Wall Street Bonuses Hit $21.5 Billion

AP via Yahoooooo ^ | January 11, 2006

[ARealMothersSonForever]

NEW YORK - Bonuses at Wall Street firms climbed to a projected record of $21.5 billion last year as revenue grew, according to the New York state comptroller's office.

Comptroller Alan Hevesi said Wednesday that 2005's bonus tally was $2 billion more than the old record, which was set in 2000. In 2004, Wall Street bonuses came to an estimated $18.6 billion.

Last year's average bonus was pegged at $125,500, also a record, Hevesi said.

Revenue at Wall Street firms rose 44.5 percent through the first three quarters of 2005, climbing to the highest level since 2000, the year when the stock market peaked, Hevesi's office said. The mergers-and-acquisitions business accounted for most of the surge.

"The securities industry had a very good year during 2005," Hevesi said.

[maui_hawaii]

Even during the best of times, some people do poorly.

There you go again, suggesting that others are stupid.

The last 5 years for the S&P have been cumulatively negative and you are calling that the best of times?

We can talk 'investments' all we want, but the economy is bigger than the DOW or the S&P.

Its almost like a scene I saw once.... a doctor and an artist were arguing... The doctor opined about how well he was doing and that 'he saved lives' for a living...and then went off on how the artist should go get a 'real job' and stop wasting his time...and how art was useless...

The artist then simply replied, "you save lives eh? So those you save can do what? Never listen to music again? Never see a painting?"

[raybbr]

As of yesterday, my original $75k bumped seven figures. Damned stock market...

Okay, I meant the system of brokers and the exchange is a scam. Buying stock is a good idea for investment.

[wtc911]

Just think how much more your stocks would be worth if they didn't have to pay these bonuses.

==============================================

Trader bonuses have nothing to do with the price of shares traded or the value of any stock.

[webstersII]

"Just think how much more your stocks would be worth if they didn't have to pay these bonuses."

Just think how much more R&D a company could do if it wasn't spending all that money on these guys.

This is one of the reasons that US companies are having trouble competing with companies overseas. R&D dollars are being squandered on executive pay.

[durasell]

...but it says alot about our economy when industries like autos, alot of technology companies, etc - are having major troubles - while industries that essentially "move paper", bonds, real estate, are booming.



What it says is: Welcome to the future.

[pageonetoo]

What it says is: Welcome to the future.

The Chinese will be selling cars in the US by the end of this year. They will market the cheapest car you can buy. Do you think they may sell some? I'd bet on it. Todays headlines included a comment by Toyota USA execs looking over their shoulder at Hyundai. Hyundai expects to sell half a million this year, and their quality control/warranty is making inroads into the market.

I hope the Chinese sell a lot of them. I hope their workers find the way to buy one for themselves, so they can take a vacation, and enjoy themselves. Unfortunately, we already know the factories are owned by the Red Army. In the meantime, I will take my chances with using the gifts God gave me. I have a brain, and two hands. I don't need to manufacture anything to make money. I only need to find a way to move it from your pocket (figuratively) to mine! I am a salesman. Look at all the IT guys that make six figures to reload Windoze twenty times a day. How many factory workers are earning six figures?

While the Chinese workers are stewing in their factories, Americans will need other things to do...

[VegasCowboy]

Sorry, I forgot the modifier. I was trying to agree with you.

[Mase]

No investment banks don't do any investing,

Investment banks don't engage in proprietary trading?

.. unless you count the deposit and reinvestment of their profits

So are you now saying that they do invest their own resources and assume risk?

The people getting the bonuses are simply moving the money of the venture capitalists from one basket to another.

Employees at VC and private equity firms don't earn bonuses? How about bankers who generate profit from their proprietary trading operations? Do they earn bonuses?

[Toddsterpatriot]

if that information consists of lies, the investment loss is due to fraud, plain and simple

Bernie Ebbers is serving time for that fraud.

[oceanview]

and you don't think his wall street investment bankers and their analysts knew what was going on?

[Toddsterpatriot]

and you don't think his wall street investment bankers and their analysts knew what was going on?

You should go back and see how much his bankers lost when the ship sank. No, I don't think they knew.

[Toddsterpatriot]

GE Direct Stock Purchase Plan New Account Application

[Toddsterpatriot]

There you go again, suggesting that others are stupid.

To mention that some people do poorly during the best of times is not to suggest they are stupid. Some are stupid. Some make stupid choices. Some have bad luck. Sometimes, it's Bush's fault!!!

[nopardons]

Hmmmmmmmmm..."leeches"? You think that EVERYONE, no matter what job he or she holds on "the Street" ( that would be the generic "STREET", which encompasses many different exchange)is a "leech"? That's ridiculous; not to mention MARXIST.

Of course you can trade on any exchange floor...just study your little brain out, pass the tests, get hired by a firm or buy a seat ( you'll need about 3+ million for a seat on the NYSE, but seats on other exchanges will cost you a little bit less. though still around a million ), or you can rent one. Nothing to it...really. :-)

[nopardons]

I'm not "cheer leading" anything. Rather, I am telling you and other whingers that you aren't the center of the universe and if you lost a job, but then did get one, good for you finding another job. Still and all, just because YOU lost a job and it took you months to find another one, that doesn't mean that we were in a recession, nor that "BAD TIMES" hit EVERYONE. You don't know what BAD TIMES really are! Almost none of us on FR does. The days when recessions and depressions hit most Americans between the eyes, hasn't happened since the start of WW II.

This is a good news thread, yet you chose to come onto it and cavil and moan and groan and rant about HOW BAD THINGS ARE AND HAVE BEEN. Yeah...you're a damned doom&gloomer.

[gore_sux]

No investment banks don't do any investing, Investment banks don't engage in proprietary trading?

.. unless you count the deposit and reinvestment of their profits

So are you now saying that they do invest their own resources and assume risk?

Arbitrage, insider, and ipo trading are about as risky as betting on the lions against the Christians at the Coloseum.

Nevertheless I don't begrudge anybody putting their own money at risk, such as true proprietary traders and venture capitalists. These people probably would not receive "bonuses" since they are putting their own money up and already getting 100% of the profits.

That line gets blurred with the big firms, who don't really differentiate between their own proprietary trading and market making trades, which, I believe allow the firms to victimize their own clients thru advantageous trading.

[nopardons]

Some people ARE stupid!

People can and do make money in negative and even in sideways markets. That's why there are shorts. And not every listed company's stock went down, in the past five years.

As to the economy, during the past five years, it's been doing okay. Look at the unemployment figures. At no time, were the unemployment figures as terrible as they have been in times past. Just because YOU lost a job, doesn't mean that most people did. And personal wealth figures grew.

The doctor/artist analogy is specious!

[nopardons]

Gee, then I guess that grocery stores are a scam. Why don't you buy your food directly from the producers? And what about canneries? They're leeches and scam artists too?

You have NO idea what you're talking about and don't understand this whole topic. Pity that...............

[nopardons]

Okay...all is forgiven and you get one of my rare pardons. :-)

[nopardons]

LOL..........exactly so! :-)