Goldman Sachs' 4Q profits beat forecasts, helped by trading

NEW YORK (AP) — Investment bank Goldman Sachs swung to a fourth-quarter profit as its trading business did better than expected given the turbulent markets in late 2018.

The Wall Street firm said Wednesday that it earned a profit of $2.32 billion, or $6.04 a share, compared to a $2.14 billion loss in the same period a year ago. Like other banks, Goldman Sachs had to make an accounting adjustment to its books after the passage of the 2017 tax law, which required banks to write off billions of dollars in what are known as tax-deferred assets.

The loss that Goldman reported in the fourth quarter 2017 was at the time the first quarterly loss the bank reported in six years.

Goldman's results beat analysts' expectations for earnings of $4.