Goldman’s 3rd-Quarter Earnings Fall 19%

Goldman Sachs Group reported a 19% drop in its fiscal third-quarter pretax profit, to $754 million, because of declining revenue from trading and underwriting amid tumbling global markets. It said it expects continued weakness in the fourth quarter. The New York-based investment bank, which recently voted to disband its 129-year-old partnership and go public in the fall, said revenue fell 4% to $2.14 billion. Goldman did not break down revenue by its different businesses but did say its merger and acquisitions advisory business performed well. Russia’s default and currency devaluation last month triggered declines in other emerging markets and corporate debt securities, forcing many securities firms to record hundreds of millions of dollars in trading losses. Some Goldman rivals have issued warnings that profits will be off as much as 40% in the third quarter. In its earnings statement, Goldman said, “Increasing volatility in the financial markets, the widening of credit spreads, a decline of liquidity in certain markets and a reduction in global equity values . . . will negatively impact our fourth-quarter results.”