Goldman Sachs has settled with the SEC for $500 million for charges of defrauding investors in a sale of securities tied to subprime mortgages. On Thursday, Goldman shares jumped almost 8 percent in after-hours trading on the announcement, as many predicted the company would be forced to pay $1 billion to settle the case. $550 million is the largest penalty for a Wall Street company to date. Regulators said $250 million would be returned to affected investors, and $300 million would be paid to the U.S. Treasury. Goldman Sachs profits from paying a smaller fine than anticipated, and investors get some of their money back. That's all well and good, but what about the homeowners? That's right, they get foreclosures.
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