Interesting timing.
As Chris noted below, Obama will be making a major announcement about the banks later this morning. He's scheduled to be speak at 11:40 a.m.
We just found out that Goldman Sachs made profits of $13.4 billion last year:
The bank said that for 2009, it earned a profit of $13.4 billion on revenue of $45.2 billion. For the fourth quarter, Goldman earned $4.95 billion on $9.6 billion in revenue.Yes, "only" $16.2 billion.
The earnings of $8.20 a share easily beat analysts’ expectations of about $5.20 a share and compared with a loss of $2.12 billion, or $4.97 a share, in the quarter a year earlier.
The bank also disclosed that it had set aside $16.2 billion for bonuses and compensation for its employees in 2009. This was below the record year of 2007, when it devoted $20.2 billion to bonuses and salaries.
