Goldman heads for $2.2bn quarterly loss

Goldman Sachs faces a fourth-quarter loss of up to $2.2bn, its first quarterly loss as a listed company, analysts said on Tuesday.

In a spate of reports after the official close of Goldman’s fiscal 2008, several analysts said they expected losses of as much as $5.50 per share for the quarter, based on the dismal state of global stock markets and Goldman’s overall exposure to declining prices across a variety of asset classes.