Goldman's Back!!! (or maybe this means time to short banks)

From Deal Journal:

So just where does a $2 billion profit fit into Goldman Sachs Group’s profit-making history?

If, as The New York Times reports today, Goldman will clear $2 billion in net income this quarter, it would make it the bank’s eighth best quarter since 1996, according to data compiled by CapitalIQ.

There have been 49 quarters reported since then, with the high-water mark being the fourth quarter of 2007 ($3.22 billion). Back then, Goldman was churning out profits by trading credit derivatives, speculating on currencies and oil and placing big bets the roaring stock market. (By contrast, Goldman had net of $2.33 billion in the second quarter of 2007.)

To put it into context, Goldman stands to earn more money than it did in such periods as the dot-com boom and the early years of the now dearly deceased leverage-finance boom.