A schoolmate and I are working on a new talkshow on the campus radio. Our first ep was aired on Jan 12, 2010, and we talked about Muslim headscarves.
Video blog: Boston
December 20, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Disclaimer: I’m not a Bostonian or an expert on the state’s history. This vid is for friends so that they can experience Boston vicariously through me. I’m also no genius at video making, so the clip’s really very amateurish.
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In Honor of America’s first Black President
December 19, 2009 · Leave a Comment
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Finally.
December 17, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Haven’t been updating this space because of my finals, but now that that’s over it’s time to unwind as the year closes. I’m now at the Toronto City Airport waiting for my flight to Boston. The sun is out, but it could be warmer (-7 degrees Centigrade).
Speaking about warm temperatures, I can’t help but think about impasse in Copenhagen. Looks like Homer-Nixon was right, hopes of the 192 countries reaching any substantive agreement is quickly fading.
That said, I noticed that nothing much has been done to address the issue of fabricated evidence which came up just weeks before the climate conference. Will do more reading on that topic now that I’ve more free time on my hands.
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Goldman Sachs: Making Amends?
November 18, 2009 · Leave a Comment
After salvaging its losses, Goldman Sachs is now desperately trying to rebuild its reputation, by channeling $500 million towards helping small businesses.
The NY Times describes this act as a “charitable initiative, the largest in its history”. Who actually coined the term ‘charitable’ — the reporter or Goldman Sachs– is unclear.
Regardless, my response: Yea right.
Sure $500 million sounds like a lot of cash, but next to the $16.7 billion it’s a paltry sum. 2.99 percent. If less than 3 percent is Goldman’s definition of ‘largest’, it ought to feel ashamed, not give itself a pat on the back.
To think that just last week, the Goldman Sachs honchos said they were “doing God’s work”. I might be wrong, but I think the Bible prescribes a 10 percent tithe. That is more than three times what Goldman is doling.
And although $200 million is set aside for financial scholarships to educate entrepreneurs in colleges, the rest of the sum goes towards investing and lending small “underserved small businesses“.That’s under-served; I initially read undeserved, which of course would have a whole range of other interpretations.
Anyway, that money is ‘invested’ and ‘lent’, not given. In other words: you have to pay Goldman Sachs back. This ‘charitable’ gesture is anything but; it’s a ruse used to generate revenue for the investment bank.
That’s why the bank is seeking Warren Buffet’s advice in the selection of which businesses to pump money. Buffet has said the scheme has no “significant net benefit” for small businesses. What’s he doing then? Well, safeguarding Goldman’s financial interests of course. Buffet, who invested billions of dollars in the bank last year and partially saved it from collapse, has his interests at stake here.
Of course, it’s good that Goldman Sachs is promising to more freely lend underserved businesses. Getting a bank loan is like extracting teeth in today’s economy.
But isn’t that what ‘investment banks’ are meant to do in the first place? Nice try, Goldman, but I doubt the public will be fooled by a nifty relabeling. You’re just doing your job.
At the end of the day, the $500 million is nothing more than a cheap way of getting good PR. No one, not even Wall Street sharks, likes to be hated. This is their way to generate good karma. Too bad, everyone sees through the deception.
The sad fact is that this offering might even prove the age-old cliché — the more you give, the more you receive. If ‘you’ are Goldman Sachs, that is.
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