Lloyd Blankfein

Hands up everyone who never sent an email which, if made public, would cause themselves and their employer massive embarrassment.

'Fabulous Fab' entering the Senate hearing. Yes, that's him on the right. Pic: AFP

The particularly modern form of humiliation has the added bonus of many of them being recorded electronically, putting them beyond dispute. It’s not someone’s recollection of events - it’s Microsoft’s.

Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs is the latest to cop it, with emails from executives talking about “shitty” products they were selling with one hand and betting against with the other. The most sensational are the emails from Fabrice “Fabulous Fab” Tourre to his girlfriend referring to “Frankenstein” products invented via “intellectual masturbation” being sold to widows and orphans. Not much room here for the traditional defence of being taken out of context.

Latest 2 of 11 comments

View all comments
 
  • poor little dears says:

    08:48am | 29/04/10

    TrueOz Your assumptions rely on people being completely aware of the market and the deals they are signing. Sorry, but people are just too ignorant and stupid to know what they are doing. Hence we need regulations and consumer protection. While it would be great that we could have a… Read more »

  • PKelly says:

    08:18am | 29/04/10

    Good to see good old fashioned socialism is rampant in the land of the free! Socialism is THE most profitable model for some (Goldman Sachs) - this is the lesson! Capitalism is for losers. Read more »

 

Facebook Recommendations

Read all about it

Punch live

Up to the minute Twitter chatter

Anthony Sharwood

How much fun is it retweeting people who can't spell?

Anthony Sharwood

In other Olympian news, Steph rice is advertising Sunrice Chinese style Mongolian chicken. Think about that for a tick

Anthony Sharwood

Oops, just trying to say thanks all four your follows and Hackett yarn feedback, especially the dude who called me an opinionated dipshit

David Penberthy

@GreenJ lady boy.

Recent posts

The latest and greatest

Is there a nicotine patch strong enough for this?

Is there a nicotine patch strong enough for this?

Ok. I am not a leading expert in world’s best practice on prisoner rehabilitation — my experience…

A great win by Webber, but it sure as hell wasn’t sport

A great win by Webber, but it sure as hell wasn’t sport

This morning I joined millions of other Australians in accelerating, braking, swearing and spilling coffee…

Fighting Assad one strongly worded statement at a time

Fighting Assad one strongly worded statement at a time

This weekend’s massacre in Houla, Syria, is one of those stories that invites but doesn’t…

Nosebleed Section

choice ringside rantings

From: They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments

Michael S says:

"A teacher at Geelong Grammar had criticised her for using words that were too long, which had left her confused and had made her doubt her ability to write essays. She became ''quite distressed'' when her English marks began to fall." I can sympathise. My scholastic mentors conveyed to me a causal relationship… [read more]

From: Welfare for breeders is a bonus for everyone

Change Up! says:

I have no problem paying my taxes. As a single, childless person on a very decent income, I can afford it and not have my life severely altered. Plus I understand that my taxes paying for things like schools, childcare and infrastructure is ultimately a good thing. A better community is better for me… [read more]

Gentle jabs to the ribs

They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments

They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments

A private school girl’s family is sueing her elite, extremely expensive private school for not… Read more

243 comments

Newsletter

Read all about it

Sign up to the free daily Punch newsletter