No surprise that brokerage firm results are deteriorating, and at least Goldman is still profitable and idd a tad better than anticipated….although I haven’t dug into the numbers to see how solid those profits are. But bad numbers from Goldman would not have gone over at all well this week.
From the Wall Street Journal:
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. posted a 70% drop in fiscal third-quarter net income on declining client activity and asset valuations as return on equity fell….The slightly better-than-expected results on the earnings front — though far worse from the second quarter — serve as a small relief for shareholders who had been looking to the quarterly results from Goldman Sachs, one of the only two remaining big investment banks, for clues as to how bad things have gotten amid the crisis on Wall Street.
Still, many worries remain as Goldman’s latest numbers show even a firm that in the past was seen as golden is being badly hurt by deteriorating market conditions. Shares of Goldman fell 7.3% to $125.75 in recent premarket trading.
Bloomberg’s story covered similar ground but with a downbeat title:on the news summary page: “Goldman Profit Slumps 70%, Biggest Drop Since Company Went Public in 1999.”
Ginger Yellow 
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goldman beat numbers on a lower tax rate. Normalize the tax rate and the number was a $0.30 miss. AUM down. But of course comp to revenue flat at 48%. Totally unbeliveable. Just can;t help themselves. i don;t think talent flight is a problem at this stage.