Tuesday, November 20, 2007

From the World Outside Madison Square

Apparently the gloom has lifted and the doom has gone away, at least some of it, and at least temporarily.

Reports that Wall Street bonuses were going to be way down this year have proven false. There's lots of money out there and a whole lot of it will be spent on real estate.

It doesn't look like the Manhattan market will drop significantly, but if it does, it won't be because nobody on Wall Street could afford to buy an apartment.

Bloomberg News's report that some bonuses will hit $10 million or more seems conservative. Elizabeth Stribling told us in a sales meeting last week that Stribling has a number of clients whose bonuses will be in the $50 million range.

This from NY1: (Please note that I left out the part of the story that dealt with the impoverished state of the other four boroughs. Didn't want to depress anybody. )


"Wall Street Firms To Hand Out Record Bonuses November 20, 2007

"Despite billions in losses, numerous layoffs, and plummeting stock prices, Wall Street firms will reportedly hand out a record $38 billion in bonuses this year.The money is distributed among almost 200,000 employees of the big Wall Street firms.Bloomberg News reports some bonuses will hit $10 million or more.

"The money comes from record fees for setting up corporate mergers, underwriting initial public stock offerings, and bond sales. The fees made this the industry's second most-profitable year despite the mortgage meltdown.

"These well-paid Wall Street executives are helping to boost the average income in Manhattan to the highest level of any county in America.According to new statistics from the federal Labor Bureau, Manhattan residents have made, on average, $2,821 a week. That's up nearly 17 percent from last year."

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