Has Goldman Sachs Gone Back to the Good Old Days?

Even Wall Street was stunned this week when Goldman Sachs announced record quarterly profits — more than it earned in all of last year — with the prospect of bonuses that could match or exceed what executives were paid during the boom before the recession. Net income for the second quarter was $3.4 billion -- 65% higher than last year, just one month after the bank repaid $10 billion in taxpayer bailout money. Today, JP Morgan also announced big earnings, but Goldman Sachs remains in a class by itself. With former executives pulling strings in both the Bush and Obama Administrations, it's the most influential bank in America.