On Wall Street, Bonuses, Not Profits, Were Real

The New York Times saga of The Reckoning continues with On Wall Street, Bonuses, Not Profits, Were Real

Reports the Times, "For Dow Kim, 2006 was a very good year. While his salary at Merrill Lynch was $350,000, his total compensation was 100 times that — $35 million.The difference between the two amounts was his bonus, a rich reward for the robust earnings made by the traders he oversaw in Merrill’s mortgage business. "

As now widely recognized, Merrill’s and other company's record earnings "in 2006 turned out to be a mirage. The company has since lost three times that amount, largely because the mortgage investments that supposedly had powered some of those profits plunged in value.Unlike the earnings, however, the bonuses have not been reversed."

Tales abound of associates with six figure salaries reaping multi-million dollar bonuses. Purchases of art, homes and luxury automobiles with that money fueled an entire cottage industry. And I thought the title business was a good one!

So, where's the payback?

Vested Title Inc., 648 Newark Avenue, P.O. Box 6453, Jersey City, NJ 07306.

Tel 201-656-9220. Fax 201-656-4506.

E-mail vti@vested.com - www.vested.com

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