Preferential treatment.

The credit markets, which Goldman uses to fund its business, were frozen. And Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Blankfein's predecessor as chief executive officer of Goldman, was begging Congress for $700 billion to save the financial system. Goldman's stock had plunged as much as 26 percent in one day.
Blankfein told his lieutenants the firm would become a bank holding company, ending its run as the jewel of global investment banks.
Goldman Sachs, a company founded in 1869 by a former street peddler that had weathered many crises. It survived what may have been the most serious threat in September, only to be thrust into a new landscape where Goldman will have to prove that old virtues--a vast alumni network, a fierce partnership culture, high levels of compensation and trading acumen--are still of value.
The contingency planning to become a commercial bank had been under way since March, after the collapse of Bear Stearns Cos. sent shivers through Wall Street. That's when Federal Reserve inspectors set up camp at the firm's 85 Broad St. headquarters, a sign of things to come.
The firm earned $11.6 billion and its three top executives -- Blankfein and Co-presidents Gary Cohn and Jon Winkelried -- earned a total of $203 million.
Goldman's record profits last year were fueled by trading and multibillion-dollar investments that leveraged the company's total assets to shareholder equity more than 25 to 1. The firm seemed to make all the right bets: Mortgage securities traders wagered against the U.S. subprime market, bankers booked hundreds of millions from private equity stakes in energy companies and in China and prime brokerage revenue soared 25 percent as former Goldman employees directed business to their alma mater.
Tracking the Dow on Wednesday,21/10/08.
Theme play:-Corporate Earnings Worry.

9:30am:--Hefty 100.00 points gap-down.

A barrage of earnings reports hit the wires

10:30am:--2 bearish crows.

Crude oil prices are down 4.0% to $69.26 per barrel ahead of the government's weekly energy inventory report at 10:35 ET

11:30am:--Bearish engulfing.

Just hitting the wires, crude stockpiles for the week ended Oct. 17 rose 3.2 million barrels, which was larger than the expected increase of 2.7 million barrels.

12:30am:--Shooting star.

Stocks trade with steep losses.Global economic fears and cautious corporate earnings outlooks weigh on sentiment.

1:30pm:--Bearish hammer.

McDonald's (MCD 55.63, +0.50) is the only Dow component trading higher.

2:30pm:--Double shooting stars.The sky is the limit.

Yahoo! (YHOO 12.39, +0.32) reported a profit drop that met estimates, and said it plans to lay off 10%, or 1,500, of its workforce.

3:30pm:--The kamikaze.(Japanese suicidal bombers in the Battle of Mid-Week)

All ten of the economic sectors posted a loss, ranging from -10.4% (energy) and -3.8% (consumer staples)

4:00pm:--Bullish spin.

Looks like it's going to light up the candle.

TheThursday candlestick is totally wipe off.

This is a 2nd bottom of the week.

It's an overdone fear of no basis.

The jokers are in the hand of the bankers,so let's see how they cover back their position by pumping positive news again.