Paulson & Bush BUSTED: Buffett Investing $5 Billion in Goldman Sachs

[understandinglife]

Wednesday September 24, 12:09 am ET
By Anna Jo Bratton, Associated Press Writer

In big vote of confidence, Buffett's Berkshire buying at least $5 billion stake in Goldman


OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- One of the world's shrewdest dealmakers is betting $5 billion of his investors' money that the U.S. financial system is not about to collapse. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said Tuesday it investing at least $5 billion in Goldman Sachs Group Inc., a huge vote of confidence for one of the survivors of the credit crisis that felled two of its investment banking peers.

In addition to buying $5 billion in preferred stock, Berkshire also got warrants to buy another $5 billion in Goldman's common stock. Goldman also said late Tuesday it would raise another $2.5 billion in its own public stock offering.

Got that, everyone.

One of the most savvy investors on the planet just pumped $5B into GS and took warrants on an additional $ 5B of Goldman equity.

Ask yourself, what is the message.

For starters, Warren Buffett is one of Senator Obama's key economic advisers.

Next, Warren Buffett has just told every member of the Senate and the Congress what ANY INVESTOR should receive for ANY $$ they invest in ANY financial institution - EQUITY and then some.

So, why would ANY tax payer expect ANYTHING LESS?

Game.

Set.

Match.

Championship.

NO BAILOUT.

If some financial institution wants a tax payer dollar then that tax payer gets equity and full shareholder rights.

Anything less is ROBBERY.

Warren Buffett has exposed Bush, Paulson and all the rest of the neoconsters for what they are - GANGSTERS.

[sasquatch]

1. Warren Buffet saves the day

:applause:

[roguevalley]

51. I heard bits and pieces yesterday: Paulson's deal here will benefit

Goldman Sachs and Morgan the most. Paulson, former CEO of GOldman will go back to Goldman after this.

Buffet is profiting on the obvious, to buy into Goldman when its low and ride the wave of bailout money to great profit when Paulson/Bush pushes this through. that may be good business but it smells to me. ANyone else heard the same?

[galileoreloaded]

55. It's more of an endorsement deal really, the terms for GS SUCK..

really bad. Buffet made an awesome deal for short term high return cash in a failing company that is about to get alot of money. Read the details, as GS let themselves get screwed so the company wouldn't tank. 10% interest and no risk, thats Warren.

[Flabbergasted]

2. check

[ddeclue]

3. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is!

We are not worthy Warren!!

[KathieG]

8. Absolutely!

[understandinglife]

11. Roger that!

:thumbsup:

[tridim]

4. Is Buffett speaking about this publicly?

If not, he probably should.

[understandinglife]

5. In a real sense, he has -- that's $5 Billion, his reputation, his shareholders' money, ...

... and it can't be any more public of a statement of his assessment of risk/reward regarding one of the firms that was at the top of the "most endangered" list being peddled by the fear-mongers.

So, I think he has 'spoken' about as publicly and substantially as anyone could.

Thank you,
Bob

[tridim]

6. Yea, but he needs to go on Countdown and MTP

America really needs to hear more voices of reason right now.

[Indenturedebtor]

7. Warren Buffet is seriously the shiznit

I love that guy :applause:

[cliffordu]

9. This is why he is Warren Buffett and I am not.

I'm more jimmy buffett

[understandinglife]

10. :)

:)

[MadrasT]

48. Best. Reply. Ever.

:toast:

[spooky3]

53. and I'm more Phoebe Buffay

[mzmolly]

12. Stunning

move. :hi:

[merh]

13. Kicked & Must Read

:kick: &

It doesn't have the same flow, does it x(

:hi:

Thank you understandinglife and thank you big time, Mr. Buffett :bounce:

[understandinglife]

18. Hey there!!

:hi:

Peace,
Bob

[FrenchieCat]

14. Well Played!

Buffett is brilliant, and by extension, so is Barack.

Guess they've "got this", hey?

[Lugnut]

16. Oh yeah!

;)

[FrenchieCat]

15. He is certainly talking......

And I think what you have put down is what he may be saying.

[understandinglife]

17. And the 'market' may be listening ... already ...

, has largely refrained from investing in the stricken financial industry, saying repeatedly that things could get worse.

Thousands of people on and off Wall Street follow Mr. Buffett’s moves, so his decision to invest in Goldman immediately heartened investors. After falling nearly 1.6 percent during the day, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index erased half its loss in after-hours trading Tuesday evening on news of the investment.

