 million) and may be announced as soon as today, the person said. FSA spokeswoman Cerris Tavinor declined to comment, as did Goldman Sachs spokesman Ed Canaday. The Financial Times reported the FSA’s plan yesterday.

via Goldman Said to Be Fined Less Than $30.9 Million by U.K. Over Abacus Probe – Bloomberg.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Goldman Sachs Bans Naughty Words in Emails – WSJ.com

July 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

There will never be another s— deal at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

In the wake of recent Congressional hearings, Goldman Sachs has moved to prohibit employees from swearing in emails. Cassell Bryan-Low discusses.

The New York company is telling employees that they will no longer be able to get away with profanity in electronic messages. That means all 34,000 traders, investment bankers and other Goldman employees must restrain themselves from using a vast vocabulary of oft-used dirty words on Wall Street, including the six-letter expletive that came back to haunt the company at a Senate hearing in April.

via Goldman Sachs Bans Naughty Words in Emails – WSJ.com.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Enforcement Watch: SEC, Goldman Agree to Record CDO Settlement

July 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The SEC and Goldman Sachs have reached a record $500 million settlement of charges related to insufficient and misleading disclosure. In the case of SEC v. Goldman Sachs and Fabrice Tourre, the Commission charged Goldman with fraudulently structuring and selling a synthetic collateral debt obligation (CDO). In particular, the complaint alleged that Goldman misstated and omitted key facts in its marketing of synthetic CDOs that hinged on the performance of subprime residential mortgage-backed securities.

The settlement must still be approved by Judge Jones of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. If approved, it will resolve the SEC’s enforcement action against Goldman related to the ABACUS 2007-AC1 CDO.

via Enforcement Watch: SEC, Goldman Agree to Record CDO Settlement.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Goldman Sachs Said to Ask More Time for Lawsuit Reply (Update2) – BusinessWeek

June 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. asked for more time to respond to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s April 16 lawsuit accusing the firm of defrauding investors while selling mortgage-linked securities, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The company submitted the request today to the judge overseeing the case, asking for an extension until July 19, the people said. The original deadline was June 21, court documents show. The SEC consented to the New York-based firm’s proposed extension, according to one of the people.

The SEC said New York-based Goldman Sachs and one of its employees, Fabrice Tourre, didn’t disclose to investors the role played by hedge fund Paulson & Co. in devising and betting against the securities. Tourre also has until July 19 to respond, according to court documents.

Goldman Sachs, the most profitable firm in Wall Street history, has denied the SEC’s allegations and said it will fight the case. Company spokesman Lucas van Praag said he couldn’t comment today.

via Goldman Sachs Said to Ask More Time for Lawsuit Reply (Update2) – BusinessWeek.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Goldman Sachs Said to Ask More Time for Lawsuit Reply (Update2) – BusinessWeek

June 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. asked for more time to respond to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s April 16 lawsuit accusing the firm of defrauding investors while selling mortgage-linked securities, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The company submitted the request today to the judge overseeing the case, asking for an extension until July 19, the people said. The original deadline was June 21, court documents show. The SEC consented to the New York-based firm’s proposed extension, according to one of the people.

The SEC said New York-based Goldman Sachs and one of its employees, Fabrice Tourre, didn’t disclose to investors the role played by hedge fund Paulson & Co. in devising and betting against the securities. Tourre also has until July 19 to respond, according to court documents.

Goldman Sachs, the most profitable firm in Wall Street history, has denied the SEC’s allegations and said it will fight the case. Company spokesman Lucas van Praag said he couldn’t comment today.

via Goldman Sachs Said to Ask More Time for Lawsuit Reply (Update2) – BusinessWeek.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts