The Economist: Goldman Sachs’s record profits.

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King.

Erasmus of Rotterdam (1468″“1536)

But a win is still a win. See yesterday’s article in The Economist, “Keeping Up with the Goldmans“. Excerpts:

This windfall will eventually dwindle. Goldman and other survivors will benefit from the coming wave of debt issuance by federal, state and local governments. But dealer spreads are sure to shrink as markets normalize and those that have retreated return to the fray.

This is likely to be offset only partially by a pick-up in businesses tied more closely to economic growth, such as advising on mergers and acquisitions.

Wall Street will also face tighter shackles. Regulators are on the warpath against commodities speculators. A clampdown is also coming in credit derivatives; this week America’s Justice Department joined those probing that market.

erasmus.jpeg

Erasmus, by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1523, Musée du Louvre