Goldman Sachs lost 98% of Gaddafi's $1.3bn investment As compensation Goldman Sachs offered to turn Gaddafi into one of its top investors, the Wall Street Journal reports
A bitter rift has opened up between the world's most powerful bank and one of its most fearsome dictators after Goldman Sachs invested $1.3bn (£790m) of Colonel Gaddafi's money – and lost virtually all of it.
According to an investigation by the Wall Street Journal, Goldman offered to make Gaddafi one of its biggest investors as compensation for losing 98% of the money the Wall Street firm invested on behalf of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA). This left the $53bn Gaddifi-controlled sovereign wealth fund, which elsewhere has stakes in companies such as Financial Times-owner Pearson and BP, with just $25.1m of the money it entrusted to Goldman.
The fund, which has soared in value in recent years on the back of Libya's growing oil wealth, was frozen by the EU and United Nations in February because of its close links with the Gaddafi family.
Under the terms of the proposed compensation deal, which was never consummated, LIA would have received $5bn worth of preferred Goldman shares, in return for a $3.7bn investment, allowing the fund to recoup its $1.3bn of losses.
--------------- Maths attack
The complexity of an esoteric Hong Kong financial instrument has come back to haunt Goldman Sachs after an simple typographical slip threatened to cost it HK$350m (£27m).
The error appeared in the small print of a phone book-sized prospectus accompanying the issue in February of four so-called "exchange-traded warrants" which offered exposure to Japan's Nikkei index of leading shares.
In a formula to calculate the value of the warrants a multiplication symbol appeared where their should have been a division.
The potentially costly error appeared in the bank's paperwork despite it having been scrutinised and approved by the Hong Kong stock exchange. Such warrants are hugely popular in Hong Kong, with 14,400 similar products said to have been issued last year by large investment banks.
It was not until the end of March — almost seven weeks after the warrants had been issued — that a lawyer from Goldman reported the mistake to the stock exchange. For almost two hours the price of warrants began to soar until trading was suspended at the bank's request.
Goldman has offered to buy back warrants at a 10% premium, an offer accepted by 75% of holders. However, a hard core of large investors believe they are contractually entitled to considerably more. One told the Economist magazine the bank's offer was worth HK$10m, whereas a strict application of the formula suggested the warrants could be worth $350m.
zzzzzz написав:Очень правильно что вы написали свое предложение именно в вопросительной а не утвердительной форме
Я могу даже больше сказать. Мое видение ситуации такое, что УБу надо покупать как такой себе опцион. Либо всё пропадет, либо будет большой навар.
опишите пожалуйста ситуацию когда может всё пропасть, хотя бы в теории: захват Украины ордой или ядерную войну в качестве ситуаций просьба не называть.