I'm in a horrible rush, so have to keep my remarks on Goldman Sachs' second quarter results brief.

I could say "crikey" and leave it at that.

But I will translate. Just a few months after Wall Street and the City of London were in meltdown, Goldman has reported record net revenues for a three-month period of $13.8bn, which is a breathtaking 47% higher than those generated in the preceding three months and in the equivalent period of last year.

It's boom time again, especially in the trading of credit and currencies.

And oh how Goldman's 29,400 staff have been rewarded. Compensation for the three months was a handsome $6.65bn or $226,000 per employee.

That brings remuneration per employee for the first half of the year to a none-too-cheap $384,000.

And we're only halfway through the year.

The media and political reaction to Goldman's bounceback will be fascinating to observe.

It's true that the investment bank has consistently performed better than most of its rivals.

But when that cataclysmic storm broke over the financial system last autumn, Goldman - like the rest - had to turn to taxpayers for a crutch in the form of guarantees for its debt, access to central-bank liquidity and capital.

It has recently declared that it can stand on its own feet again without taxpayers to lean on.

But some may well ask whether taxpayers shouldn't have demanded a bit more for their succour, given that Goldman is once again the world's pre-eminent money-making machine.

