Should A Woman Be Allowed to hold the office of President of the USA?

[webfact]

Goldman CEO takes lead on Wall St. in slamming Trump travel ban

By Olivia Oran

REUTERS

 

CEO Lloyd Blankfein told employees that Goldman Sachs does not support President Trump's immigration curbs against certain Muslim countries. Fred Katayama reports.

 

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein became the first major Wall Street leader to speak out against President Donald Trump's order to halt arrivals from several Muslim-majority countries.

 

In a voicemail to employees on Sunday, Blankfein said diversity was a hallmark of Goldman's success, and if the temporary freeze became permanent, it could create "disruption" for the bank and its staff.

 

"This is not a policy we support, and I would note that it has already been challenged in federal court, and some of the order has been enjoined at least temporarily," Blankfein said, according to a transcript seen by Reuters.

 

In Silicon Valley, the heads of companies such as Apple and Facebook swiftly denounced Trump's immigration ban. But the rest of corporate America has been more circumspect in speaking out, underscoring the sensitivities around opposing policies that could provoke a backlash from the White House.

 

Tepid responses from many of Blankfein's peers made his comments all the more potent, especially because Goldman has gotten attention for the number of its alumni who have joined Trump's administration.

 

Top BlackRock Inc executives including CEO Larry Fink, sent a memo to staff on Monday saying Trump's order presented "challenges" to its goals of diversity and inclusion. BlackRock is examining the direct impact on its employees, as well as the broader implications of the order, they said.

 

"We, of course, all want to promote security and combat terrorism, but we believe it needs to be done with respect for due process, individual rights and the principle of inclusion," they wrote.'

 

Citigroup CEO Mike Corbat said in a memo to employees on Monday the bank is concerned about "the message the executive order sends" as well as the impact immigration policies might have "on our ability to serve our clients and contribute to growth."

 

JPMorgan Chase & Co's operating committee, which includes CEO Jamie Dimon, avoided directly criticizing the policy. In a note to staff over the weekend, the firm said it was reaching out to all employees affected and noted that the country was "strengthened by the rich diversity of the world around us."

 

Bank of America Corp CEO Brian Moynihan wrote in an internal memo obtained by Reuters and confirmed by a spokesman that the bank is "closely monitoring" the order and connecting with staff who may be affected and have questions.

 

"We depend upon the diverse sources of talent that our teammates represent," the memo stated.

 

Other banks, including Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo & Co, said they were reviewing the executive order and its implication on staff.

 

Representatives for stock exchange operators Bats Global Markets, Nasdaq Inc and New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange Inc all declined to comment.

 

The U.S. hedge fund industry was also virtually silent on the immigration restrictions. Representatives for most major firms —including Bridgewater Associates, Renaissance Technologies, Millennium Management and Two Sigma Investments — did not respond to requests for comment over the weekend.

 

Private equity firms, including Blackstone Group LP, whose CEO, Stephen Schwarzman, chairs Trump's advisory panel of business leaders, also would not comment on the travel ban.

 

People familiar with some of the banks' and firms' decisions in making public statements said a fear of riling Trump was inhibiting most CEOs' responses.

 

Since the election, he has taken to Twitter to excoriate certain companies, causing stock price swings. And because Wall Street is hoping for an easing of financial reform regulations, most firms want to stay in Trump's good graces, they said.

 

The most high-ranking Goldman executive to have joined the Trump administration is former Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn, who left the bank in December to become head of the White House National Economic Council. Others include Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin and Trump advisers Steve Bannon, Anthony Scaramucci and Dina Powell.

 

Those recruits have put the Goldman back in the spotlight as a bank that long had influence in government and public policy, from the days of the Great Depression to the 2008 financial crisis.

 

But after the bank was embroiled in scandals over its mortgage-market bets, it embarked on a campaign to improve its image. Blankfein has promoted its focus on philanthropy and diversity initiatives, as well as Goldman's role in job creation.

 

(Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; additional reporting by Richa Naidu in Bengaluru and Lawrence Delevingne, David Henry and Trevor Hunnicutt in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Tom Brown)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-01-31

 

[craigt3365]

39 minutes ago, webfact said:

But the rest of corporate America has been more circumspect in speaking out, underscoring the sensitivities around opposing policies that could provoke a backlash from the White House.

It's a horrible day when corporate leaders are afraid to speak out due to threats from the president.  Wow.  Not a good place to be.

