Goldman Sachs' most precious asset – its awesome reputation – is turning as toxic as a pile of rotting collateralised debt obligations. Since the summer it has been accused of being a blood-sucking vampire squid, of grabbing swine flu vaccines, of cruelty to kittens and of taking the Lord's name in vain. (Chief executive Lloyd Blankfein's joke that Goldman was “doing God's work” slipped below his critics' irony radar.) Now, having made $8.4bn in the first nine months of this year and set aside a jaw-dropping $16.7bn in compensation, Goldman stands charged with tossing a few hundred million at US small businesses in a cynical – and unsuccessful – attempt to rebuild its public standing.
高盛(Goldman Sachs)最宝贵的资产——其令人敬畏的声誉——正变得像一堆正在贬值的债务抵押债券一样“有毒”。自今年夏季以来，它先后被指责为一个“吸血乌贼”、抢先获得猪流感疫苗、残忍对待总部大楼里发现的小猫、乃至滥用上帝的名义。（公司首席执行官劳埃德•布兰克费恩(Lloyd Blankfein)开玩笑说，高盛“在做上帝的工作”，但批评者看不出其中的讽刺意味。）现在，高盛在今年前9个月赚得84亿美元利润、并拨出令人瞠目结舌的167亿美元薪酬之后，又被指责为试图向美国小企业提供数亿美元资金，以这种恶劣而且不成功的手法企图重建自己的公共形象。