TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says if you want a champion for the downside, Meredith Whitney is there for you.

You have to love a good statement downgrade. It's one where you want impact, headlines, notoriety. One where you want to say, "I want this sucker to go down and I am going to take it down."

Which is the brilliance of the call of Meredith Whitney's downgrade of Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) (Cramer's Take) today. Not only can she say, "We have reached the peak," she can also give the appearance of being a bull until now.

CNBC's Charlie Gasparino reports that "Rival banks are eagerly awaiting this week's earnings announcement from Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) not only for the third-quarter results but for how the firm deals with up to $20 billion in bonuses just a year after it received federal bailout money during the height of the financial crisis."

With third quarter earnings expected to ring in at more than $2 billion, Goldman is prepared to pay out some hefty bonuses. The problem? Given that Goldman Sachs received a taxpayer bailout only a year ago, paying out massive cash bonuses now could lead to a significant public relations backlash.

Consumers are finally spending more, with September posting the first gain in more than a year. The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) found that retail sales inched 0.1% higher last month. It doesn't seem like much, but a gain when you anticipate a fall is good news magnified. But, it came at the expense of great deals and other tools to entice somewhat hesitant customers into stores.

Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) and Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD) reported sales increases in September for stores open more than a year. J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP), Macy's (NYSE: M) and Target (NYSE: TGT) posted declines, but they were better than expected. Delayed school openings thanks to a late Labor Day helped push to September sales that might have occurred in August otherwise.

Of course, all eyes are on the coming holiday season. The National Retail Federation forecasts U.S. consumer spending of $437.6 billion – up only slightly from $433.7 billion four years ago. So, we still have a lot of ground to make up before we can celebrate a recovery. As long as the situation is staying steady, though, we'll at least have a solid starting point.

Those with aspirations of unfettered wealth look for clues everywhere. From top schools to unique talents, they build profiles of what it takes to become absurdly wealthy ... as though the process can be blueprinted. Well, if you're looking for answers, the Forbes 400 list is a great place to start. If anyone has mastered the art of making money, it's this collection of billionaires. They have the answers, and you are ready to learn.

A look at the lives of the Forbes 400 implies that the most important attribute is the ability to sift through ambiguity. Contradictions abound, meaning that shades of gray hold the answer to your burning desire for riches. Should you go to a great school? Well, yes ... but only if you're going for an MBA and plan to work for a major financial firm. But, you can still go to an Ivy League school if you're not studying finance but join Skull and Bones. Of course, dropping out of Harvard can be a great way to launch a career in the technology field.

It's tricky. There are no easy answers. But, the road to billions is littered with the corpses of aspiring magnates who thought it wouldn't be difficult. So, don't just read the seven attributes after the jump. Understand them. Read them twice. Then, your future financial situation will be assured.

Or, you can just do one of those chain e-mails and wish for wealth.

[Thanks, Forbes and MSNBC]

DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA) received a nice gift from Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) today. The cartoon studio has been put on the institution's famous Americas Conviction Buy list, according to an article out on Reuters.

Goldman Sachs believes that the company should see a lot of prosperity in the next six months. The stock might even rise as high as $45 per share, if the price target is to be believed. The premium attached to 3-D movie tickets is part of the thesis here. As well as something else, something a lot more powerful: the franchise value of Shrek.

As I write this, shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) are down well over 3% to $24.83. That's a drop of 89 cents per share. The catalyst? A downgrade from Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS).

According to Bloomberg, the institution removed the software giant from its conviction buy list. There's concern that the first quarter won't be overwhelmingly positive. Understandably, Wall Street got a little nervous and decided to book some profits. Microsoft has had a decent run as of late.

Bright and early this morning, Goldman Sachs downgraded gaming guru Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) from Conviction Buy to Buy. In a note to clients, the brokerage firm explained that it sees greater relative potential for near-term price appreciation in other stocks. Goldman maintains a six-month price target of $16 on ATVI, implying expected upside of more than 29% from the shares' closing price on Wednesday.

ATVI is a ripe target for downgrades, if only because analysts are so lopsidedly optimistic toward the "Guitar Hero" parent. Zacks reports that the equity has attracted no fewer than 18 Strong Buy recommendations, plus two Buys -- with not a single Hold, Sell, or Strong Sell to be found.