“Buffett is saying he’s confident,” said Brad Hintz, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company.

Mr. Buffett’s conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, unveiled the move only days after Goldman, long the premier investment house on Wall Street, embarked on a radical plan to transform itself into a traditional bank to ensure its survival. Goldman, which examined various options over the last week as its shares tumbled and some clients abandoned the firm, also said Tuesday it would sell at least $2.5 billion of common stock to the public.

So, who can be more "public" than the US TAX PAYER???

Thus, if Bush and Paulson want tax payer money, then tax payers get the same deal (at a minimum) that Buffett and any other investor gets - in Goldman Sachs or any other financial firm.

Period.

[phoenixriz]

19. Buffett is the man!!!

He is too wise to throw away money and has just made a powerful statement. He is internationally respected and I am praying to see investments coming in from all over the world. I hope that Congress takes heed and doesn't sell us out. I am so happy that he supports Obama.

[OakCliffDem]

20. K & R

[OneGrassRoot]

21. So, Congress surely knows about this...

but do we need to let them know WE KNOW about this development, too? Should this be the focus of today's email/call campaign?

Maybe the Obama team has an ad in the works?

Buffett being on Obama's team isn't widely known outside dem circles, is it? I wish it were...it's a huge feather in Obama's cap, IMHO.

[OneGrassRoot]

22. Wow, just heard on local ABC news morning program about this...

Lede was "which investor is investing in Goldman Sachs?"

Let's see if they mention he's an advisor to Obama.....

[OneGrassRoot]

23. Okay, it was the "money scope" segment but no Obama mention. n/t

[Joanne98]

24. What will they do now?

[liberalla]

25. I hope this has the intended effect.

Thank you Warren Buffet!

[wishlist]

26. AIG is getting $85 mill loan from Fed, so they don't need bailout now either nt

[judasdisney]

27. Goddamn Obama had BETTER follow suit with Buffett

Buffett is showing more balls than any Democrat currently in office, with the exception of Kucinich (and Feingold in 2001).

Obama had BETTER be fucking learning.

[mod mom]

28. UL, When I read this earlier I interpreted it as with Paulson at the helm, it was likely

Goldman Sachs would be one of the survivors. this morning on NPR they listed who the FBI was investigating and Goldman Sachs was not listed. It made me suspicious that Paulson was protecting his own assets over at Goldman Sachs (remember it came out he was paid 18 mill bonus for a 6 month period before leaving.) am I missing something? )very likely)

[understandinglife]

32. No doubt Paulson is in conflict-of-interest. See what DeFazio had to say yesterday.

Goldman and Lehman would have been the two firms to gobble much of whatever Paulson and Bush are trying to scam from the American tax payer.

That scam was fully exposed by Buffett - because he is not a high risk investor and everyone in the world knows it.

Before this is over, among the many whom will need to be investigated by the FBI, Paulson should be moving into the 'most wanted' category.

:hi:

Peace,
Bob

[AndyA]

29. To me, this action by Buffet says A LOT.

Thanks for posting!

[chill_wind]

34. self-delete- to move reply

[BraneMatter]

30. BS

Buffet knows the fix is in, and the bailout is on the way. He put his money where the inside information is...

He just said on CNBC he would never have made the deal if he did not believe the bailout bill would pass.

He KNOWS it will pass. His kind of money and power buys a lot of friends on the Hill to keep him informed.

The market will follow and probably rally today, in spite of the hearings in Congress.

Oh yeah, and just watch the sweet deals that come his way at the auction...

[NoUsername]

33. That's my take on it too.

I don't get CNBC but when I heard about his $5B investment, my first thought was that he knows the bailout bill will pass and he intends to cash in on it. At our expense of course. Nice to know the rich will get richer off this.

[Psyop Samurai]

35. I'm no financial whiz, and haven't been following the situation closely...

...but that was certainly my first impression.

Are DUers living in upside-down world?

Or have I missed something?

[progressoid]

31. So

He just needs to cough up another 695 billion?

[chill_wind]

36. "A short-lived pop."

Stocks fail to sustain advance on Buffett-Goldman

TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer 14 minutes ago

NEW YORK - Financial markets turned lower again Wednesday, with stocks mostly declining after a short-lived pop on investor Warren Buffett's decision to invest $5 billion in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The credit markets showed added strain as investors await news about the government's plan to rescue banks from crippling debt.

(...)

