One of the myths we've seen crop up recently is that trades on behalf of clients somehow do not entail risk. They certainly do. The whole point of making markets is assuming risks to satisfy clients. Of course, making markets can also be profitable if done well--look at Goldman Sachs in the second quarter.

Bloomberg reports that the gilded bank made more than $100 million in trading revenue on 46 separate days in the second quarter; the previous quarterly high was 34 days set in the first quarter. For comparison: In fiscal year 2008, the firm had 90 $100 million plus days, compared with 88 in 2007, 49 in 2006, 18 in 2005 and 14 in 2004. 

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