GOOD DAY FOR: Fiddling while Rome burns, after hard-hit, bailed-out U.S. securities firms—including failed Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch—have about $20 billion set aside for bonuses this year. The average $210,300 bonus for each Goldman Sachs employee is down 32 percent from last year, however. “Wall Street has created this mindset that most people find obscene, which is that it’s hard to live on just half a million dollars a year,” said Bill Coleman at Salary.com. (Bloomberg)
BAD DAY FOR: Making history, after freelance writer Larry Olmsted was banned from the Guinness Book of World Records, apparently for writing a book about his experience setting a world record. The Guinness record book is the best-selling copyrighted book of all time, and it claims that Olmsted violated its intellectual property rights. One of the three records Olmsted wanted to set: Most Bars Visited in One Night, including a 12-ounce drink at each stop. (The New York Times)
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