SOME ARE SLOW ON THE UPTAKE

After other MOTU decided to forego bonuses, you'd think bright people like John Thain of Merrill Lynch would know which way the wind is heading and do the same. Apparently, he's out of the loop because he asked for a $10 million bonus for 2008. Andrew Cuomo tried to set Merrill and the boy straight: Cuomo Urges Merrill to Reject Bonus for Thain.

Finally, reality sunk in:

DECEMBER 9, 2008
Mack and Thain Lose '08 Bonuses
Wall Street Journal

Merrill Lynch & Co. and Morgan Stanley, responding to evaporating profits and public ire over Wall Street's culpability for the credit crisis, won't pay bonuses this year to their chief executives or certain other top officials.

Aline van Duyn wrote a month ago that the MOTU didn't get the impact of the Big ShitPile on the public and I guess she was at least partially correct.