GM Reports $2.16 Billion Profit Ahead of Share Sale (BW)
Earnings before interest and taxes rose to $2.28 billion from $2.03 billion during the previous three months of the year, the Detroit-based company said today in a statement. Revenue was $34.1 billion. Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson, who took over from Ed Whitacre on Sept. 1, has said GM can make “significant” profit even amid a U.S. auto sales rate running about 30 percent slower than before the financial crisis.

Ireland’s Fate Tied To Doomed Banks (WSJ)
With doubts swirling about the solvency of the Irish state in early September, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan summoned a dozen senior government and bank officials to a conference room nicknamed the “torture chamber,” a nod to its history as a venue for painful meetings. For two years, Ireland had poured money on a raging banking crisis, to no avail. Each estimate of the rising price of rescuing Ireland’s banks turned out too low. Mr. Lenihan needed to halt the drip-drip of bad news that was leading his country to ruin. “I want a final figure ASAP,” he told the group. Two weeks later, the estimate came in: Up to €50 billion—nearly $50,000 for every household in the Emerald Isle. But now, investors are betting the bill could be higher still and could reignite Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis…It wasn’t supposed to be this way. In October 2008, Mr. Lenihan boasted that his government had devised “the cheapest bailout in the world so far.” Ireland’s financial regulator pronounced the banks “more than adequately capitalized.”

Zoellick Sees ‘Elephant,’ Not Endorsing Gold Standard (CNBC)
What “the price of gold has been telling people is that there is a lack of confidence in some of the fundamentals growth policies,” Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank said. “The golden elephant in the room, whether people recognize it or not, is being used as an alternative monetary asset,” he said.

Goldman Executive Fired Over Violations (FT)
Alexandre Harfouche, a London-based managing director and head of European block trading, was sacked for failing to make proper disclosures to the bank’s compliance department, according to people familiar with the matter. “Mr Harfouche no longer works for the firm, and I have no idea what his plans are,” a Goldman spokesman said, declining to comment further. Mr Harfouche could not be reached for comment. While Goldman did not specify the reasons for Mr Harfouche’s departure, people close to the situation stressed that no securities law had been violated and no client had been harmed by the events that led to his dismissal. Continue reading »