http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=apRDGKM7Sbi8&refer=home Bonuses for Wall Street Should Go to Zero, U.S. Taxpayers Say ... "While year-end rewards are likely to decline with a drop in revenue this year, industry veterans say that eliminating them risks driving away the firms' most productive workers." ... If all investment banks eliminate bonuses, they got no where to go, plus we have all seen how productive they are!
A recent Bloomberg article stated that Buffet made an offer to Fuld for injecting capital into Lehman with a similar preferred share deal. Buffet buying preferred seems to be no 'cant goto zero' guarantee for GS.
Investment banks are all doing the same thing buy illiquid assets with higher yield and sell the liquid assets with lower yield. They play public money against public, when they win they pocket the profits, when they lose they ask public to bail them out.
ROFLMAO Note to self: do not drink wine (do not drink anything for that matter) whilst reading humorous posts on ET!
I've worked on some documents a few years back. And if you do research on infrastructure assets, which is something I still do, you will find the news releases. US towns, states & municipalities have been selling infrastructure assets to try to pay their deficits. Same goes on across the world in third world nations.
I remember the day he bought the stock jumped about 10-15 bucks, if he announces at this second he was selling his entire stake at more than a $2 Billion dollar loss you would see GS plummet to less than $50 a share and the entire market sell off 5% ++++