Goldman profits defy slow summer

Goldman has been described as a "money machine".

Profits at US investment bank Goldman Sachs were better than expected, despite slow summer business.

Strong investment banking and trading revenue brought net profit of $1.59bn (£848m) in the three months to 25 August, from $1.62bn a year ago.

Analysts were concerned that Goldman, the third biggest US bank, may struggle to keep up the pace of profit growth.

The news pushed shares in the bank up by 3.3%, and also helped lift rivals Morgan Staley and Lehman Brothers.

"The breadth and diversity of our businesses and the depth of our client franchise helped produce strong results despite generally slower activity over the summer," said David Viniar, Goldman's chief financial officer.

Sanford Bernstein analyst Brad Hintz said: "It was a very good quarter. It was a tough summer for them, but Goldman is a money machine."