Today in Goldman Sachs
There's good news, bad news, more bad news and more good news for Goldman Sachs today. Let's review, shall we?
Bad news (but could be worse): The bank looked a little foolish this morning when it was revealed that it had failed to pay the vet bills for four kittens born on the construction site of its new downtown headquarters even though it promised it would do so this summer. What was clearly a no-win situation has since been contained: The bank now says it's coughed up the cash and has resolved the issue. "They are now the luckiest kittens in Manhattan," says a Goldman rep.
Bad news (but only if you work at Goldman): Goldman announced today that it's canceling its holiday party! That sort of sucks, huh? Fortunately, Goldman employees will have plenty of other things to do over the holidays. Like count their money. Or go on shopping sprees with their big bonuses. So they'll be just fine even if the company won't cover an evening in a hotel ballroom sipping on champagne and eating filet mignon.
Good news (but could be better): The Times managed to get its hands on the tax filings for Goldman Sachs Foundation today. (We reported on the previous year's charitable donations a couple of weeks ago, as you may recall.) According to the filing (which "is as thick as a phone book"), the firm has set aside another $200 million to give away to charity and the foundation now has a total of $404 million in assets. Unfortunately, it isn't giving much of it away. (It doled out $12 million in 2007 and another $22 million in 2008.) And it's still a drop in the bucket compared to what the bank will be paying out in bonuses: "[T]he money allotted for its foundation is dwarfed by the sums that will be doled out to its bankers. In the first nine months of this year, the firm set aside about $17 billion for bonuses and other compensation."
So it would seem Goldman could be doing a bit better when it comes to philanthropy. But you can't really argue with the decisions made by someone guided by the voice of God, can you?