Perhaps even more intriguing than Goldman's direct stake in Facebook is the "special purpose vehicle" that it is creating to allow its wealthy clients to invest in Facebook alongside the firm ... Goldman did not pioneer this type of investment structure. Over the last several months, a number of smaller Wall Street brokerages have formed vehicles to enable individual investors to acquire shares in private Internet companies like Facebook and Twitter ... The S.E.C. generally requires companies with more than 499 shareholders to report their quarterly earnings and audited financial information to the public. Under a technical interpretation of the statute, the vehicle that Goldman is creating for its clients would be considered a single Facebook shareholder of record. But several securities lawyers say the S.E.C. could argue that these structures subvert the spirit of the law and look through the vehicle to count the investors individually. – Bloomberg

Dominant Social Theme: Regulations are important but fungible. And Goldman is so big that it must be right. Right?