RECESSION WATCH

Goldman Looks to Bail Out of Bailout

Will investors rescue the firm?

In October, the Treasury Department forced the Goldman Sachs Group to accept $10 billion in bailout money as part of a scheme to give the nation's largest banks money whether they wanted it or not in order to shore up the financial system. Now that the stock markets have risen for five consecutive weeks and Goldman stock is trading at its highest level since October, the company wants to repay its bailout money in order to get out of the various restrictions attached to the cash. The Wall Street Journal reports that Goldman is considering making "a multibillion-dollar offering of its shares to investors" in order to fund the payback. Privately, Goldman executives have said the firm doesn't need the additional funds, but that they believe a privately funded payback would signal stronger financial health.