Though Buffett's move appeared to soothe some investors, it didn't alleviate concerns about the effectivenes of any government bailout and about the health of the broader economy. It could also lead to new questions from lawmakers for Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, a former co-CEO of Goldman Sachs. He and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke are appearing before Congress for a second day Wednesday to brief lawmakers on a $700 billion bailout measure for financial services firms.

more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080924/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street

[loudsue]

37. The market going back down is just part of the fix...as in, THE FIX IS IN

Wall Street stands to gain a whole lot more if the government bails them out...along with their "get out of jail free" card, than if Buffett and other investors start buying up the assets.

The corporations who are in control of the government (GE being one of them) is determined to bankrupt our government so that social security, and the rest of the government services, can be dismantled (privatized), and so that all of our present and future tax dollars will all go to wall street.

Buffett made a move. The obscenely rich neocons and oil tycoons (foreign and domestic) in control of our government called his bluff.

[chill_wind]

50. Yes, and if anything he is part OF IT. He is lobbying FOR the bill. n/t

[understandinglife]

38. Respectfully, not the point. What Buffett did was set the parameters for any responsible Fed action

Namely, he made an Investment. He purchased equity and rights to warrants for more equity.

It is not an accident that Senator Obama, in his prepared and ad hoc remarks during the past 72 hours, has used the explicit mechanism of "investment" to characterize ANY use of tax payer capital. And, he explicitly speaks to return on that investment benefiting the tax payer.

Small incidental - Buffett is a tax payer, too, and if you know anything about how frugal he is, you can be sure he does not want one dime of his money wasted, or put at unreasonable risk.

Thank you,
Bob

[chill_wind]

41. See post # 30.

He thinks Paulson's one of the good guys.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/26867866

[understandinglife]

42. Actually, all that anyone needs to read from Buffett's statement is:

, if they (the US Government) do it right, and I think they will do it reasonably right, they won't do it perfectly right, I think they'll make a lot of money.

Because if they don't -- they shouldn't buy these debt instruments at what the institutions paid. They shouldn't buy them at what they're carrying, what the carrying value is, necessarily.

They should buy them at the kind of prices that are available in the market. People who are buying these instruments in the market are expecting to make 15 to 20 percent on those instruments.

If the government makes anything over its cost of borrowing, this deal will come out with a profit. And I would bet it (the US Government) will come out with a profit, actually.

That's the point. That's what his investment in Goldman signals. And, the beneficiary of the INVESTMENT of Tax Payer money should be THE TAX PAYER.

If Congress legislates such an investment, as Obama indicates is the appropriate approach, on behalf of the tax payer, then we might not only prevent a dissolution of the economy, but create a reasonable return on investment.

As long as that return on investment is used for creating jobs, building US infrastructure, expanding access to health care, improving monthly social security income for those receiving it, ... then OUR representatives will have handled the mess Bush, McCain, Gramm and the neoconsters created in as good a way as possible.

Thank you,
Bob

[understandinglife]

46. "Follow the Oracle: Buffett's Goldman Deal a Roadmap for the Government"

Beyond restoring some measure of confidence to a frazzled market, what Buffett has done is to how to invest in struggling banks, says Lawrence White, economics professor at NYU's Stern School.

<clip>

"The government taking equity makes sense, if it's not going to close the place down -- if it's going to prop it up," White says.

<clip>

In the accompanying video, we discuss New York Sen. Schumer's proposal for an FDIC-like insurer for the entire financial system, which White says should, if seriously considered, include:

Minimal capital requirements

Limitations on activities.

Management competency requirements.

Examiners and supervisors.

Receivership regime.

[chill_wind]

49. Respectfully, I can elect to read it ALL. He thinks Hank is awesome

and he supports his BAILOUT bill wholesale.

BUFFETT: ("...) And I am betting on the Congress doing the right thing for the American public by passing this bill and not trying to doctor it up with a hundred things that, you know, emotionally they feel should be on the bill but as a practical matter will gum things up.


(...)


BUFFETT: Becky, if I were running things, Republican or Democrat, I would ask Hank to stay on. I mean, you don't get talent like that very often in any administrative job. And the guy pays an enormous price to do it. He's probably sleeping three or four hours a night. He knows the market. He's got the interests of the country at heart. So I think if I were either Barack Obama or John McCain and found myself in the White House in January, I would go down there and say, 'Hank, do me a favor, stick around another year.'

(...)

