Goldman Sachs eyes major cuts

Goldman Sachs is mulling drastic spending cuts as it braces for what could be one of its worst quarterly reports since it went public more than a decade ago, the New York Times reported Tuesday. After Goldman set out this summer to cut costs by $1.2 billion by mid-2012, including slashing some 1,000 jobs, or three percent of its workforce, the Times said the firm is now considering cutting up to $1.45 billion. It said the company is also looking at cutting employee pay and non-compensation costs such as real estate and travel. Such plans could change in the coming weeks depending on the markets, and the company will not likely make a final decision until its third quarter earnings are officially released on October 18. Analysts expect the report to show that Goldman earned $1.35 per share in the quarter, less than half what it earned in the same period in 2010. Some analysts even predict a loss for the leading Wall Street firm, which has had just one losing quarter since it went public in 1999, a $2.12 billion drop in the fourth quarter of 2008, during that year's financial meltdown.