Facts:
1. Goldman profit up because of shorting mortgage related securities
2. (Massive) naked shorting in stocks like NFI, RAS during summer and then covering after major drop
3. From money.cnn.com
"One of the figures that didn't seem to make sense in Goldman's earnings was a number that estimates the market risk on a broker's balance sheet. This indicator, called Value at Risk, or VaR, moved up only 5% in the third quarter from the second. If Goldman was placing big bets in volatile markets - like the short trade in mortgages - VaR might be expected to move up by more.
In other words, Goldman seems implausibly immune from the general rule in investing that higher returns almost always carry higher levels of risk. Van Praag responds that VaR didn't go up by much because Goldman reduced positions as volatility in the markets went up."
Can we conclude:
GS naked shorted securities like NFI/RAS, used media to influence true longs to sell their holdings, covered their shorts after securities dropped. And maintained low value at riek, VaR.
How did they short these products when everyone was crying for a bid????????????????????????
1. Goldman profit up because of shorting mortgage related securities
2. (Massive) naked shorting in stocks like NFI, RAS during summer and then covering after major drop
3. From money.cnn.com
"One of the figures that didn't seem to make sense in Goldman's earnings was a number that estimates the market risk on a broker's balance sheet. This indicator, called Value at Risk, or VaR, moved up only 5% in the third quarter from the second. If Goldman was placing big bets in volatile markets - like the short trade in mortgages - VaR might be expected to move up by more.
In other words, Goldman seems implausibly immune from the general rule in investing that higher returns almost always carry higher levels of risk. Van Praag responds that VaR didn't go up by much because Goldman reduced positions as volatility in the markets went up."
Can we conclude:
GS naked shorted securities like NFI/RAS, used media to influence true longs to sell their holdings, covered their shorts after securities dropped. And maintained low value at riek, VaR.
How did they short these products when everyone was crying for a bid????????????????????????