> even though Goldman had promised that its clients would support the stock

Maybe Goldman played coy, maybe there was a misunderstanding, or maybe the eToys guy decided to add some drama, but how can Goldman's investment banking arm promise anything? As far as clients are concerned, their relationship with Goldman is through brokerage and wealth management services, they are in full control of their accounts and can do whatever they please.

This is akin to my bank promising some third party that by Friday afternoon I'll have a certain balance in USD or some specific precious metal in my safe deposit box.

The only reasonable scenario where this pledge could ring true would be a Goldman-managed mutual fund or ETF buying those shares on the other end.