The President is losing the game of chicken with Wall Street

[AllentownJake]

Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Kenneth Feinberg, the U.S. paymaster for rescued companies, will exempt some executives at American International Group Inc. from a $500,000 salary cap after at least five employees threatened to quit because of the limits, people familiar with the matter said.

Feinberg may issue a ruling as early as next week on pay limits for 75 of the bailed-out insurer’s executives, the people said. Last week, five executives said they were prepared to resign if their compensation was significantly cut, according to the people, who declined to be named because the talks are ongoing. Two have since retracted the threat, the people said.

“It’s the equivalent of saying, ‘We’re going home and we’re taking our toys with us,” Frank Glassner, CEO of Veritas Executive Compensation Consultants LLC, said yesterday in an interview. By paying more in salary, AIG is “increasing what may be considered guaranteed pay by bulking up salary.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a5oFOP4lt7nY

This and the TARP repayments where Geithner and Bernake rail against banks not lending and at the same time celebrate banks paying back the government at an accelerated rate before a recovery takes hold, also the credit rating agencies skirting through regulatory reform without being hit with new regulation.

Wall Street is playing a game of chicken, and every time, President Obama swerves. Kind of the reverse of the game of chicken labor and Reagan played years ago. Now if we could only get some more rosy economic reports to justify the swerving.

[rocktivity]

1. Consider the source.

rocktivity

[AllentownJake]

2. The founder of that publication seems to be on friendly terms with the President nt.

[rocktivity]

4. He's on even friendlier terms with his money

and may have an agenda of his own--just sayin'.

:evilgrin:
rocktivity

[chimpymustgo]

3. We need to be in the streets with pitchforks.

:puke: