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Do rising profits on Wall Street mean that the economy is finally starting to pick up?  Not quite.  Here’s how Goldman Sachs’ soaring third-quarter revenue breaks down:

Goldman’s business from fixed income, currency and commodities trading again bolstered its bottom line, with revenue more than tripling. Revenue from its principal investments soared 55% from second quarter after losing money a year earlier.

Investment-banking revenue fell 31% and financial advisory revenue dropped 47%.

In other words, even more than usual, Goldman is a hedge fund with a smallish investment bank tacked onto the side.  They made better bets than the other guys, but the kind of business that would indicate a recovering economy is still very much in the tank.

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We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

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And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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