Goldman Sachs: Here’s How Oil Prices Could Reach $90 This Winter

But suppose they have no skin in the game. Is that necessarily better? It implies they don't know enough about the market to actually take a position, which calls into question the value of their research.

Of course both of these are huge simplifications. They ignore that GS is a huge organization, not a single person. As schizophrenic we people can be, corporations are that much more so. The left hand literally might not know what the right is doing. Who published this paper may not have authority to trade, or the ears of those who do. Or many other possible explanations.

Anyway, the general point is that disinterest and neutrality do not universally make opinions more reliable.

The point is, this is some analyst writing it. I’m sure it doesn’t go against the business and trading positions of GS, but it is some minor part of a big picture.

Overall, public analyst recommendation are pretty much uncorrelated with future returns.

Banks used to be allowed to trade on their own accounts, but that was a massive invitation for abuse. This got at least massively scaled down, if not outright banned.

Sometimes investment banks do find themselves with an exposure they have to actively hedge; maybe they sold some complex product and it backfired on them, etc. But that’s rarer and a lot harder to game.

Also, the car market is insane. $40k for a new vehicle isn't really that crazy _right now_ (especially for SUVs and trucks) and some folks are paying more for a used car than a new just to be able to get a vehicle immediately.