Last year was a good one for financial titan Goldman Sachs ( GS ). Despite the downtrodden economy, Goldman managed to log a stellar performance, which will yield a record bonus payout of $23 billion to its workers. We certainly helped CEO Lloyd Blankfein and his minions with $52 billion in low-cost government financing. Continue reading How Goldman Made Bank in 2009 How Goldman Made Bank in 2009 originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 02 Jan 2010 11:00:00. Filed Under: Goldman Sachs , American International Group , INC. Permalink | Tweet this! | Comments

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Filed under: Investing Exchange-traded funds have never been more popular. And no wonder: They’re passively managed, which makes them as cheap as indexed mutual funds, but they trade all day long, like stocks. And they tend to be more tax advantaged than mutual funds, given that ETFs very rarely kick off capital gains distributions. But Wall Street greed might make ETFs the next good investment vehicle to go bad. And several high-powered advisors and analysts see the table being set for investor disappointment. Continue reading ETFs: Is today’s Wall Street trend destined to disappoint? ETFs: Is today’s Wall Street trend destined to disappoint? originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Economy , Goldman Sachs , Bank of America , Citigroup After President Obama smashed Wall Street for being out-of-touch “fat cats” on 60 Minutes over the weekend, the bankers tried to mend fences during a meeting at the White House on Monday. Whether any detente will last is not clear. Obama, whose coolness under pressure was legendary during the campaign, clearly was annoyed with the banks for failing to do enough to jump start the economy after U.S. taxpayers spent hundreds of billions of dollars rescuing them, and he urged them to lend more to small-and mid-sized businesses and to do more to help homeowners in danger of losing their homes. Continue reading Wall Street tries to make nice with Obama Wall Street tries to make nice with Obama originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Company News , Columns , Investing , Media After writing BusinessWeek ’s widely read Inside Wall Street column for 28 years, I’m moving. From now on, you’ll find Inside Wall Street only online at AOL’s terrific new financial resource, DailyFinance. Though relocated, the column will maintain its particular purpose: to be an “equal opportunity” service that gives the small guy — the individual investor — a fair shake. Inside Wall Street aims to fill individuals in with the tightly guarded information that only big investors and institutional houses normally get. Inside Wall Street tries to balance such a lopsided situation by reporting on the moves big investors are making based mostly on the information they get by virtue of their huge investing power. Continue reading Gene Marcial’s Inside Wall Street column has a new home: DailyFinance Gene Marcial’s Inside Wall Street column has a new home: DailyFinance originally appeared on DailyFinance on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Technology A problem with the FAA system that collects airline flight plans caused widespread flight cancellations and delays nationwide Thursday, the second time in 15 months that a glitch created such problems. The Federal Aviation Administration said the problem was fixed around 10 a.m., but it was unclear how long flights would continue to be affected. Doug Church, a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Union, said controllers were still entering flight plans manually in some locations. FAA spokesman Paul Takemoto said the problem started between 5:15 and 5:30 a.m. and affected mostly flight plans but also traffic management, such as ground stops and ground delays. Continue reading FAA glitch disrupts air travel nationwide FAA glitch disrupts air travel nationwide originally appeared on DailyFinance on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Economy , Investing While the Obama administration floated a trial balloon regarding the possible extension of TARP in The Washington Post Thursday , any hope for that balloon could be quickly burst in hearings today before the Congressional Oversight Panel. Members of the House and Senate already are considering the introduction of bills to kill the unpopular program. The Congressional Oversight Panel Thursday morning will listen to five experts in a hearing dubbed, “Taking Stock: Independent Views on TARP’s Effectiveness .” Continue reading The debate over extending TARP steps onto center stage The debate over extending TARP steps onto center stage originally appeared on DailyFinance on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Economy We all know that Wall Street’s bad bets nearly brought the financial system to its knees last year. Then U.S. taxpayers footed the bill to bail out Wall Street — taking on obligations potentially as high as $23.7 trillion , leading to a $1.4 trillion federal deficit, and $12 trillion in national debt. To me that’s a kind of reverse-Robin-Hood action. Ironically, a New York City charity called the Robin Hood Foundation, which says it supports 200 poverty-fighting programs, is celebrating Wall Street’s expected $140 billion 2009 bonus windfall. The head of Robin Hood’s response to the upcoming record Wall Street bonuses is “Hell yeah!” reports Bloomberg News . The reason for David Saltzman’s enthusiasm is that Robin Hood claims it gets more than half of its annual $150 million in donations from the employees of investment banks, brokerage firms and hedge funds. Continue reading Wall Street bonuses are Robin Hood in reverse — but one Robin Hood approves Wall Street bonuses are Robin Hood in reverse — but one Robin Hood approves originally appeared on DailyFinance on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Company News , Economy , Earnings , CIT Group , Apple , Citigroup Slipping consumer confidence sent U.S. stocks tumbling Friday, nearly ending a six-month-long sprint that saw major indexes climb steadily and dramatically in the face of recession. The drop, on the last trading day of a wildly volatile October, capped a month of stock-price swings that whipsawed investors as the markets raced between wins and losses in response to positive then negative economic news. Friday’s sell-off was spurred by a disappointing Commerce Department report showing a 0.5 percent drop in consumer spending last month. The bad news was further bolstered by a University of Michigan survey that showed Americans were less optimistic about the economy in October than in the previous month. Stocks reacted dramatically, erasing all gains made Thursday , when markets rallied in response to a strong third-quarter GDP report. Continue reading Another wicked October takes its toll on investor confidence Another wicked October takes its toll on investor confidence originally appeared on DailyFinance on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: People , Goldman Sachs Have you ever wondered why Wall Street was able to get $23.7 trillion from the federal government after making some bad bets that wiped out $30 trillion in stock market value worldwide and helped throw 15.1 million people out of work? Are you curious about how Wall Street’s workers will earn record bonuses of $140 billion for 2009 , according to The Wall Street Journal , while average folks, such as former airline captain Bryan Lawler take 50 percent pay cuts, according to The New York Times ? Well, look no further than the office of the secretary of the treasury. Before detailing how Wall Street has funneled cash there, it’s worth noting that the financial industry really has far broader tentacles into Washington. After all, it spent $5 billion on campaign contributions and lobbying expenses between 1999 and 2008. This cash permeates Washington, and with the cost of getting elected and re-elected rising ever higher, we have the best government money can buy. Continue reading How Wall Street bought Tim Geithner How Wall Street bought Tim Geithner originally appeared on DailyFinance on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Economy , Investing , One Year Later Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy filing on Sept. 15, 2008 set off a nuclear winter that’s still chilling the bones of global finance and commerce a year later. Of course, Lehman’s monumental collapse was just one in a series major financial and economic blows, and while the world may not have ended, it sure is different today. Informed with the perspective gained from time–and hard experience–Daily Finance writers and editors have put together a must-read multifaceted special report covering world’s new landscape. The topics we’ve examined range from how total catastrophe was averted to the still unreformed architecture of Wall Street, from the lessons investors have (and haven’t) learned to where things might go from here. In between, we’ve laid out the impacts on white collar workers, consumers and even celebrities. And don’t miss the gallery of art and design inspired by the meltdown. No matter what your particular interest, in the series of “One Year Later” articles listed below you’re sure to find information and insights you won’t get anywhere else. (Click here or the headline above to see the full list.) One Year Later: To hell and (almost) back? Lessons we (should have) learned from the crash Continue reading Special Report: The financial meltdown, one year later Special Report: The financial meltdown, one year later originally appeared on DailyFinance on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Special Report: The financial meltdown, one year later