[Krataiboy]

Having appointed six Goldman hit-men to his staff, poor old Donald must be wondering what he's done to deserve this stab in the back from the head honcho of the notorious  "vampire  squid".

[spidermike007]

The aspect that seems to be getting lost in all of this, is that Obama and Bush Jr. instituted polices of extreme vetting, after 9/11. It was already ridiculously hard for anyone from these countries to get visas anyway. And the ones with green cards are rarely a threat. They have already been screened extensively, and most have families in the US. It is a bit like screening American grandmothers for bombs before getting on a plane. A useless waste of millions of man hours. Alot of facts are getting lost in this renewed xenophobia and nationalism that the small minded man in the white house is screaming about. He is creating alot of alternative facts. The elevation of Bannon to a National Security post says it all. Fear, fear, and more fear. Let us live our lives based on fear. Unfounded fear.

 

I am all about protecting the homeland. But, let us do it in a way that both makes sense, and truly keeps it safe. What Trump is doing now in no way contributes to the safety of the US, and does not keep out terrorists. All it does is make the US look ridiculous and super paranoid. If he was serious, or if he was as uncompromised as he claims to be, he would have added Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to the list. But, do you know why he did not? Because the Trump Organization does business with them. Impartial my butt. 

[Baerboxer]

5 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

It's a horrible day when corporate leaders are afraid to speak out due to threats from the president.  Wow.  Not a good place to be.

 

Did this gentleman, CEO of that great bastion of honesty integrity and CSR, speak out as loudly when Mr. Obama first selected these seven countries as serious security threats deserving special treatment?

 

Or might this be another attempt to convince us the big banking financiers are really just nice guys?

[elgordo38]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

CEO Lloyd Blankfein told employees that Goldman Sachs does not support President Trump's immigration curbs against certain Muslim countries. Fred Katayama reports.

There's the thanks you get for hiring all of Lloyd's deadwood and giving them high level jobs. There is just no gratitude left in the world today. For the sake of disclosure I think this guy should have been locked up years ago and the key thrown away. 

[dunroaming]

Yes quite something when even the bad guys turn against Trump!

[Trouble]

Something else lost in all this is the notion that a "temporary" ban from the designated countries somehow makes it disruptive for these corporations to operate and makes it more difficult to achieve diversity.  What a crock of shit that is.  Some how I don't think that not being able to hire refugees and others from the designated countries is hurting their operations.  If you don't like it say so but don't make up obviously contrived bullshit. 

[USPatriot]

He is just upset because the office for the Clinton foundation "after her win" is still empty.

[elgordo38]

15 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

The aspect that seems to be getting lost in all of this, is that Obama and Bush Jr. instituted polices of extreme vetting, after 9/11. It was already ridiculously hard for anyone from these countries to get visas anyway. And the ones with green cards are rarely a threat. They have already been screened extensively, and most have families in the US. It is a bit like screening American grandmothers for bombs before getting on a plane. A useless waste of millions of man hours. Alot of facts are getting lost in this renewed xenophobia and nationalism that the small minded man in the white house is screaming about. He is creating alot of alternative facts. The elevation of Bannon to a National Security post says it all. Fear, fear, and more fear. Let us live our lives based on fear. Unfounded fear.

 

I am all about protecting the homeland. But, let us do it in a way that both makes sense, and truly keeps it safe. What Trump is doing now in no way contributes to the safety of the US, and does not keep out terrorists. All it does is make the US look ridiculous and super paranoid. If he was serious, or if he was as uncompromised as he claims to be, he would have added Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to the list. But, do you know why he did not? Because the Trump Organization does business with them. Impartial my butt. 

There you go spidermike007 talking sense again. 

[elgordo38]

12 hours ago, Trouble said:

Something else lost in all this is the notion that a "temporary" ban from the designated countries somehow makes it disruptive for these corporations to operate and makes it more difficult to achieve diversity.  What a crock of shit that is.  Some how I don't think that not being able to hire refugees and others from the designated countries is hurting their operations.  If you don't like it say so but don't make up obviously contrived bullshit. 

I agree to a degree all this corporation Braveheart stuff could be partially construed as promoting their business. Some of it also plays into mining cheap labor in foreign countries and then there is that part that to varying degrees with different companies is true compassion. For disclosures sake I do not trust any corporation to have any best interest at heart but their own.