White House Shifts Course on Wall St. Pay

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration has devised a maybe-legal method of avoiding Congress’ restrictions on companies that accept bailout funds, including limits on executive pay and a requirement that taxpayers get an ownership stake in the firms, the Washington Post reports. To sidestep the restrictions, the administration has created special entities to act as middlemen between the government and the firms it aims to help. More»

(NEWSER) - All the hubbub around AIG and its bonuses is “a complete farce,” Larry Kudlow writes in the National Review. No one should be surprised that those in charge have “completely bungled” the situation. “The government shouldn’t run anything, because it cannot run anything,” Kudlow writes. And the Obama administration was “undoubtedly informed” about the bonuses months ago. More»

Treasury secretary resists calls for firmer government intervention

(NEWSER) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has prevailed over top administration officials who sought tougher restrictions on financial institutions in the revamped bailout plan to be unveiled today, reports the New York Times. Geithner, pointing to failures in countries that adopted more interventionist measures, successfully resisted calls to dictate how the cash is spent, to oust execs at bailed-out banks, and to broaden limits on executive pay. More»

Pay to be capped at $500,000, bonuses canceled

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration plans to announce sharp new limits today on how much executives of bailed-out companies can make, the New York Times reports. The rules, still being hammered out, would cap the pay of top executives at $500,000 and bar them from receiving any bonuses apart from normal stock dividends. More»

Average payout will be five times median household income in US

(NEWSER) - Recession? What recession? Some Wall Street firms are not feeling any pain this year as record bonuses at just three of the top firms are likely to hit an eye-popping $30 billion. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase, the three biggest banks to be bailed out by the feds, will dish out bonuses to 119,000 workers at an amount averaging $250,000 for each. More»