BUFFETT: Well, I think they will get it. I think enough of them will get it. You know, it's not like Pearl Harbor where you could look at what happened with your own eyes and decide you had to do something that day. But this is sort of an economic Pearl Harbor we're going through. And I think most of them will get it. And I do believe they will do what's right for the country. They may vent their spleen a little bit by getting mad about the people that brought us into that, and I don't blame them for that. I might do that privately, too. But in the end, you know, Republican, Democrat, I think they've got the interest of the country at heart and I think they will do the right thing. But I hope they do it soon. (Laughs.)

http://www.cnbc.com/id/26871327/site/14081545/

(bold emphasis mine)

[shanti]

80. "economic pearl harbor"

let's see....when was the last time we heard a similar analogy? :eyes: i'm not buying it.

[flamingdem]

54. Thank you for pointing this out

It's very important and telling as to how Obama is handling this morass

[chill_wind]

39. Buffet supports the bailout and explains his stake. CNBC video and transcript.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/26866865/site/14081545?__source=yahoo|headline|quote|text|&par=yahoo

[Swamp Rat]

40. yep - mobsters

[chill_wind]

43. The OP needs correcting. Buffet is on record FOR Paulson and FOR the bailout.

It is at the video/transcipt links provided at CNBC. (See my post above)

admirable as all the rest of his intent might be.

[Marie26]

44. Uh, isn't that a bet on a bailout?

Buffett wouldn't be pouring billions of dollars into Goldman Sachs unless he knew that the company would remain solvent from a gov. bailout & he's said as much. It DOESN'T comfort me to know that Buffett is one of Obama's advisors - seems to me he's got a massive conflict of interest if he's advising Obama to support the bailout & also investing in the same companies that will benefit from the gov. bailout.

[chill_wind]

45. Absolutely. It's an " economic Pearl Harbor", says he.

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Warren Buffett, calling turmoil in the markets an ``economic Pearl Harbor,'' said his $5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is an endorsement of the Treasury's $700 billion bank rescue plan.

``I am betting on the Congress doing the right thing for the American public and passing this bill,'' Buffett said on cable channel CNBC today. ``I certainly have a vote of confidence in Goldman and vote of confidence in Congress.''

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&refer=home&sid=axN8Gl5_fsxA

[Marie26]

71. Buffett is PRO-bailout

Yet this is spun on DU as some super-secret Machievelian plan to oppose a gov. bailout. DU is so crazy sometimes.

[chill_wind]

74. YES. PRO-Bailout. PRO-Paulson. PRO-Urgent pressure on Congress

and most significantly-- PRO a clean bill that won't "gum things up" with things "we are all mad about".

It's all here. Video and 3-page transcript.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/26866865/site/14081545?__source=yahoo

"..some super-secret Machievelian plan to oppose a gov. bailout. DU is so crazy sometimes."

LOL. Yes.

[Naturalist]

47. Duh

These guys act like the Sopranos

The Mark: American People
The Threat: If you don't pay us your economy will fail, you will loose your homes, jobs and have no food.
The Payoff: 700 billion
The Terms: You have 7 days to get us the money.

[moodforaday]

52. I don't get it. Explain, please?

I don't get what this investment means or why this is bad for the Bush/Paulson policies.

It only means to me that Buffett is betting that under Paulson Goldman Sachs won't be allowed to suffer, and may well be the last big financial institution standing when the smoke clears. This should be cheered why?

On edit: Buffett may also be betting that Paulson will continue as the Secretary of Treasury under McCain/Palin presidency. (He surely would not under Obama's, right?)

[understandinglife]

60. Simply, Buffett disrupted Paulson's scam. He INVESTED in Goldman. He set ...

... the parameters for any use of tax payer capital in any financial institution.

If he wanted to cause a catastrophe in the global financial system, he is actually capable of doing it.

All he'd have to do is diss Paulson and Bush.

He is an adviser to Obama.

Obama has used one word consistently in referencing how the US Treasury should intervene - INVEST.

Regarding one of the most likely targets of such an investment - Goldman Sachs - Buffett, yesterday, set the bar in terms of per share equity value and per warrant value.

Thus, the US Treasury, under supervision of the independent Commission Obama has proposed as having oversight, now has a benchmark. The benchmark was set by Buffett.

What Buffett also did was buy time for a reasonable piece of legislation to emerge.

He is correct, as is Obama, that the situation, globally, is not something that can be pushed to the 'back burner.'

At the same time, the foolishness that Paulson and Bush brought to Congress has been exposed for just that. Any action on the part of the Federal government should be based on investment instruments that go as far as possible of ensuring every American tax payer as good a return as possible.

