longanthick
Virgin
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2020
- Posts
- 10
for your reading pleasure:
THE GREAT CORONAVIRUS DIVIDE: WALL STREET PROFITS SURGE AS POVERTY RISES
'In the past three months, according to researchers at the University of Chicago and Notre Dame, the number of Americans living in poverty has risen by about six million.
On Thursday, Morgan Stanley announced that, in the three months from July to September, it reaped $2.7 billion in profits, a rise of twenty-five per cent compared to a year ago. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley’s principal rival, is doing even better. On Wednesday, it announced quarterly profits of $3.62 billion, virtually double what the firm earned in the same quarter in 2019.
During a conference call with financial analysts, David Solomon, Goldman’s chief financial officer, attributed the firm’s success to “the strength of our diversified business.” However, Solomon also pointed to a more immediate source of the company’s good fortune. “From a macroeconomic perspective,” he said, “the markets continue to benefit from the unprecedented monetary and fiscal support by central banks and governments globally.”
Financial markets are the lifeblood of Wall Street firms, and the U.S. government, through the good offices of the Federal Reserve, has been going to enormous lengths to keep them afloat. In March, some parts of the credit system got clogged up, and the stock market dived—a repeat of what happened in 2008. In response, the Fed slashed interest rates and used its electronic printing press to create trillions of dollars, which it then used to purchase various types of bonds. Confidence was restored, and the markets shot back up, providing a huge boon to firms like Goldman and Morgan Stanley. Another boost directly attributable to the pandemic came from a surge in the issuance of stocks and bonds, as many non-financial businesses sought to strengthen their balance sheets. “I would say it was an extraordinarily constructive and positive backdrop,” Jon Pruzan, Morgan Stanley’s chief financial officer, told the Financial Times.'
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-...de-wall-street-profits-surge-as-poverty-rises
THE GREAT CORONAVIRUS DIVIDE: WALL STREET PROFITS SURGE AS POVERTY RISES
'In the past three months, according to researchers at the University of Chicago and Notre Dame, the number of Americans living in poverty has risen by about six million.
On Thursday, Morgan Stanley announced that, in the three months from July to September, it reaped $2.7 billion in profits, a rise of twenty-five per cent compared to a year ago. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley’s principal rival, is doing even better. On Wednesday, it announced quarterly profits of $3.62 billion, virtually double what the firm earned in the same quarter in 2019.
During a conference call with financial analysts, David Solomon, Goldman’s chief financial officer, attributed the firm’s success to “the strength of our diversified business.” However, Solomon also pointed to a more immediate source of the company’s good fortune. “From a macroeconomic perspective,” he said, “the markets continue to benefit from the unprecedented monetary and fiscal support by central banks and governments globally.”
Financial markets are the lifeblood of Wall Street firms, and the U.S. government, through the good offices of the Federal Reserve, has been going to enormous lengths to keep them afloat. In March, some parts of the credit system got clogged up, and the stock market dived—a repeat of what happened in 2008. In response, the Fed slashed interest rates and used its electronic printing press to create trillions of dollars, which it then used to purchase various types of bonds. Confidence was restored, and the markets shot back up, providing a huge boon to firms like Goldman and Morgan Stanley. Another boost directly attributable to the pandemic came from a surge in the issuance of stocks and bonds, as many non-financial businesses sought to strengthen their balance sheets. “I would say it was an extraordinarily constructive and positive backdrop,” Jon Pruzan, Morgan Stanley’s chief financial officer, told the Financial Times.'
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-...de-wall-street-profits-surge-as-poverty-rises
