Goldman Sachs Starts Drive to Build Philanthropy Fund

"On the back of record profit so far this year, Goldman Sachs, the global investment bank, is starting a donor-driven philanthropy fund that aims to reach $1 billion over the next few years..."

Read more of this 11.21.07 New York Times article by Jenny Anderson.

Wall Street Plans $38 Billion of Bonuses as Shareholders Lose

Bloomberg reports that shareholders in the securities industry are having their worst year since 2002, losing $74 billion of their equity. That won't prevent Wall Street from paying record bonuses, totaling almost $38 billion.

Read the full 11.19.07 Bloomberg article by Christine Harper.

Goldman Pay Tops Bear Stearns's Slumping Market Value

Goldman Sachs set aside $16.9 billion to pay salaries, benefits, and bonuses, according to the company's third-quarter earnings report. This is enough to buy Bear Stearns Cos., which is the stock market values at $14.7 billion.

Bloomberg.com reports that "the figures demonstrate how the industry's fortunes diverged this year during the collapse of the subprime mortgage market and a credit-market contraction that saddled the biggest lenders and brokerages with at least $40 billion of writedowns and losses."

Read more of this 11.07.07 Bloomberg article.

WSJ article: Bonus Pain Is Dish Still Served Bold

"Two compensation experts are set to release projections for bonus payments this year on Wall Street, and the numbers aren't pretty. One executive-search company, Options Group, projects bonuses will decrease 5% to 10% from last year, the first overall drop in five years.

Compensation consultant Johnson Associates has a rosier view, saying Wall Street bonuses will be flat, thanks to a relatively strong stock market and big profit gains in the first half of the year."

Read more of this 11.07.07 Wall Street Journal article by Aaron Lucchetti.