Goldman confounds Wall St gloom

THE long-awaited rebound for US investment banks is getting closer as the first quarter was not nearly as bad as expected at Goldman Sachs, the first of Wall Street's elite to report earnings.

Although staff numbers are 2% down on last year, Goldman did not announce job cuts in the quarterly report and a spokeswoman said none were expected as profits came in at 98 cents a share, or $524m (£368m), nearly 10 cents above analysts' estimates. Last year's first-quarter earnings were a record $1.40 but this year's figure was better than the 93 cents reported in the fourth quarter of 2001.

Trading profits and advisory fees from mergers and acquisitions remained in short supply. Goldman said net revenue in Financial Advisory, which includes M&A activity, was off 37% from a year ago. But one bright spot was underwriting, which rose to $436m from $415m.

Goldman also increased its asset management profits, up to a record quarterly net of $423m. Assets under management grew 14%.