Shareholders in securities firms have lost $74 billion worth of equity this year, but the top five firms are still paying out almost $38 billion in bonuses. Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brother, and Bear Stearns will pay about 168,000 employees an average bonus of $201,500. Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch actually lost money this year, but if they “plead poverty, they’re going to lose all of their good people,” says Manhattan College professor Charles Geisst. (Bloomberg)
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
