Banks are profiting in this recession.

Goldman Sachs posts big profits.

One of the nation’s largest investment banks has taken major steps to silence rumors of an impending Bear Stearns-esque collapse.
Lehman Brothers Holdings firmed up its balance sheet by cutting its risky debt positions by 25 percent.  In addition to selling off debt, the firm raised $8 billion in capital.
Many investment banks are fleeing from risky, mortgage related debt like the plague.  So who bought over $100 billion of these risky securities from Lehman?
One buyer is Loomis Sayles, a fund manager with a portfolio of more than $100 billion in bonds.  Lehman reps have also met with potential buyers at BlackRock.  BlackRock merged …read more