Goldman Sachs axes 1,000 jobs due to poor trading

Goldman Sachs is to cut 1,000 jobs in the wake of what analysts are calling a "disappointing quarter" for the investment bank, which saw its profits drop from $2.7bn in the first quarter to $1.09bn in the second.

The New York-based company has built its reputation on the performance of its traders, but revenues at the Fixed Income, Currency and Commodity division were $1.6bn in the second quarter, down from $4.33bn in the first.

Overall revenues at the bank fell 39 per cent to $7.28bn, and Goldman shares fell 2 per cent as investors reacted to the bank missing its estimates for only the fifth time since it floated more than a decade ago.

Goldman's chief financial officer, David Viniar, defended the job cuts - which come on top of the annual cull of the bottom five per cent of employees - saying, "It looks like the environment will be slower for the forseeable future".

Read a full report at the Daily Telegraph.
 ·