Sox First

The recession has not hurt the bankers. Not one bit. The New York Times reports that despite all the losses and taxpayer-funded bailouts, financial companies in New York collected an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses for the year. That's the sixth biggest haul on record and ranks with what they got in 2004 when the Dow Jones Industrial Average was surging to a record high.

Just something to give the next bailout package some context.

• Christmas bonus time for Wall Street bosses
• More big bonuses on Wall Street
• Excess all areas on Wall Street
• Subprime mess won't stop bonuses
• Poor bankers
• The big gap: Wall Street bonuses and normal pay
• Why Obama's legislation won't fix Wall Street
• US public wants Wall Street brought into line