Black Tuesday? Goldman Sachs net plunges (3rd quarter earnings down 70%)

[cali]

Goldman Sachs net plunges
Tue Sep 16, 2008 8:38am EDT Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc said on Tuesday third-quarter earnings plunged 70 percent as one of the worst market slumps ever weighed on banking and trading results.

The largest U.S. investment bank reported net income of $845 million, or $1.81 a share, for the quarter ended August 29, down from $2.85 billion, or $6.13 a share, a year earlier. Net revenue fell by half to $6.04 billion from $12.3 billion.

"This was a challenging quarter as we saw a marked decrease in client activity and declining asset valuations," Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman's chief executive, said in a statement.

The results come as the year-long credit crunch gains steam. Six months after Bear Stearns collapsed and was acquired by JPMorgan Chase, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc on Monday filed for bankruptcy protection while Merrill Lynch & Co rushed into the arms of Bank of America Corp.

Lehman last week reported a third-quarter loss of $3.9 billion -- on the heels of a $2.8 billion second-quarter loss -- fueled by nearly $8 billion in write-downs as well as steep declines in banking, underwriting and trading revenue.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1631321420080916

[HereSince1628]

1. Maybe but the forecast is dark and dismal well into next year

Whatever happens today it won't be the end.

[cali]

2. absolutely. this won't be over for a long time.