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Goldman Sachs blew away estimates today and "delivered its richest quarterly profit in the investment bank's 140-year history," reporting that it netted $4.95 billion in the fourth quarter and $13.4 billion in 2009. The bank also reported that it paid out $13.5 billion in bonuses and salaries last year, which is more than what it handed out in 2008, but down from 2007 when it awarded its employees $20 billion in compensation. Not that Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein really expects anyone to pay any attention to his talk of the "lowest ever compensation to net revenues ratio." Per the firm's request, the NYPD set up barricades outside Goldman HQ this morning and a bomb-sniffing dog has been on the scene as well. [WSJ, NYT]