[retube]

That's not true at all. the big institutions are routinely investigated for this kind of stuff. Barclays and DB for example have had huge fines for various issues in the fx and interest rate markets.

And besides, the majority (if not all, given Volcker restrictions) of sales and trading is from market making, rather than risk taking / directional punts on the markets.

[crazyideaman]

They are investigated for shorting a market? I find that unlikely.

I'm not trying to pick on Goldman. They were just an example of a large institution that makes huge amounts of money by doing exactly what these guys did. Betting against the market is absolutely routine behavior.

As for Goldman, do you really think they are clearing 100 million a day by being market neutral and just collecting premiums? When they buy/sell it absolutely moves the markets just on the sheer volume.

[retube]

They're not being investigated for shorting the market, which as you say is routine. They're being investigated for possible market manipulation, given they were one of the biggest beneficiaries of an extreme price event in the oil market.

[CPLX]

“My father is no different than any powerful man, any man with power, like a president or senator.”

“Do you know how naive you sound, Michael? Presidents and senators don't have men killed.”

“Oh. Who's being naive, Kay?”