Let the Good Times Roll!

[Japher]

I hate the term "jobless recovery"... that's an oxymoron and makes no sense.

[loinburger]

Surely the recovery will trickle down, though.

[OzzyKP]

Stocks bounce back first, jobs come next. It is a good sign nonetheless.

[MrFun]

I hate the term "jobless recovery"... that's an oxymoron and makes no sense.

Oxymoron or not, that is how I would describe this recovery. Where are the jobs?

[Drake Tungsten]

Let the Good Times Roll!

Wall Street On Track To Award Record Pay

Major U.S. banks and securities firms are on pace to pay their employees about $140 billion this year -- a record high that shows compensation is rebounding despite regulatory scrutiny of Wall Street's pay culture.

Workers at 23 top investment banks, hedge funds, asset managers and stock and commodities exchanges can expect to earn even more than they did the peak year of 2007, according to an analysis of securities filings for the first half of 2009 and revenue estimates through year-end by The Wall Street Journal.

Total compensation and benefits at the publicly traded firms analyzed by the Journal are on track to increase 20% from last year's $117 billion -- and to top 2007's $130 billion payout. This year, employees at the companies will earn an estimated $143,400 on average, up almost $2,000 from 2007 levels.

The growth in compensation reflects Wall Street firms' rapid return to precrisis revenue levels. Even as the economy is sluggish and unemployment approaches 10%, these firms have been boosted by a stronger stock market, thawing credit market, a resurgence in deal making and the continuing effects of various government aid programs.

The rebound also reflects growing confidence by some Wall Street firms that they can again pay top dollar for top talent, especially once they have repaid the taxpayer-funded capital infusions they received at the height of the crisis.

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB125547830510183749-lMyQjAxMDI5NTE1NDQxNzQ4Wj.html

Congrats, KH.

[Japher]

Well deserved... kudos

[Patroklos]

I have made a killing in the last month and change

[MRT144]

I have made a killing in the last month and change

Thanks to Papa Government.

[MrFun]

You can thank Obama, Patty - from what I understand from reading Drake's posted article, government aid was one of the factors involved in this partial recovery.


EDIT: Oh, and **** MRT for beating me to the point by two seconds.

[MRT144]

You can thank Obama, Patty - from what I understand from reading Drake's posted article, government aid was one of the factors involved in this partial recovery.


EDIT: Oh, and **** MRT for beating me to the point by two seconds.

I wouldn't call real asset depreciation a recovery.

[Japher]

Dude, don't rain on Obama's parade!.. racist

[Wezil]

I have made a killing in the last month and change

Our firm is doing well.

We're looking at an upcoming round of pay raises.

[OzzyKP]

Cool animated geography of jobs thing:

http://tipstrategies.com/archive/geography-of-jobs/

[OzzyKP]

Also, this makes an interesting point:

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/dow-10000-oh-wait-make-7537

That because the dollar has declined this recent 10,000 point Dow still is a lot lower than the last time we hit this number. The site seems to be big on buying gold, so I dunno, but interesting point.

[Zkribbler]

IMHO, gold's about topped out. It's a refuge in the time of crisis, and the crisis mentality is fading.

The U.S. dollar is not the place to be, not with the trade deficit.

Best bets are prob'ly the Austalian dollar, the Euro and/or the Chinese yuan [which China has been keeping artificially low to encourage exports].