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Thread: weekend commentary - we're in the WRONG business ...

  1. #1
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default weekend commentary - we're in the WRONG business ...

    ... unless of course you're working in an upscale Manhattan club !!!

    (snip)"Combined, Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Merrill, Lehman and Bear Stearns earned $21.3billion in the first nine months of 2006, surpassing 2005's full-year record of $20.4 billion.

    Year-end rewards at top-5 firms

    The following table shows the calculations for total and average bonuses for each of the five biggest U.S. securities firms, based on estimated revenue, compensation and benefits, and number of employees.

    Firm Total Total Bonus Average Average

    revenue* compen pool* Employees Compensation Bonus

    sation*

    Goldman $35.7 $16.9 $10.2 25,647 $658,946 $397,707

    Morgan $33.6 $14.0 $8.4 54,349 $257,594 $154,556

    Merrill $32.5 $16.1 $9.7 55,300 $291,139 $174,683

    Lehman $17.4 $8.7 $5.2 24,775 $351,160 $210,696

    Bear $9.0 $4.4 $2.6 13,000 $338,462 $203,077

    *(in billions)

    How the figures were calculated:Total revenue: Average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

    Total compensation: Estimated revenue multiplied by the average ratio of compensation to revenue.

    Bonus pool: 60 percent of estimated total compensation.

    Employees: Total number of full-time employees reported at the end of the third quarter.

    Average compensation: Estimated compensation divided by total number of employees.

    Average bonus: Estimated bonus pool divided by total employees.

    SOURCE: BLOOMBERG NEWS (snip)"


    Consider what this really means. The lowest average year end BONUS to be paid by a 'big five' NY financial house is likely to be $154,500. And that average counts in all full-time employees from the CEO to the stockbrokers to the secretaries to the janitors, meaning that the more highly paid financial guys are actually going to receive a significantly HIGHER year end bonus this year !

    I come away from financial data like this with two conclusions - A. the personal finances / cost of living in places like Manhattan is totally out of touch with what's happening in 'flyover country', and B. I should have kept dancing one more year, because the earnings potential in upscale Manhattan clubs this December is likely to be STAGGERING !

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    God/dess Chrissy68's Avatar
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    Default Re: weekend commentary - we're in the WRONG business ...

    those numbers, melonie, are ... i have no word other than sickening. and not in a bad way, just, shocking. but not so much. in larger firms, lawyer bonuses are high as well. Nothing like that of course. thanks for this post.

    Love it!

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    Banned Katrine's Avatar
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    Default Re: weekend commentary - we're in the WRONG business ...

    Hehehe, I'm in the RIGHT business, love it!

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
    "And do the cats give a shit? No, they do not. Why? Because they're cats."-from The Onion

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    Default Re: weekend commentary - we're in the WRONG business ...

    Meh, I bet they work 100 hours a week and have absolutely no life outside of their jobs. Call me a simpleton, but I don't need that much money to make me happy....

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    Veteran Member StuartL's Avatar
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    Default Re: weekend commentary - we're in the WRONG business ...

    If it is any consolation, not everyone in finance earns anywhere near that much. :-(

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    Default Re: weekend commentary - we're in the WRONG business ...

    Quote Originally Posted by virgoamm
    Meh, I bet they work 100 hours a week and have absolutely no life outside of their jobs. Call me a simpleton, but I don't need that much money to make me happy....
    When they hop in the Ferrari and do take the weekend off in Hamptons, it somehow seems worth it.

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    Default Re: weekend commentary - we're in the WRONG business ...

    Okay, shutup now-quit bursting my bubble!!!!

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    Default Re: weekend commentary - we're in the WRONG business ...

    Quote Originally Posted by virgoamm
    Okay, shutup now-quit bursting my bubble!!!!
    I could tenderly massage it, but I'd have to give it a good spank when I finish.

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    God/dess Deogol's Avatar
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    Default Re: weekend commentary - we're in the WRONG business ...

    What? There is no money in actually making anything but deals in America anymore?

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: weekend commentary - we're in the WRONG business ...

    Quote Originally Posted by Deogol
    What? There is no money in actually making anything but deals in America anymore?

    Yes there is ! Corn farmers and Ethanol refiners can make a decent profit thanks to billions in tax funded subsidies, plus a 54 cent per gallon tariff and a 7% volume quota on legal imports of (much less expensive) sugar cane ethanol which guarantees them an overpriced but protected market.

    Defense industries can turn a tidy profit making any sort of weapons system, as the US gov't will pay whatever it costs.

    New manufacturing companies can actually make a decent profit for a little while, providing they receive quite a few millions of dollars worth of tax abatements, dedicated infrastructure improvements etc. in exchange for locating a new factory in a particular city (which are of course indirectly funded by taxpayers), plus the new company is able to hire an entirely new / young / healthy workforce who the company can then fire before they reach age 50 or so and actually start to use major health and retirement benefits (or the manufacturing company plans to deliberately pull the plug 20 years down the road when the gov't subsidies are scheduled to expire).

    Small scale manufacturers of high end luxury goods can also make a decent profit producing top quality niche products which are typically purchased by the 'rich' at whatever price the manufacturer decides to ask. However, this end of the market is extremely limited in volume.

    But in regard to the mass production of just about anything intended for the low end or middle of the road US consumer market, there isn't a chance in hell that a US manufacturer can compete with foreign imports and still turn a profit given their US labor costs, mandated benefit costs, mandated environmental compliance costs, taxes etc compared to foreign countries !!

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