Even in bankruptcy, Lehman still strikes. The bill is being paid by Lehman's creditors, not by taxpayers. Pretty much how capitalism is supposed to work.
From Bloomberg
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s plan to pay $50 million in bonuses to employees handling derivatives contracts was approved by a judge who said the payments provide essential incentives to employees with “unique skills.”
Lehman, the investment bank liquidating in bankruptcy, asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Peck in New York last month for permission to pay the bonuses to about 230 full-time employees unwinding the contracts.
The judge today sanctioned the payments as bankers, under attack after two years of failures and bailouts, risk more public fury by awarding year- end bonuses, according to a Bloomberg National Poll this month.
Lehman told Peck in a Nov. 25 filing that the derivatives team had brought in more than $8 billion in cash and settled 17 percent of the contracts during the bankruptcy.
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