Goldman hearing gets going

Here are the CNBC and Fox Business links. By the way, Vanity Fair writer Bethany McLean (one of the first reporters to pick up on Enron) has a NYT oped that lays into all the Wall Street players responsible for the financial crisis.

The transaction at the heart of the S.E.C.'s complaint is a microcosm of the entire credit crisis. That is, there are no good guys here. It's dishonest and ultimately dangerous to pretend that Goldman is the only bad actor. And the worst actor of all is the one leading the charge against Goldman: our government. Each of the supposed victims here was, at best, a willing accomplice.

[CUT]

Whether the transaction was legal or not, there's a difference between what's legal and what's right. Goldman, where I worked at a junior level from 1992 to 1995, has always held itself up as a firm that adheres to a higher standard. "Integrity and honesty are at the heart of our business" is one of Goldman's 14 principles. There is no way to square this principle with the accusation that Goldman did not tell a customer who didn't want to lose money -- the very definition of a buyer of AAA-rated securities -- that the investment it was selling had been rigged to amplify the chances that it would, yes, lose money.

More by Mark Lacter:
American-US Air settlement with DOJ includes small tweak at LAX
Socal housing market going nowhere fast
Amazon keeps pushing for faster L.A. delivery
Another rugged quarter for Tribune Co. papers
How does Stanford compete with the big boys?
Those awful infographics that promise to explain and only distort
Best to low-ball today's employment report
Further fallout from airport shootings
Crazy opening for Twitter*
Should Twitter be valued at $18 billion?
Recent stories:
Letter from Down Under: Welcome to the Homogenocene
One last Florida photo
Signs of Saturday: No refund
'I Am Woman,' hear them roar
Bobcat crossing

New at LA Observed
On the Media Page
Go to Media

On the Politics Page
Go to Politics
Arts and culture

Sign up for daily email from LA Observed

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner


Advertisement
Mark Lacter
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.
 
Mark Lacter, business writer and editor was 59
The multi-talented Mark Lacter
LA Observed on Twitter and Facebook