Goldman Barks, Seven More Banks Close

Two contrasting headlines in the news...

Goldman Sachs Messages Show It Thrived as Economy Fell - NYTimes.com: "In late 2007, as the mortgage crisis gained momentum and many banks were suffering losses, Goldman Sachs executives traded e-mail messages saying that they would make “some serious money” betting against the housing markets."

Seven Illinois Banks Closed; 57 on Year - WSJ.com: "U.S. regulators closed seven Illinois banks on Friday, the largest of which was Amcore Bank and including a Chicago bank closely tied to the Democratic candidate running for President Obama's former Senate seat.

The failures bring to 57 the number of U.S. banks that have failed this year, after 140 failures in 2009. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said the total cost to its deposit insurance fund from Friday's failures topped $970 million."