Market Fundamentals Have Not Changed: Goldman Sachs CFO

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. believes over the long-term, markets follow fundamentals, and the bank's economists believe nothing has fundamentally changed the past few weeks, or certainly the last 24 hours, regarding the long-term outlook for the global economy. The market moves on Wednesday was "clearly a market in the morning where investors were, quite frankly, shooting first and asking questions later," said Chief Financial Officer Harvey Schwartz during the bank's third-quarter earnings call on Thursday. "Clearly, investors are now debating whether we will see lower rates for longer, and more importantly, whether the global economy is slowing or continuing to grow," he said. "We have seen this market reaction in the past, and while painful, it's somewhat a normal part of how markets function." The market's selloff Wednesday is a reminder about the power of investor sentiment and how fragile it can be at times, said Schwartz.