In the wake of widespread populist outcry over his company's ability to profiteer off of government bailout money, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) CEO Lloyd Blankfein is joining the chorus of people lashing out over excessive bonuses.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks. Speaking at a banking conference in Frankfurt, Blankfein said that guaranteed multi-year contracts for bankers should be banned.

"Compensation continues to generate controversy and anger," Blankfein said, according to Bloomberg. "And, in many respects, much of it is understandable and appropriate. There is little justification for the payment of outsized discretionary compensation when a financial institution lost money for the year."

Best Buy, Inc. (NYSE: BBY) shares were downgraded by Goldman Sachs from Buy to Neutral this week. Analyst Matthew Fassler indicated that Best Buy would continue to see increased pressure from online retailers, as well as mass discounters like Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), which continues to upgrade its consumer electronics assortment and brand selection.

On the Wal-Mart front, the largest retailer in the world still is vastly inferior to Best Buy in terms of brand selection, assortment and even pricing -- so Fassler may be calling this a little too early. In the flat-panel television and PC categories, for example, Best Buy continually outshines Wal-Mart in just about every way from this writer's chair. Perhaps Wal-Mart will get better. Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), on the other hand, is nowhere close to either Best Buy or Wal-Mart.

For the first time since early January, the DOW broke through the psychological 9,000 mark in today's trading.

It has been a strong day for the market, with the DOW currently sitting at 9,080, a little off its daily high of 9,090.50.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has taken a beating in the court of public opinion lately -- and not without good reason. Fortune's Alan Sloane recently wrote this of the company's "squabbling" with the Treasury Department over the value of the warrants issued as part of the TARP infusion, calling it "tacky": "Had Goldman retained something it was once reputed to have -- a sense of short-term sacrifice in return for long-term profit -- it would have agreed to pay the government generously for the warrants. It could have announced that on Tuesday, along with its profits, and looked like a decent, concerned corporate citizen instead of Greedhead Central."

Well now Goldman has seen the light. In a press release, the company announced that it had paid $1.1 billion to redeem the warrants, "the full value the U.S. Treasury Department has determined."

If you ever find yourself lulled into thinking that the United States government is out to protect the best interests of the average citizen and taxpayer, re-read this post.

The New York Times reports that "Analysts predict that Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) earned more than $2 billion in the March-June period, thanks to its trading prowess across world markets. If they are right, the bank's rivals will once again be left to wonder exactly how Goldman, long the envy of Wall Street, could have rebounded so dramatically only months after the nation's financial industry was shaken to its foundations."

Analysts at Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch upgraded Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) from Neutral to Buy today. In a note, lead analyst Guy Moszkowski said Goldman "is on track to beat its 2007 trading-revenue record, enabling it to boost compensation by an estimated 64 percent from last year," Bloomberg reported. BAC/Merrill analysts also upped their target price from $144 to $175. In response, GS stock rose about 3.5% to trade around $143.40.

Moszkowski gushed over Goldman's management skills, saying they're unmatched in the way the company manages risks. This, he said, is paying off in this market where most companies are far more risk averse than they used to be, offering Goldman "mute" competition.

This morning, Goldman Sachs felt it prudent to up its view of the U.S. auto sector to Attractive from Neutral. The brokerage stated that it would use any current weakness as an opportunity to build positions. If, like me, you are questioning Goldman's strategy, the firm explained, "Despite the significant rally in auto shares since the February lows, we think we are still in the middle phase of a cyclical rebound in the auto sector."

In its note to clients, Goldman Sachs predicted, "improved affordability, improving confidence and significant pent-up demand as likely to offset the impact from gas prices and deliver significantly more upside in the space as auto sales gain momentum."

Goldman Sachs has upped its share price estimate on Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) to $486, an increase of 17%. The analysts cite both search query growth and improvements in emerging markets coverage as the reasons for giving a nod to the dominant player in the online search business. The higher estimate implies that Google still has plenty of room to grow, which leaves plenty of upside for investors.

On a per-share basis, Goldman Sachs pushed its earnings forecast for the search giant 2% higher for this year – to $21.30. Per-share earnings estimates for 2010 were increased to by 8% to $23.36, and the 2011 estimate is now $27.02 (up 12%).