The bottom line
Consumer confidence jumps; Wall Street cuts jobs, raises pay; Goldman Sachs's muppet hunt; Desktop web searches decline; Pizza Hut scraps debate freebie
Consumer confidence jumps
Americans are feeling much better about the state of the economy. Consumer confidence jumped this month to its highest level since before the 2008 financial crisis, and is up 10.8 points since July, to 83.1, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index.
Reuters.com
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Wall Street cuts jobs, raises pay
Though thousands of Wall Street jobs have been cut in recent years, total compensation at financial firms rose last year by 4 percent, to more than $60 billion. That’s the highest total for any year except 2007 and 2008.
The New York Times
Goldman Sachs's muppet hunt
After former Goldman Sachs employee Greg Smith publicly resigned in a New York Times op-ed and accused colleagues of referring to clients as “muppets,” the bank sifted through millions of emails, an effort that was internally nicknamed “the muppet hunt.” Investigators found about 4,000 “muppet” references, but said 99 percent of those referred to last year’s movie of the same name.
Financial Times
Desktop web searches decline
Web searches on desktop computers declined in September for the first time since tracking began, in 2006, according to research and investment firm Macquarie Group. Analysts say such searches will keep declining as people shift from websites to mobile apps.
BusinessInsider.com
Pizza Hut scraps debate freebie
Pizza Hut scrapped an offer this week to award free pizza for life to anyone willing to ask Mitt Romney or Barack Obama if they prefer sausage or pepperoni during the town-hall presidential debate. The chain was criticized for trivializing the political process.
New York Daily News

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