RICH PICKINGS FOR SOME (2)

"How does Goldman Sachs do it? The bank has emerged almost unscathed from the credit crunch: last week it notched up £2bn in profit in one of the worst quarters in the history of banking. ... Goldman has shown it is ready to exploit the damage that the credit crunch has inflicted on others: its latest figures show that it made over $600m from underwriting fees, money that it has earned from raising capital for financial institutions that have been brought low by credit losses, Goldman has moved to capture hedge fund business from Bear Stearns, which almost collapsed in April, and it has transferred its top dealmakers from comfortable positions in London or New York to Asia and South America, where the markets are still booming. (Observer, 22 June) RD