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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| US bank profits more than halved | US bank profits more than halved |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs both saw their profits more than halved in the first quarter of 2008. | Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs both saw their profits more than halved in the first quarter of 2008. |
| Lehman's net income was $489m (£242m) in the first three months of 2008, compared with $1.15bn in the same period of 2007. | Lehman's net income was $489m (£242m) in the first three months of 2008, compared with $1.15bn in the same period of 2007. |
| Goldman Sachs's net income fell to $1.51bn (£750m) compared with $3.2bn in the first three months of 2007. | Goldman Sachs's net income fell to $1.51bn (£750m) compared with $3.2bn in the first three months of 2007. |
| Both results were better than expected and shares soared. Lehman Brothers was up 18% and Goldman Sachs gained 8.4%. | |
| Analysts feared the impact of the credit crunch would be worse. | |
| Lehman Brothers stressed the strength of its liquidity after the worries which led to the sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase at a bargain price over the weekend. | Lehman Brothers stressed the strength of its liquidity after the worries which led to the sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase at a bargain price over the weekend. |
| Its chief executive Richard Fuld said the results "reflect the value of our continued commitment to building a diversified platform and our focus on managing risk and maintaining a strong capital and liquidity position". | Its chief executive Richard Fuld said the results "reflect the value of our continued commitment to building a diversified platform and our focus on managing risk and maintaining a strong capital and liquidity position". |
| Billion dollar losses | Billion dollar losses |
| Goldman Sachs, Wall Street's biggest investment bank, said that its net losses from debt linked to residential mortgages were about $1bn. | Goldman Sachs, Wall Street's biggest investment bank, said that its net losses from debt linked to residential mortgages were about $1bn. |
| Its chief executive Lloyd Blankfein said in a statement that, "market conditions are clearly very difficult". | Its chief executive Lloyd Blankfein said in a statement that, "market conditions are clearly very difficult". |
| But he added that "although market conditions present many challenges at the moment, they also offer considerable opportunities." | But he added that "although market conditions present many challenges at the moment, they also offer considerable opportunities." |
| Goldman managed to increase its assets under management by 21% to a record $873bn. | Goldman managed to increase its assets under management by 21% to a record $873bn. |
| Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers are the first and fourth biggest investment banks respectively. | Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers are the first and fourth biggest investment banks respectively. |