Global Villains

Goldman Sachs, which helped the Greeks hide their true level of debt from the rest of the Eurpoean Union.

In 2002 the Greek deficit amounted to 1.2 percent of GDP. After Eurostat reviewed the data in September 2004, the ratio had to be revised up to 3.7 percent. According to today's records, it stands at 5.2 percent.

At some point Greece will have to pay up for its swap transactions, and that will impact its deficit. The bond maturities range between 10 and 15 years. Goldman Sachs charged a hefty commission for the deal and sold the swaps on to a Greek bank in 2005.

John Cole is right: Goldman Sachs will probably replace SPECTRE as the global villains in the next series of 007 flicks.

About the only three evils that Goldman Sachs has not been tied to recently are the midnight dumping of hazardous waste, trafficking of underage prostitutes and contract murders. But the year is still young.