Reportedly, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) staff will be receiving the largest bonus payouts in the company's 150-year history, thanks to a solid first half of 2009. This news has kicked off a bit of concern that large investment banks that survived the credit crunch would hamper any attempts at financial regulation reforms. The main reason that Goldman Sachs was able to perform well in the quarter was a general lack of competition and a surge in revenue thanks to the company's trading of foreign currency, bonds, and fixed-income products.
A week ago, the London staff of Goldman Sachs was told that they could expect larger bonuses -- as long as the company's predictions for its most profitable year ever come to fruition. Next month's second-quarter earnings report are expected to show a jump in profits. An example of how strong the quarter was, Warren Buffet spent $5 billion to purchase GS shares in January -- and the Oracle of Omaha has made $1 billion on this investment.



