THE DAILY DEAL REPORTS WALL STREET SALARIES PAVED WITH GOLD DESPITE SLOWDOWN IN ECONOMY

December 19, 2000--New York, N.Y.--The Daily Deal reveals in a front-page story today that some of Wall Street's biggest firms are stuffing banker's Christmas stockings handsomely, regardless of the bear market.

As Erica Copulsky reports, top firms such as Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. recently began dropping hints to their employees about the size of their annual bonuses. Through Copulsky's original research, The Daily Deal found high, median and low average 2000 compensation for bankers ranging from first-year associates to managing directors with several years under their belts. The prize went to the experienced managing directors who are projected to take home as much as $6 million in total compensation at the high end or $1.5 million at the low end. The first- to third-year associates are also expected to fare nicely given their professional level - pulling in anywhere from an average of $135,000 starting out to $600,000.

Among the reasons for the disparity between these compensation levels and the current economic climate Copulsky writes is that Wall Street bonuses tend to lag the general economy. In addition, she reports that with firms being bought and sold, there has been a lot of employee poaching taking place on Wall Street, which often involves large financial incentives.

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