NYC and Vegas girls ... something to think about ...
and
Basically, these two articles discuss recent scrutiny / directives by President Obama, the US congress, and mainstream media, on companies that have received TARP / bailout money. These directives involve restrictions on both corporate spending for conventions / entertainment etc. ...
(snip)"The new rules also make it harder for corporate titans to live the high life on the public dollar. They include restrictions on how the money can be spent, with a bull's-eye on such items as aviation expenses, office renovations, entertainment and corporate parties. "(snip)
... as well as restrictions on the payment of bonuses
(snip)"also pointed out that many of the banks' employees get annual bonuses, not just the top executives. Should the limits apply to them, too, O'Neill asked. (snip)
Bottom line is that all of the companies which have already lined up for TARP / bailout money, as well as other companies that may need to apply for future TARP money, are severely cutting back in both of these areas. As a result, 'convention' cities like Las Vegas are expected to see a major downturn in economic activity as a result of the cancellation / cutback in corporate conference travel.
Additionally, corporate headquarters cities like New York are likely to see a major reduction in spending by 'rich' individuals who can no longer count on the payment of a 'cash' bonus by the TARP / bailed out corporations they work for. Obviously this includes the huge banks, but also includes insurance companies, stock brokerage divisions of banks, GM/Chrysler, GE/NBC, and a host of smaller companies.
And as one high ranking executive pointed out, these corporations are going to err on the 'safe' side in order to avoid possible media embarrassment. This is likely to result in the deferral or outright non-payment of bonuses to employees at ALL levels. And this in turn is likely to prompt employees at ALL levels to hoard their cash instead of spending it frivolously (i.e. in strip clubs) because they simply don't know what to expect in terms of future bonuses. This is a 'big deal' for many employees, since their base salary may only be 1/3rd - 1/2 as much as their typical bonus earnings.