CEO Seeks 10 Million $ Bonus as company spirals down

[QueenOfCalifornia]

Merrill Lynch CEO, John Thain, seeks his 10 million $ bonus for 2008 as BofA takes over. I just bet this makes the share holders very happy.

Thain has said he deserves a bonus because he helped avert what could have been a much larger crisis at the firm, people familiar with his thinking told the WSJ.

Read story here: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4B70X520081208?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

(maybe he should just get his british style teeth fixed instead...)

[sarcasmo]

1. We need to start a Greedy Pig watch, this guy should be near the top.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

3. I like it

The Greedy Pig Watch Club.... Okay... do we have the meetings at your house? :D

[sarcasmo]

7. If your in Michigan, Friday night pot luck at my house.

[sarcasmo]

11. Greedy pig watch #1 is up in GD.

[valerief]

2. What a waste of oxygen. All you need to do to get rewarded is not do the worst?

Most of us getting laid off don't even do anything wrong at all and we get punished. That 10 million can go a long way with workers. Jeezus, I hate these asshat pigs.

[WritersBlock]

4. British style teeth? WTH does that mean?

Yeah, the guy's an asshat, but what's the deal with his teeth?

[QueenOfCalifornia]

5. Well....

it is not meant to make my British friends angry - but is a silly staple of American humor:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-22429,00.html

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=British%20Teeth

In a Simpson"s episode, Lisa and Ralph are shown a book called "Big Book of British Smiles" to urge them to take care of their teeth. http://everything2.com/e2node/Big%2520Book%2520of%2520British%2520Smiles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZCzKko03W4
and then there is the toy:

[On the Road]

6. What the Hell Happened to Corporate Governance?

Boards of directors are supposed to prevent executive salaries. That is their job, and no one is doing it.

[DS1]

8. Jesus, it's the snowman from Monsters, In.c

[Ichingcarpenter]

9. Iran To Jail & Flog 16 Ex-Central Bank Staff For Graft

TEHRAN (Reuters) -- An Iranian court has sentenced to jail and lashes 16 former Central Bank staff for taking bribes including 35 billion rials ($3.5 million) in cash as well as gold and foreign currencies, state radio reported.

It was the latest sign of the Islamic republic, whose leaders have vowed to root out graft, getting increasingly tough on corruption in the world's fourth-largest oil producer.

The radio report said those accused received sentences of 10 years in prison, lashes, and fines in the Tehran court's "initial verdict," without making clear whether all 16 were handed the same punishment.

The report did not say when any lashings would take place.

They were also banned from holding government office again, it said, without detailing the crimes and saying what positions they had held in the Central Bank.

They were accused of receiving 35 billion rials in cash and large quantities of gold coins and foreign currencies in exchange for providing finance in the form of letters of credit, a key tool for trade, the radio said.>>>>>>>>snip

http://www.rferl.org/content/Article/1357083.html


Merrill Lynch got $10 billion from the Bailout
By Peter Galuszka
http://industry.bnet.com/financial-services/1000225/the... /
December 8th, 2008

There’s a new geography of financial woe and The New York Times has done a major service by putting it together in a revealing graphic.

It shows where, by city and banks, the first $335 billion tranche of the $700 billion bailout has gone. So far, $161.5 billion has been allocated, another $108.5 billion is pending, some $40 billion is going to American International Group and another $25 billion is committed.

Not all of the bailout money means it is going to institutions that have nearly failed but a lot of it is. No matter how one slices it, the bailout fund is the result of some very bad news.

Here’s a breakdown by city and region:

--snip--

New York. $148 billion with Citi taking $50 billion; AIG, $40 billion; and J.P. Morgan Chase, $25, with $10 billion each going to Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.

[mod mom]

10. shares have fallen fom $50 when Thain took over late last year to $13.04 at close of trading Friday:

Merrill Chief Wants $10-Million Bonus For Presiding Over $11-Billion Loss
By Zachary Roth - December 8, 2008, 1:06PM
Talk about tone deaf!

Merrill Lynch chief John Thain wants a bonus of as much as $10 million, reports(sub. req.) the Wall Street Journal.

Merrill's compensation committee is, not surprisingly, said to be objecting, pointing out among other things that, due to the dire economic situation, other firms like Goldman Sachs -- which did better than Merrill -- are forgoing bonuses this year.

Merrill has lost almost $12 billion this year, and is about to be taken over by Bank of America. Its shares have fallen fom $50 when Thain took over late last year to $13.04 at close of trading Friday.

It looks like Thain -- who was a major fundraiser for John McCain's campaign and was described by USA Today as a member of McCain's "team" -- is a practitioner of the bargaining strategy in which you begin with a maximalist offer as a starting point for negotiation:

A few months ago, when the board began seriously considering 2008 bonuses, a proposal was presented to the compensation committee by Merrill that Mr. Thain should be paid in excess of $30 million, according to people familiar with the matter. That number has since come down in recent talks with various board members and Mr. Thain has recently indicated to committee members that $5 million to $10 million is more reasonable.
-snip
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/merrill_chief_wants_10_million.php