Goldman Sachs Earnings Collapse, Wells Fargo Thrives (Bloomberg)
Goldman Sachs, whose shares have fallen 43 percent this year, may report its lowest quarterly profit since the 2008 financial crisis. Far from Wall Street, Wells Fargo is headed for record earnings…Goldman’s earnings will collapse to breakeven in the third quarter from $2.98 per share a year earlier, according to the average of 24 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That would be the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2008, when the firm posted its only quarterly loss since going public in 1999. Twelve of the analysts expect Goldman Sachs to report a loss for the three months on Oct. 18, driven by declines in its investments in companies such as Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (1398) Ltd., which fell 35 percent in the quarter in Hong Kong trading, and other assets such as real estate.

Wall Street Shrinkage (WSJ)
New York City’s securities industry could lose nearly 10,000 jobs by the end of 2012, New York state’s comptroller predicted, a painful blow to the area’s economy and government budgets. In a report set to be released Tuesday, Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli also said bonuses are likely to shrink this year, reflecting lower profits on Wall Street.

‘Millionaire’ Home Visits Add To Wall Street Protests (Crain’s)
The coalition of labor, community and advocacy groups that organized last week’s 15,000-person march to support the protest in lower Manhattan is planning a “Millionaires March” for Tuesday afternoon that will visit homes of some of the city’s wealthiest residents. JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, billionaire businessman David Koch, financier Howard Milstein, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch and hedge fund maven John Paulson are all expected to receive visits at their homes.

Rio Tinto Says Greece Risk Overdone (Bloomberg)
“My sense is that the expectations are actually more gloomy than what is taking place on the ground,” Tom Albanese, chief executive officer of Rio Tinto, said today in an interview in Seoul. “From what I’m seeing, the actual real economy is probably doing better than the financial markets are worrying about.”

Blankfein Cancels Barnard College ‘Power Talk’ (Bloomberg)
Sorry, ladies: “Mr. Blankfein’s office informed us that he would be unable to deliver his lecture as planned, due to an unavoidable scheduling conflict,” Kathryn Kolbert, director of Barnard’s Athena Center for Leadership Studies, said in an e-mailed statement. “We expect that his talk will be rescheduled for a future date.” The “Power Talk” with Blankfein was cancelled because he “must be in Washington D.C. that evening,” the Athena Center said on its website. Continue reading »

Banks Brace For Fallout On Earnings (NYT)
Bank stocks are at lows not seen since the wake of the financial crisis, and shares of Bank of America, the nation’s biggest bank, are down more than 50 percent since the start of the year, while Citigroup is down more than 40 percent. David H. Ellison, a mutual fund manager for FBR who invests in financial companies, likens owning bank stocks these days to holding airline stocks in the months after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. “Nobody wants to own the group,” he said. “Everybody thinks it is not the place to be.” And in a kind of unusual convergence, protesters and bank analysts alike have had it with bank management…“There is a huge skepticism, that goes way beyond normal healthy doubt, about how reliable their numbers and guidance are,” said Chris Kotowski, an analyst with Oppenheimer. “People who were bullish are frustrated and beaten down.” Michael Mayo, a longtime financial services analyst, has been traveling around the world over the last year, calling attention to what he calls his “Japan lite” thesis — the view that the United States and its banks are in for a prolonged period of very slow growth, not unlike Japan’s so-called lost decade in the 1990s.

No Recession for U.S. as Forecasts Improve (Bloomberg)
A string of stronger-than-projected statistics — capped by the news on Oct. 7 of a 103,000 rise in payrolls last month — has prompted economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Macroeconomic Advisers LLC to raise their growth forecasts for third quarter growth to 2.5 percent from about 2 percent. That’s nearly double the second quarter’s 1.3 percent rate and would be the fastest growth in a year. “The U.S. economy doesn’t look like it’s double-dipping at all,” said Allen Sinai, president of Decision Economics Inc. in New York. “But it is a crummy recovery.”

Trichet Reminds US Euro Built To Last (Bloomberg)
FYI: “The overall picture when you look at the euro area as a whole is very, very different from the perception,” Trichet said in his Washington speech to a conference organized by the Bretton Woods Committee.

Paulson Funds Hit Hard By Gold Selloff (WSJ)
Mr. Paulson saw his fund dedicated to gold investments lose 16.4% in September, according to investors. That is worse than the 11% fall for gold prices. The Paulson gold fund now sports a gain of just over 1% in 2011, through September, compared with a 16% year-to-date gain in gold—a difference likely attributable to the fund’s investment in gold-mining companies, whose shares haven’t kept pace with gold’s rise. Mr. Paulson’s Recovery fund, which wagers on investments deemed likely to do well as the U.S. economy improves, lost more than 14% in September and is down 31% in 2011, investors familiar with the figures say. Paulson also posted losses last month in the merger-focused fund, they say. The firm’s Paulson Advantage fund dropped 12.1%, leaving it down more than 32% this year. The Paulson Advantage Plus, which applies a layer of borrowed money to the firm’s investments, tumbled 19.4% last month. That fund is down nearly 47% on the year, according to investors.

Hedge Fund Insider Trading Sentence for Raj Rajaratnam May Be Longest Ever (Bloomberg)
Prosecutors asked Holwell to give him a prison sentence of 19 1/2 to 24 1/2 years, which they said is within the guidelines…“Rajaratnam is a uniquely situated individual compared with all the others,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Reed Brodsky said at an Oct. 4 hearing. “He is an individual at the top of a pyramid, the head of a hedge fund who’s orchestrating and controlling interlocking insider-trading schemes.”

Police To Protest Supporters: Honk If You’d Like A Ticket (KOMO)
Police experimented with a new tactic Friday night as they responded to a weeklong Occupy Seattle demonstration at Westlake Park – ticketing drivers who honked in support of protesters. Starting at 11 p.m. Friday, police started pulling over and ticketing drivers who honked as they drove past protesters.

Fan Arrested After Tossing Hot Dog At Woods (USAT)
The most exciting occurrence on his final holes came at the par-3 seventh, when the spectator walked under the gallery ropes, ran toward the green yelling “Tiger, Tiger,” and threw a hot dog, which, while the bun fell to his feet, flew across Woods’ putting line and onto playing partner Arjun Atwal’s putting line. The fan, who got within 40 feet of Woods, was handcuffed and arrested for disturbing the peace, according to police. His name was not released, but police said he was 31. Woods was lining up his putt at the time and missed. Continue reading »