http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080916/goldmansachs.html
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS - News) said on Tuesday third-quarter earnings plunged 70 percent as one of the worst market slumps ever weighed on banking and trading results.
The largest U.S. investment bank reported net income of $845 million, or $1.81 a share, for the quarter ended August 29, down from $2.85 billion, or $6.13 a share, a year earlier. Net revenue fell by half to $6.04 billion from $12.3 billion.
"This was a challenging quarter as we saw a marked decrease in client activity and declining asset valuations," Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman's chief executive, said in a statement.
The results come as the year-long credit crunch gains steam. Six months after Bear Stearns collapsed and was acquired by JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM - News), Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (NYSE:LEH - News) on Monday filed for bankruptcy protection while Merrill Lynch & Co (NYSE:MER - News) rushed into the arms of Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC - News).