Wall St. Bonuses Boom; Luxury Sales Are Proof

A year ago, plunging stock portfolios and massive layoffs dampened year-end bonuses on Wall Street, forcing high-flying traders and hedge fund managers to put a lid on lavish spending.

A year ago, Wall Street traders and hedge funders were keeping a lid on spending as the recession...

A year ago, Wall Street traders and hedge funders were keeping a lid on spending as the recession and a tanking stock market dampened bonus season. But with the stock market up a whopping 50 percent or more so far this year and Wall Street financial firms again reporting big profits, lavish spending by Wall Streeters is already making a comeback. New York cigar shops, Lamborghini and Ferrari dealerships, steak houses and five-star restaurants have already seen an uptick in spending. And with the holiday season fasting approaching, they?re happily bracing for a spending surge.

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But with the stock market up sharply and financial firms from Goldman Sachs to Bank of America once again reporting soaring profits, big bonuses are expected to return to Wall Street.

Not all financial firms will be doling out big bonuses, of course. Just last week the Obama administration's pay czar, Ken Feinberg, released new rulings that will curb pay packages for some of the highest-paid employees at companies receiving what the administration deems "exceptional assistance" from the government, including AIG, Citigroup, General Motors and GMAC.

President Barack Obama lashed out at Wall Street on Sunday, calling bankers "fat cats" who "don't get it." (more)