None of this is fun and all of it is dangerous. A 21st Century 'global depression' will make the 20th Century version look like fun.

Thank you for your question.

[SammyWinstonJack]

56. Well good for him!

[TexasObserver]

57. His point is solid: If you save the company, you get preferred returns and options.

[understandinglife]

62. Precisely. And if you, the US Tax Payer, is the investor, as Obama intends you to be, you get ...

... those returns on your investment.

Thank you,
Bob

[TexasObserver]

64. Yes, and I agree that Buffett made that point.

[lynettebro440]

58. I love him

he's my home boy......one smart mother fucker.

[wildbilln864]

59. k&r! nt

[and-justice-for-all]

61. So Buffet did that to keep from needing any congressional bailout?

and to keep Paulson restricted from getting what he wants? which is to rob the American people blind?

[understandinglife]

63. He set the parameters for the use of any tax payer dollars -- including his own.

And, he cornered Paulson, Bush.

It is not an accident that every time Obama has characterized the use of tax payer capital in this situation he has used the terms 'investment' and 'return.'

That is a very different deal than what Paulson and Bush thought they could fear-monger into legislation.

Thank you,
Bob

[and-justice-for-all]

65. Of course Paulson is an evil bastard...

is what Buffet did a good thing?

[understandinglife]

66. Yes. For several reasons. Leverage for Obama and Congress. Calm, globally.

But, it's all on a very short fuse. Congress must act with brilliance and Obama and Buffett know it.

McCain is over as is Bush.

And, if you are tracking the opening of the Nikkei, now, it will show you just how volatile the situation is.

This is not a game and it is not a time for fools like Bush and McCain.

How McCain can have 40+ poll numbers now is an indication of just how vast the stupidity of the American public is, btw.

[and-justice-for-all]

67. I see, thanks. nt

[Marie26]

72. No, he did it because he's counting on a gov. bailout.

He's said exactly why he did it - it's no secret. He's betting that the gov. will bailout the big Wall Street firms.

[SlipperySlope]

68. Buffet didn't invest in Goldman, he invested in the government taking action.

Buffet didn't invest in Goldman, he invested in the government taking action. He has admitted it. His investment wasn't a bet that Goldman-Sachs is in great shape and under excellent management. His investment was that the government was about to swoop in with $700B and give Goldman a great big money enema.

"I am to some effect betting on the fact that the government will do the rational thing and act properly,"

If the government doesn't act, then Goldman is screwed and Buffet's bet won't pay off. But Buffet drove a hard bargain - he didn't just buy stock, he bought preferred stock, so if Goldman collapsed Buffet gets paid back before the common shareholder gets shit.

[understandinglife]

69. He invested in Goldman. He DEFINED how the Government should INVEST in Goldman ...

... and any other financial institution.

He 'drove a hard bargain.' And, he set the parameters, precisely, for the Government to DO the same thing.

That is what he did.

It's called leadership by doing, not by talking.

He set the bar and he enabled Obama to be crystal clear that any use of tax payer dollars should be conditioned on precisely the same investment conditions that Buffett extracted from Goldman.

This is not a game of gotcha. This is one of the few truly brilliant, personally frugal and generous philanthropist, defining the way forward.

Have whatever opinion you want, but that doesn't change the actions that Buffett took and that Obama has been leveraging the past 24 hours -- as to serve US way better than any one has in a very long time.

Peace,
Bob

[SlipperySlope]

70. The government ought not to invest in Goldman.

The government ought not spend $700B for "troubled assets". They ought not spend $70B, nor $7B, nor 7 cents.

The government ought to declare a bank holiday, force open the books of all financial institutions, and mark all assets to market price. Then we would know who was "swimming naked while the tide was in".

There should ESPECIALLY not be one taxpayer cent spent on bailouts until shareholders and bondholders take a 100% loss.

[Kaleko]

73. I can see your point and think it is a brilliant observation.

You're saying that Buffett and Obama basically trumped the con game with Buffett's price-setting move into Goldman Sachs.

I fervently wish you are spot on and it all plays out that way. Thank you for posting, UL! I wouldn't have caught the angle without you explaining it at length.

[understandinglife]

75. Thank you. And, the brilliance is entirely Obama's and Buffett's. They set the parameters.

No wiggle room.

No bullshit.

