Bonus Bananas October 12, 2012

1) More Evidence That Wall Street's Bonus Pool Is Getting Drained (Business Insider) - According to the NY State Comptroller's report, 2012 could be a strong bonus year for traders but a pretty ugly one for investment bankers. Bonuses look to be lower across the board this year, with exceptions made for standout performers (of course).

2) Wall Street’s Forgotten Victims Have Some Advice (Bloomberg) - It's been a while since we've seen anything from Michael Lewis, and he doesn't disappoint with this piece. We all know about the many victims of the financial crisis, but have you considered the impact on spoiled Wall Street brats? Perhaps you should...

3) The New Nonsense: Leaving Finance (The Big Picture) - Barry Ritholtz has had just about enough of the likes of Greg Smith, Stephen Ridley and, most recently, Chelsea Clinton. His advice for those leaving finance to "find themselves"? Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.

4) Why Zynga Failed (TechCrunch) - I was never very optimistic about Zynga, but it appears I was wrong (at least initially). There was a lot I didn't know about them and their dominant position in the social gaming space. But once it got crowded and shifted to mobile, they were toast. The stock is under $2.50 a share now, and probably on its way to zero. Definitely a Web 2.0 cautionary tale.

5) Walmart Targets Unhappy Bank Customers With New Prepaid Card--Should Big Banks Be Nervous? (Forbes) - A couple weeks ago I reported that an estimated 20% of Americans have no relationship with a bank, and Walmart has partnered with American Express to attack this underserved segment of the market. The low price retail giant is uniquely positioned to provide banking services to this group, and as the wealth gap only grows larger so too will their client base.

6) How a smart bra could one day outdo the mammogram (C|Net) - Isn't technology amazing? Just in time for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a new high-tech bra is being introduced that will constantly monitor its wearer for breast cancer. The smart jockstrap can't be far behind...

7) “Nones” on the Rise (The Pew Forum) - A recent Pew study revealed that, contrary to popular belief, the fastest growing religion in America is not Islam; it's no religion. The number of Americans who now identify themselves as atheist, agnostic, or irreligious has risen from 15% to 20% over the past five years alone. For those under 30 the number is 1 in 3.

8) The CEO Who Built Himself America’s Largest House Just Threatened to Fire His Employees if Obama’s Elected (Gawker) - You'd think having a full-length feature film made about what a weapons-grade douche nozzle you are would make you tone it down just a wee bit, but apparently not if you're David Siegel. His latest assault on decency? Plagiarising an email to his employees insinuating that they'd all be fired if Obama wins next month.

9) Neiman Marcus: 9 'fantasy gifts' of 2012 (CNN Money) - A limited edition McClaren 12C Spider is pretty baller and the jetpack looks like a blast, but if the Bulleit Woody Tailgate Trailer (pictured above) comes in purple and gold, I'm spending my kid's college fund on it. Geaux Tigers!

10) Marines carry boy across finish line after his prosthetic leg breaks during triathlon (Fox News) - Never leave a man behind. OOH-MOTHERFUCKIN'-RAH.

Video of the Week:

I thought I'd skew towards the motivational this week. I came across the following video quite by accident, but I'm an Adam Carolla fan so I checked it out. In it he explains why you're lucky that you're so unlucky. He makes a good point, and he's pretty funny about it too. Hard work FTMFW. Enjoy:

That's it for this week, fellas. Let me know what you think of this week's batch of Bananas in the comments and have a fantabulous weekend.

 

2) was funny, liked it a lot. One thing i just dont get is how people in the comments section are taking it seriously, they're trollin' right? no one is that retarded! how can anyone think that he's being serious.../

"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 

7.) While the official "Nones" is at 20%, there is no way that the % isn't higher in reality. What % of affiliated religious people go to Church once a year and claim an affiliation because of family? Or because they "want to be a good person?" I guarantee that if you dug deeper, you'd see that reality shows Nones to be even higher. Before too long, I really believe we'll hit a tipping point and we'll be able to move beyond tired religious dogma and forward into an actual age of reason.

Or, at least that's what I hope.

 
TheKing:
7.) While the official "Nones" is at 20%, there is no way that the % isn't higher in reality. What % of affiliated religious people go to Church once a year and claim an affiliation because of family? Or because they "want to be a good person?" I guarantee that if you dug deeper, you'd see that reality shows Nones to be even higher. Before too long, I really believe we'll hit a tipping point and we'll be able to move beyond tired religious dogma and forward into an actual age of reason.

Or, at least that's what I hope.

By those standards, it's probably closer to 80%. I go to church to keep certain social networks open, plus it would kill my family if I stopped humoring them, and I can't live with that. I still don't buy it though, when you're dead you're dead, so get on with LIVING
Get busy living
 
Best Response

Eddie,

9) I got to see and try on the watches by Van Cleef & Arpels. They really are absolutely gorgeous. There's no way in hell I would ever buy them, but there are perks to knowing someone who works there so you can see them and try them on without any hassles, worries and being able to ask the watch makers questions you'd normally have to ask the salesmen about. The only other thing that would be cool is the private dinner for 10. That just seems totally awesome. The only thing on that list which I scoff at is the Pinel & Pinel Arcade PS Trunk. Mind you, the electronics alone bump the cost of that thing up significantly (the Thrustmaster, T500 RS Force Wheel runs ~550/600 for the Wheel and Pedals. I'm shocked they aren't using the not using the F1 Integral T500 instead - that's ~750 for the set. And then there's the TV, the PS3, and everything else). It's still a fantastic toy to have and the only one I'd want.

8) If anyone here hasn't seen "The Queen of Versailles", I'd highly recommend it. It's a fantastic film. As to his letter, Siegel's company is privately held. He can do whatever he wants when it comes to sending out emails like those. If he wants to threaten his entire staff, let him. He never said in the letter to vote Romney but he's implying what the effects would be if Obama were elected. There are some interesting legal questions that arise from this (such as do his actions constitute a potential case of voter coercion and fraud) but who knows what will happen.

 
Edmundo Braverman:
King,

The 1 in 3 under 30 is what I find really encouraging. As with everything else, it's the next generation that is going to reject all the nonsense of my generation and my parents' generation and hopefully fix some shit.

Oh yeah. It's super encouraging. We can only hope it happens soon enough as we all march towards oblivion!

 
TheKing:
Edmundo Braverman:
King,

The 1 in 3 under 30 is what I find really encouraging. As with everything else, it's the next generation that is going to reject all the nonsense of my generation and my parents' generation and hopefully fix some shit.

Oh yeah. It's super encouraging. We can only hope it happens soon enough as we all march towards oblivion!

cue zombies...
Get busy living
 

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