Show Entire Article
Speaking to the Economic Club of Washington D.C., Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein pointed to the uncertainty in the nation's capital as a major drag on the world economy.
Specifically, Blankfein said lawmakers inability to reach a near term compromise on the so-called " fiscal cliff " is destroying wealth and hurting businesses. The fiscal cliff is the dual whammy of the expiration of the Bush tax cuts and automatic spending cuts that take effect next year if there is no budget agreement.
"The fiscal cliff has a major uncertainty on the world," Blankfein said in a wide ranging interview conducted by the Carlyle Group's co-CEO and co-founder David Rubenstein. "(It) is responsible for a real burden and a real dimunition of value and wealth in the world just because uncertainty makes everything worth less."
Blankfein said uncertainty about the fiscal cliff and about the future of the euro zone is impacting Goldman's clients and the investment bank's business. On Tuesday, the firm reported its second quarter profits fell 11 percent from last year's second quarter.
Blankfein suggested Washington could do its part to ease the uncertainty by engaging in something broadly absent in the city these days — compromise.
Page 1 of 3 | Next PageShow Entire Article
GS News & Analysis
DATA IS REAL-TIME EXCEPT NOTED WITH *
* DATA DELAYED AT LEAST 15 MINUTES