Warren Buffett to Co-Chair Goldman Sachs Program to Help Small Businesses

Warren Buffett will be one of three co-chairmen for a just-announced $500 million Goldman Sachs initiative to help small businesses around the United States.A Goldman news release tonight (Tuesday) says the initiative will "unlock the growth and job-creation potential of 10,000 small businesses" by providing them with "greater access to business education, mentors and networks, and financial capital."Buffett provided Goldman with a $5 billion loan and words of praise last fall at the height of the credit crisis.  (The arrangement has proven to be very profitable for him so far.)The announcement comes on the same day that Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein apologized for Goldman's past participation in "things that were clearly wrong."   But the firm tells the New York Times tonight that its 10,000 Small Businesses initiative has been in the works for months and is not motivated by its most recent big-profit, big-bonuses PR problems.According to the Times:“I would not be doing this if I didn’t think there was going to be a significant net benefit to small-busin...
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Citigroup Loses Ruling on Construction Loan, for Now

A ruling that Citigroup Inc. must resume lending to a stalled Syracuse, N.Y., mall project could push banks to revisit how they draft construction-loan agreements. The New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, in a split decision, upheld an lower court's injunction requiring Citigroup to continue funding a $155 million construction loan on the Destiny USA Holdings project, even though the bank believes the project is a failure. Citi says the ruling is unprecedented in the state's history. Now, New York lawyers are pondering how to write construction loans that would allow banks to stop funding what they believe are failing projects. The ruling isn't a total victory for Robert Congel, the developer behind Destiny. The court required the company to post a $15 million bond before Citi has to fund the rest of the money, roughly $29 million. The bank said the 900,000-square-foot addition was $15 million over budget and had no committed tenants. But Mr. Congel alleged that Citigroup had stopped funding the loan because of its own financial problems. —Christina S.N. Lewis Mile-High Foreclosure Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is foreclosing on 25 units atop the new Ritz-Carlton hotel in downtown Denver after only one of the units sold in the past 17 months. A foreclosure auction is slated for next month. Goldman lent $27 million for the project to CSJ Hotel LLC, a partnership led by Denver hotel developer Charlie Biederman. The residences, once marketed for $800,000 to $4 million, now are listed for $500,000 to $3 million. The residences were financed separately from the 202-room, $75 million Ritz Carlton hotel beneath them, and the hotel isn't included in the foreclosure. In fact, the hotel has registered occupancy...
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[$$] PPR Plans Strategic Rethink Amid CFAO IPO

Answers allows you to tap the knowledge of Community members. Answer a question below or ask a question. Q: Why do some many people think Bernanke is doing such a great job? Please fill out the answer field. The language you used does not comply with community standards. Please re-enter. ...
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Goldman, Buffett Team To Aid Small Businesses

By SUSANNE CRAIG And SCOTT PATTERSON Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said it is launching a $500 million small-business assistance program that includes an advisory panel with billionaire investor Warren Buffett. The Wall Street firm made no connection in Tuesday's announcement between the largest single charitable contribution in the firm's history and public anger over its compensation. Goldman has earmarked $16.71 billion for compensation so far this year and repaid in June the $10 billion capital infusion it got from the U.S. government in 2008. Tuesday, Goldman Sachs Chairman and Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein apologized for his firm's role in the credit crisis. "We participated in things that were clearly wrong and have reason to regret," he said. "We apologize." The small-business program will make $250 million in charitable contributions, with $200 million aimed at investor education and $50 million for grants to support community-development financial institutions. The remaining $250 million will be invested in such institutions to help them provide financing to small businesses. Goldman said the first financial institution to receive money from the firm will be Seedco Financial Services Inc., a nonprofit group in New York that specialized in loans in economically distressed and underserved communities. The first loans under the program will be made in early 2010, the company said. The initiative, called 10,000 Small Businesses, is aimed at unlocking "the growth and job creation potential of 10,000 small businesses across t...
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Goldman Sachs, Buffett to help small businesses

NEW YORK (AP) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is teaming with billionaire investor Warren Buffett to invest $500 million to provide thousands of small business owners across America with college scholarships and boost their access to capital. The move comes as the company has been criticized for setting aside billions for employee paychecks despite the continuing weak economy.Goldman's philanthropic effort, called "10,000 Small Businesses," includes a $200 million contribution to community colleges, universities and other institutions to give grants to small business owners to further their education.The New York-based bank also will invest $300 million through a combination of lending and charitable support. Goldman said the money will be funneled through community development financial institutions to boost lending and technical assistance available to small businesses in underserved communities.In addition, Goldman Sachs executives, in partnership with national and local business organizations, will aid small businesses with advice, technical assistance and professional networking opportunities.An advisory council co-chaired by Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein will oversee the program. Legendary investor and Goldman's largest shareholder, Warren Buffett, and Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter will serve as co-chairs as well."Our recovery is dependent on hard working small business owners across America who will create the jobs that America needs," Buffett said in a statement. "I'm proud to be a part of this innovative program which provides greater access to know-how and capital -- two ingredients critical to success."The initiative comes as Goldman has started to see a rebound across many of its businesses even as the broader economy and consumers continue to struggle with rising unemployment and...
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