ML-Implode News - Goldman Sachs's Profit and Revenue Fell in Quarter (REGULATION, FIXED-INCOME DIE-OFF, MORTGAGE SETTLEMENTS, OH MY!)

... the firm's revenue also fell 5 percent in the fourth quarter from the same quarter a year ago, bringing revenue down 2 percent for all of 2015... New regulations and volatility in the global markets have diminished business opportunities for the bank, considered by many to be the most elite firm in the industry.
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Many other firms on Wall Street have recently announced big cuts to businesses on which Goldman is heavily reliant -- most of all the fixed-income trading businesses that has been hit hard by new regulations.
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On Tuesday, one of Goldman's closest competitor, Morgan Stanley, detailed significant cutbacks in fixed income and elsewhere. The firm's chief executive, James P. Gorman, argued that regulation had changed the firm's long-term business outlook in ways that it had not anticipated a year ago.
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Goldman Sachs has also been struggling in fixed income, a business that comes with much higher regulatory costs than it has in the past. In the fourth quarter, the business reported 8 percent lower revenue than it did a year ago. For the year, fixed-income revenue was down 13 percent.
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Goldman said that $1.8 billion in provisions for the mortgage settlement reduced fourth-quarter earnings by $3.41 a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected a profit of $3.53 a share.

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Goldman Sachs's Profit and Revenue Fell in Quarter (REGULATION, FIXED-INCOME DIE-OFF, MORTGAGE SETTLEMENTS, OH MY!)