Is there mischief afoot at Goldman Sachs in London, the house where a convoy of Brink's-Mat armoured vans is expected to arrive early in the new year carrying the 1999 bonus payments? The owner of a local wine bar tells us after eavesdropping on snatches of conversation that Goldman's total group's bonus payments could fund the budget deficit of many a third world country. But amid the jubilation and the bonhomie, are all the Goldman employees happy bunnies? Last week, as well as in previous columns, we suggested that the European debt capital markets division was something of a lame duck or a hobbled tortoise. While European M&A, international equities and the blistering J Aron commodities business have been almost buried under a mountain of money, the fixed income operation has been a wet blanket.
December 17, 1999
