GS to the rescue. Exit all short positions until the rally passes...

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc's (GS.N) Ken Wilson will temporarily leave the firm to advise U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on how to resolve the country's banking crisis, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.



Goldman's most senior financial-institutions banker, who has played a big role in capital raisings and reorganizations across the banking sector, will join Paulson to address issues from a more macro perspective, the paper said.

The move comes as the Treasury and Federal Reserve grapple with issues including the threat of bank failures, alarming capital levels and crises of confidence in important institutions such as Fannie Mae (FNM.N) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N).

U.S. President George W. Bush made a personal call to Wilson in recent days, asking him to assist Paulson, the paper said.

Wilson is expected to serve without pay in a period through January, the paper said, citing people familiar with the matter.

A Goldman spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.

Does Mr. Wilson know what he's doing? Is he the type to advise the government to bail out everyone? Or will he advise Mr. Paulson to stand back and let some stupid banks fail on their own demerits?

Yeah, he'll be pretty independently minded, don't ya think?

Goldman Sachs is the company that made incredible profits last year by aggressively shorting the product it was selling to its best customers.

Perfect place to find 'help' for .gov.

Do you think it was like this in Rome right before the curtain was drawn??

Just another way for Goldman Sachs to intertwine themselves into the "solution" and profit greatly from it.

The problem is there is nobody smart enough in Washington to figure this thing out.

There's no "spin cycle" to put it on that makes it smell sweet.

Nobody wants to touch a real solution as it will cause immediate hurt, and no one wants that on thier record.
Do something that will put off the pain, and it can be spun a million ways and fingers can point all over the place.
It is all we can expect now....

I think that's accurate

+2

Well said, WM.