Goldman Disputes Bonus Report

Goldman Sachs (GS) spokesman Lucas van Praag on Monday dismissed a report in a British newspaper that the bank is headed for record bonuses.

The British newspaper The Observer on Sunday reported "staff in London were briefed on the banking and securities company's prospects and told they could look forward to bumper bonuses if, as predicted, [Goldman] completed its most profitable year ever."

However, van Praag took issue with this statement, writing "the meeting reported in The Observer did not take place."

"If the reporter thinks we're going to have the best year ever, he must be psychic," van Praag wrote in an email message to TheStreet.com, noting the bank hasn't even finished its second quarter.

Goldman shares were down 2.8% in recent trading. Rival Morgan Stanley's (MS) shares were off 2.7%, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) was shedding 3.3% and Bank of America (BAC) was losing 6.4% amid a broad market selloff in financials and other stocks.

Goldman shares may also have been buoyed by a positive report from Sandler O'Neill analyst Jeff Harte. Harte kept his hold rating on Goldman, but raised earnings estimates slightly, citing "favorable trends," in areas such as capital raising, fixed-income and currency trading, and Goldman's private equity investments.

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints