❗Help close the gap: We still need to raise $40,000 by the end of March. Donate now

The best and worst times on Wall Street

Steve Henn Oct 15, 2009
HTML EMBED:
COPY

The best and worst times on Wall Street

Steve Henn Oct 15, 2009
HTML EMBED:
COPY

TEXT OF STORY

Bill Radke: Goldman Sachs announced this morning it’s third-quarter profits more than tripled from a year ago. But across town Citigroup struggled to squeak out a $100 million profit — before other big accounting charges. Marketplace’s Steve Henn reports, it is the best of times and the worst of times on Wall Street.


Steve Henn: Call it the tale of two banks. Profits this quarter at Goldman Sachs topped $3 billion, and the bank set aside another $5 billion for bonuses.

Edward Hadas: Goldman Sachs has the kind of problem that a lot of companies would want — it’s making too much money.

Edward Hadas is an editor at the finacial opinion site Breaking Views.

Peter Hahn at the Cass Business School in London says Goldman’s stellar performance has been a surprise.

PETER HAHN: Sine the market turned around earlier this year, it’s gone in one direction. So investment banks that were able to put money on the line, take risks, have been able to make a profit.

But if your banking business is heavily exposed to the consumer economy, you’ve taken a beating.

Hahn: Citigroup had a major operation in consumer finance, and they’re going to have the most difficulty paying.

Citi had to write off almost $8 billion in loans last quarter, and Hahn warns rising unemployment will continue to take a toll on consumers’ ability to pay.

In Washington, I’m Steve Henn for Marketplace.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.