Merrill's Thain seeking 2008 bonus of $10 million

[Paul Simon]

From another newsgroup -

On Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:41:45 -0800, Andrew Roberts

If the government stands by and lets this happen, the government
should withdraw all financial support it has promised because that is
the right thing to do. NO ONE is worth this kind of bonus. Let him
have the same kind of bonus I get each year. IF I perform, I get to
stay another year. IF he doesn't like that, he can go to some other
country and rip their people off. IF this guy had an army of men he
would be unable to loot that much money by force from any bank in the
country. This is another example that 85% tax on an income is NOT too
much. If there is never too much bonus, there is never too much tax.
85% of 10 million dollars would still leave him $1.5 million dollars
which is still far too much money to give one individual. No one is
worth that much; this man is a thief!
Let Merrill Lynch know you don't want your tax money to go to the
thief that is already overpaid to run the company. The Merrill Lynch
compensation committee should immediately fire this thief for making
such a request. He is not acting in the best interest of the
stockholders and especially the people who entrust their money to this
company. http://ir.ml.com/contactus.cfm
None of the people on Wall Street should be receiving any bonus.
Cc: All US Senators, all US Representatives.
Merrill's Thain seeking 2008 bonus of $10 million: report
(Reuters) – Merrill Lynch & Co Chief Executive John Thain has
suggested to directors that he get a 2008 bonus of as much as $10
million, but the battered company's compensation committee is
resisting his request, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people
familiar with the situation.
The compensation committee has not reached a decision, but is leaning
toward denying Thain and other senior executives bonuses for this
year, the people told the paper.
Merrill could not be immediately reached for comment.
Shareholders on Friday approved Bank of America Corp's takeover of
Merrill, a deal fraught with risk but one that would create a banking
giant with a leading position in almost every major area of the
financial system.
Merrill was arguably saved from extinction when it agreed to merge on
September 15, an hour before Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc filed for
bankruptcy. The fear was that Merrill could be next if shareholders
and trading partners fled, as many did at Lehman and the former Bear
Stearns Cos.
Thain has said he deserves a bonus because he helped avert what could
have been a much larger crisis at the firm, people familiar with his
thinking told the WSJ.
Members of Merrill's compensation committee agree with Thain that the
takeover is in shareholders' best interest, but believe it would be
foolish to ignore strong public sentiment against large compensation
packages, the paper said, citing people familiar with their thinking.
Committee members are also weighing the fact that other Wall Street
firms, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc, which did better than
Merrill this year, are not giving out bonuses to top executives, the
paper said.
Thain, who became Merrill's chief executive after losses in
mortgage-related investments led to the October 2007 ouster of Stanley
O'Neal, has also run NYSE Euronext, after a long career at Goldman.
After the Bank of America-Merrill deal is completed, he will run the
merged company's global banking, securities and wealth management
businesses. Thain will not be joining Bank of America's board.
(Reporting by Pratish Narayanan in Bangalore; Editing by Kazunori
Takada)

[Uncle Remus]

If the government stands by and lets this happen, the government
should withdraw all financial support it has promised because that is
the right thing to do. NO ONE is worth this kind of bonus. Let him
have the same kind of bonus I get each year. IF I perform, I get to
stay another year. IF he doesn't like that, he can go to some other
country and rip their people off. IF this guy had an army of men he
would be unable to loot that much money by force from any bank in the
country. This is another example that 85% tax on an income is NOT too
much. If there is never too much bonus, there is never too much tax.
85% of 10 million dollars would still leave him $1.5 million dollars
which is still far too much money to give one individual. No one is
worth that much; this man is a thief!
Let Merrill Lynch know you don't want your tax money to go to the
thief that is already overpaid to run the company. The Merrill Lynch
compensation committee should immediately fire this thief for making
such a request. He is not acting in the best interest of the
stockholders and especially the people who entrust their money to this
company. http://ir.ml.com/contactus.cfm
None of the people on Wall Street should be receiving any bonus.
Cc: All US Senators, all US Representatives.
Merrill's Thain seeking 2008 bonus of $10 million: report
(Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co Chief Executive John Thain has
suggested to directors that he get a 2008 bonus of as much as $10
million, but the battered company's compensation committee is
resisting his request, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people
familiar with the situation.
The compensation committee has not reached a decision, but is leaning
toward denying Thain and other senior executives bonuses for this
year, the people told the paper.
Merrill could not be immediately reached for comment.
Shareholders on Friday approved Bank of America Corp's takeover of
Merrill, a deal fraught with risk but one that would create a banking
giant with a leading position in almost every major area of the
financial system.
Merrill was arguably saved from extinction when it agreed to merge on
September 15, an hour before Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc filed for
bankruptcy. The fear was that Merrill could be next if shareholders
and trading partners fled, as many did at Lehman and the former Bear
Stearns Cos.
Thain has said he deserves a bonus because he helped avert what could
have been a much larger crisis at the firm, people familiar with his
thinking told the WSJ.
Members of Merrill's compensation committee agree with Thain that the
takeover is in shareholders' best interest, but believe it would be
foolish to ignore strong public sentiment against large compensation
packages, the paper said, citing people familiar with their thinking.
Committee members are also weighing the fact that other Wall Street
firms, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc, which did better than
Merrill this year, are not giving out bonuses to top executives, the
paper said.
Thain, who became Merrill's chief executive after losses in
mortgage-related investments led to the October 2007 ouster of Stanley
O'Neal, has also run NYSE Euronext, after a long career at Goldman.
After the Bank of America-Merrill deal is completed, he will run the
merged company's global banking, securities and wealth management
businesses. Thain will not be joining Bank of America's board.
(Reporting by Pratish Narayanan in Bangalore; Editing by Kazunori
Takada)