Sunday, September 21, 2008
Taking care of their own, not those who lost their homes
by Larry Geller
One measure under consideration would restrain bonus packages for leaders of failed companies. Senior executives at Lehman Brothers, a venerable Wall Street firm that went bankrupt last week, were awarded multi-million dollar compensation. [The Hill, Dodd to seek changes to Treasury relief package, 9/21/2008]
Lord Turner told Sky News that while regulators should not get directly involved in what people were paid, they had a right to ask whether banks were paying too much for “unreal” profits and trading practices that stored up problems for the future.
He was commenting after reports that Barclays was set to honour a $2.5 billion (£1.4bn) bonus pot for Lehman Brothers, the US investment bank that collapsed a week ago, sparking days of global turmoil. [The Times (London), Spot checks to curb ‘greedy’ City bonuses, 9/22/2008]
A firing squad comprising Gordon Brown, Lord Adair Turner, newly installed as chairman of the FSA, and French economics minister Christine Lagarde yesterday attacked the huge bonuses that senior bankers pay themselves even as their empires crumble about their heads. [The Birmingham Post, We have to live with boom and bust in a free market, 9/21/2008]
Expensive private clubs favoured by bankers are facing a flood of membership cancellations. [Gulf Times, Nannies first to go as pay cuts, job losses bite, 9/21/2008]
For just one glaring and disgusting example of many who profited, troubled Lehman Brothers’ ex-boss Dick Fuld pocketed nearly $500 million pre-tax before the 158-year-old firm filed for bankruptcy a few days ago. [The News of the North, The U.S. printing presses are running 24/7 to bail out Wall Street fat cats, 9/21/2008]
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