Even Goldman Goofs Sometimes

Goldman Sachs would like you to know it is not immune to mistakes.

Seven weeks ago, Goldman, the leading securities firm on the Street right now, upgraded both consumer and U.S. financial sectors, saying investors should increase their exposure to the hard-hit financial sector. Well, Goldman goofed. “We boosted our consumer discretionary and financials weights in May on the belief the sectors would benefit from bank recapitalizations and fiscal stimulus,” writes analyst David Kostin, in a research note today. “Our thesis was clearly wrong in hindsight,” he says in the note, which urged investors to underweight the sectors instead.