Bank Bonuses Up 40 Percent

Bonuses are back on Wall Street and now the numbers are out to prove it: projections from a compensation consulting firm in New York predict that incentive pay will increase 40 percent this year at investment banks. Other financial firms, like hedge funds, are expected to see declines of 15 percent to 30 percent. Wall Street must worry about political pressure as well as perception that their year-end bounties come at the expense of tax-payers. "Governments are taking this very seriously," said one recruiting firm head. Still, The Wall Street Journal reports, some bankers are complaining about two straight years of disappointing compensation.