If, and only if, each tax payer dollar is invested under terms that Buffett and any other savvy investor would consider reasonable risk/benefit, then ZERO tax payer dollars are invested.

Moreover, Buffett set the bar with Goldman shares as benchmark.

Nothing ambiguous about it.

That's why McCain is trying to run and hide and Bush wants to chat, tomorrow.

And, as Buffett and Obama warn - this is NOT A GAME.

We are in mega-serious moments.

Peace,
Bob

[understandinglife]

78. And, here's Senator Biden driving the message to America ...

... can't get any clearer than this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAnpWUYC4dE

[Kaleko]

81. Biden certainly drove home the point.

You know, it's hard to believe that, for once, our guys won't cave in to the outrageous demands of the neocons and sell out America. The praise Buffett heaped on Paulson and McCain would have to be seen as a conscious move to butter up his "marks" in this insanely high-stakes game.

But I do see strength of character in Buffett. Like Obama, he is a principled man, and in Buffett's case an investor with an unparalleled track record... So, yes, it looks like we're having a champion ride in on OUR behalf, at long last.

[Dover]

76. Warren made a bundle and Goldman sold double that amount of stocks after Buffet's bid

And everybody's happy.

----

Goldman Sachs Raises $5 Billion After Buffet Makes Bid

Goldman Sachs sold double the amount of stock it planned to sell in a public offering this morning as market confidence in the US investment bank grew, following a cash injection from Warren Buffett.

The American bank sold 40.65 million of shares at $123 each, raising $5 billion (£2.7 billion), twice the size of the public offering it announced yesterday. It said today that it has an option to sell an additional 6.1 million shares to handle the excess demand.

The shares were trading at $128.56, up $3.51, during the New York morning session.

Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, last night said he planned to raise up to $12.5 billion (£6.74 billion) of new funds by selling a stake to Mr Buffett and tapping other institutional shareholders.

The surprise move by Mr Buffett, which was welcomed by some but was described as “worrying” by traders in Hong Kong and Tokyo, is understood to have derailed a big stakebuilding exercise by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, the Japanese megabank.

The Japanese group was planning to invest around $2.5 billion in Goldman and would have become the third Tokyo giant to swoop on Wall Street within 48 hours. In a flurry of deals that have seen Japan’s biggest financial houses burst out of their usual mode of conservatism, Nomura has clinched the European and Asian operations of Lehman Brothers, while Mitsubishi UFJ is hoping to secure a major stake in Morgan Stanley and a seat on its board...cont'd

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article4816023.ece

--------

Warren Buffett stake in Goldman Sachs earns $783 million return

Within hours of revealing his dramatic, confidence-boosting investment in Goldman Sachs yesterday, Warren Buffett had made a $783 million (£424 million) notional profit.

The Wall Street investment bank astounded its rivals by raising $10 billion in fresh capital — $5 billion from Berkshire Hathaway, Mr Buffett’s main listed company, and $5 billion through a public share offering. Shares in Goldman rose 6 per cent to $133.00, giving Berkshire an instant theoretical profit on a side deal, under which it has warrants to buy up to $5 billion of new Goldman shares at $115 a share at any time in the next five years...>

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article4821506.ece

[chill_wind]

83. And maybe.....GS even got a tiny bit of a head start. Suspicious boost Tuesday

that is being widely ignored by every media outlet but a scant couple:



Goldman Shares Surged Before Buffett Deal Was Unveiled

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4081531#top

[Piewhacket]

77. Agreement

with your analysis, understandinglife.

We need, among other things:

A stock issue superior to all others (super premium) issued to the government with a 10% premium above market
buyback and 10% irrevocable dividend, and regulatory oversight (board membership) to assure sane management.

The companies would be prohibited from contributing to political candidates or parties, and severe regulation
of lobby rights.

[understandinglife]

79. Exactly! And, for further evidence of how solvent Goldman is ...

... one only needs to read: .

Thus, ANY US tax payer capital must have rights superior to any Buffett or those investors have received.

Otherwise, those investing our money are chumps.

Obama is not a chump.

Thus, the bar is set and it is to those whom work for US to be even better at the risk, return endeavor as anyone in the investment market today and tomorrow and well into the future.

We, the US tax payer, must simply be vigilant and demand nothing less than superior returns on our investments for those whom WORK FOR US.

Obama's "Commission" needs to be held to just those performance standards, and any compensation they receive must be pegged to their performance for US.

Thank you,
Bob

[Piewhacket]

82. Buffett has just earned the Medal of Freedom.