"Late Night" host Seth Meyers last night took a "Closer Look" at Goldman Sachs's $5 billion fine for "misleading investors in the run-up to the financial crisis," a penalty he called, "a lot less stiff than it seems."
The fine print of the fine says that Goldman can deduct it from its taxes, meaning the company will end up facing a net loss of fewer than $5 billion.
"So Goldman Sachs can get a tax deduction on a government fine, but I can't get one on alcohol even though I drink all day at my job," Meyers said before taking a sip of "water" from his mug.
"So this is really just a slap on the wrist," he added. "But at least Goldman's stock price took a hit when the news was announced, right?"
Wrong. The stock price actually went up 1%.
"So let me get this straight," Meyers said. "Goldman gets fined a few weeks' worth of revenue, that total turns out to be lower because of tax deductions, and at the end of the day the stock price goes up."
Watch the full segment below:
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