Today's New York Times reveals the not-so-startling news that Wall Street's Big Swinging Dicks are not so big and not so pendulous this year. "A review of the latest statements from the largest financial companies based in the city shows that they intend to hand out about $18 billion less in pay and benefits in 2008 than in 2007… It would mean about $10 billion less in taxable income and several billion dollars less to be spent on apartments, furniture, cars, clothing and services. For many investment bankers and traders, year-end bonuses traditionally account for at least three-fourths of their income. But the downshifting of the Wall Street lifestyle has already begun." The general economic downturn is starting to take its toll luxury car sales, with Lexus down 29.8 percent in June, down 14.7 percent for the year. But is it possible? Could Porsche's $127k base Panamera land with a thud? Will Ferrari actually be heading for that moment in their history when they have, gulp, inventory?
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Sweet. All these years of holding out for Ferrari employee pricing, Ferrari dealer cash rebates, and Ferrari special lease rates has finally paid off. Now it’s time to sit back and watch for the Ferrari TV commercials to find out which local dealer feels the most desperate and will cut me the best deal on my fuel miserly 1972 BMW 4-cylinder trade-in. Do you hear that foghorn? Yeah, that’s the sound of my ship coming in…
Excellent news. The amount of cash the Wall Street types have been extracting from the economy while they don’t actually design, produce or market ANYTHING needs to end permanently.
Anybody else hear about the sequel to Wall Street?
Some of the stuff being pulled off now make Gordon Gekko look like George Bailey from It’s a Wonderful Life.
@John Horner: Amen to that!
JH,
Slow down there fella. Those bankers provide a good service. They just got a little oughta hand for a while. We need to keep’em on a tight leash is all.
As for luxury car sales slipping, there are two possible replies I can’t decide between:
1) That’s ridiculous! We all know the rich are getting richer at the expense of the poor. Since the poor are getting poorer, the rich must be getting richer.
2) Good, it’s about time the rich learned a lesson. Stick it to them. No one needs one of those cars. The rich people should give their money to people who need it, not waste it on expensive toys.
What do you guys think?
Golly, Landcrusher, it’s awfully hard to choose between two equally excellent explanations. I’ll have to give it more thought.
What I do know is that this country has been steadily going downhill since 1935. Things were so much better back then. Lots more jobs for farmers, because with mules it takes more time to plow a field. Lots more jobs for factory workers, because tools were simpler. Few people worried whether the next semester’s tuition fee would go up, and the cost of air travel was a minor concern. Good ol’ Doc Jones had low fees for heart transplants. Many people had radios to entertain them, and the hometown newspaper informed folks of what they needed to know about. Practically everyone slept under some sort of roof at night, and half the houses even had indoor plumbing.
I guess I’d be more optimistic about America except I just saw on CNN that everyone is one step from the poorhouse if not already there. Well, at least we have soup lines on every block to prevent mass starvation. Do you know whether Zambia allows immigration?
What do you guys think?
Ever ask a poor guy for a job?
Based upon how things are going in the financial industry, the huge government bailouts, and the terrible results of the stock market, etc. since 2000, I would say Wall St. is grossly overpaid.
Maybe we can outsource all of their jobs overseas too. After all, they should have developed a job skill that is irreplaceable.
Wall Street may provide an important service, but they are grossly overpaid for what they actually do. In fact, much of what Wall Street does is counter to the best interests of the many, but of great benefit to the few.
Consider Bear Stearns. In February 2007 Bear put $305 million into the executive bonus pool. A bit over a year later that bankrupt company was bailed out by the US taxpayer and sold off for pennies on the dollar. Shareholders and taxpayers got the shaft while the executives live high on the hog. Not a penny of the $305M which was pissed away will ever come back.
http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN2134187420070221
The de-industrialization of America, the mortgage money boom-and-bust, Enron’s speculative disaster, rapacious banking fees and a predatory credit card industry are all brought to you by the overpaid bankers.
So I agree, we need to keep them on a tight leash. Said leash has been on a very weak bungee cord for a very long time. One key turning point was Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 which cut loose many of the leashes which had been put on the bankers after they caused the original Great Depression.
http://www.answers.com/topic/gramm-leach-bliley-act-of-1999
For every financial worker hit in the pants, there are two fresh millionaires in an emerging economy somewhere.
The Lexus’s sales fall is more of an indication of their real customer base is not on the same level as traditional titan’s BMW & MB. A significant percent of Lexus’ s customer base can not really afford their product. This is more alarming than the actual fall in sales. Toyota’s product and service maybe on the same level as rivals BMW and MB but there customer base is not.
The bonuses paid to these guys is obscene. In a downturn in the economy the small guy is always told that a pay rise is out of the question, nthe company lost X milion dollars in the last year so the company cannot afford it. How often do we see bonuses cancelled all together for the same reason. NEVER. History show the rich get richer the poor get poorer.
A country that manufactures nothing becomes nothing. We are following in the footsteps of England.
A banana republic that rises and falls on stock market valuations, housing bubbles and other vague notions of wealth – fleeting ones at best.
I do not want to expect to much from this, but I do hope for a lot. What I really want is help and guidance through obstacles. Greedy folks are obstacles, economic woes are obstacles. I just do not want to suffer because of my challenges, or fear them. I made need to make some pioneering moves though.