CDSs: 11-11-08 Goldman shorting California Bonds & CDS index

Read here.

I firmly believe in capitalism and generating wealth, but in an ethical fashion. However, if the linked article about Goldman Sachs is true, this is not an acceptable or ethical business practice.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. urged some of its big clients to place investment bets against California bonds this year despite having collected millions of dollars in fees to help the state sell some of those same bonds.

Goldman was a leader in the effort to build up the market for the muni swaps. In May, when the financial information firm Markit introduced a municipal CDS index to give swap traders a benchmark to set prices, Goldman was listed as one of the seven dealers participating in the rollout.