Ben Stein blasts Goldman Sachs

At least I have some company. Ben Stein, had this to say about Goldman Sach's peculiar bearish calls, in an article in Sunday's NY Times:

...But I also want to emphasize that, as I see it, his document was mostly about selling fear...

...In other words, with the greatest possible respect to Dr. Hatzius, his paper is not really what I would call a serious overview of the situation. It is more a call to be afraid and cautious based on general principles that he embraces and not on the lessons of history. (In this respect, he is much like many economic journalists and commentators who sell newsprint by selling fear. The common cause of journalists and Wall Streeters in this regard is a subject I will address in the future.)...

But to me, his paper seemed like a selling document in the real Wall Street sense of selling — namely, selling short...

..Here is my humble hypothesis, even after talking to Goldman: Is it possible that Dr. Hatzius’s paper was a device to help along the goal of success at bearish trades in this sector and in the market generally? His firm says his paper, like all of its economists’ work, was not written to support any larger short-trading strategy. But economists, like accountants, are artists. They have a tendency to paint what their patrons, who pay them, want to see....

Now, obviously, Goldman Sachs does many fine deals and has many smart, capable people working for it. But it’s not the Vatican. It exists to make money for the partners and (much farther down the line) the stockholders. The people there are not statesmen. They are salesmen...

Can someone then draw the conclusion that Goldman's trading shorts are so large, that they need to skew their research, so they can cover their bets? So now the mainstream press has picked up on Dr. Hatzius' flawed logic. They can pick up some more Goldman dirt if they re-read what I had to say about FNM and FRE, and Goldman's calls on them also.

But then, I just want to make sure you get the news, before it's news!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/business/02every.html?ref=business