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Bonus, given again. Why so much to handle money? What did he and all the others do to desire that big of a bonus? A lot of Americans do a good job every day and we are lucky we get paid. I didn’t understand why they have to get so much for a bonus.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Goldman Sachs stunned many in the Wall Street community Friday by awarding chief executive Lloyd Blankfein $9 million as his year-end bonus, far less than many were anticipating, and none of it in cash.

Following weeks of speculation about what the top executive at Wall Street’s leading investment bank would take home as his discretionary pay for 2009, the company revealed in a securities filing it was paying Blankfein 58,381 shares of company restricted stock.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin plan to sell off 5 million Google shares each over the next five years, a move that could see them surrender majority voting control over the company they created.

Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) has an unusual dual-stock structure. “Class A” shares are publicly traded on the Nasdaq exchange, while “Class B” shares are reserved for insiders and carry 10 times the voting power of other shares.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.

The blue-chip Dow closed at its highest point since Oct. 1, 2008 on Wednesday, as investors bounced back from a one-day selloff.

Economy: Investors will keep an eye on a report on retail sales due out at 8:30 a.m. ET. A weekly reading on initial jobless claims is also due out before U.S. markets open.

Full Story at msnbc.com

LOS ANGELES – Moviegoers have shown a willingness to be entangled by Spider-Man’s web over and over again. Now, as Disney prepares to buy the comic-book powerhouse Marvel, it faces the question of whether fans will also get attached to characters as obscure as Ant-Man and Iron Fist.

The Walt Disney Co. is making a $4.2 billion bet that they will as it nears completion of its acquisition of Marvel Entertainment Inc. this week.

Full Story at msnbc.com

NEW YORK – Citigroup Inc. said Wednesday it is selling a huge chunk of its stock at a steep discount to raise the cash it needs to repay bailout funds and free itself from government support.

But the government backed out of selling any of its 34 percent stake in the bank due to the tepid investor response and the weak price garnered by the $20.5 billion equity offering — described by Citigroup as the largest in history.

Full Story atmoney.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Stocks were poised for a mixed start Thursday as investors awaited some reports on the labor market.

Dow Jones industrial average futures were lower, while Nasdaq-100 and S&P-500 futures were up slightly.

Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.

Stocks rose Wednesday as the falling dollar boosted commodity stocks, and a rise in wholesale inventories and an upgrade of 3M provided some optimism.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Shares of AIG plunged nearly 15% Monday after an analyst hacked the insurance giant’ price target 40% in a research note on worries about the company’s loss reserves.

AIG (AIG, Fortune 500)’s stock fell 14.71% to $28.40, after trading at session low of $28.04. The shares finished down almost 50% off their 52 week-high of $55.90.

In a research note, Bernstein Research analyst Todd Bault told investors he cut AIG’s price target to $12 from $20 and said the insurer’s “loss reserves are significantly deficient again, much sooner than we would have forecast two years ago.”

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Google said Monday that it plans to pay $750 million in stock for AdMob, a company that provides display advertising technology for mobile Internet sites.

The search giant said the acquisition will help the company’s advertising partners improve how they target mobile Web users, as well as refine advertising formats to get end-users to click on more ads. All of that will ultimately help advertisers to more effectively monetize their mobile ads, said Google.

Full Story atmoney.cnn.com

NEW YORK (Fortune) — Is the Fed about to hit the brakes on the Wall Street gravy train?

A year after they survived the financial meltdown with considerable taxpayer help, Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) and Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500) stand to spend $35 billion combined this year on employee compensation.

The average Goldman worker is on track to take down more than $600,000 in pay and perks — in line with levels from 2007, before the economy cracked.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Last week’s big selloff did more than just rattle investors: it put an end to a seven-month win streak that had pushed the S&P 500 more than 60% above the March lows.

While the monthly decline was small — less than 2% — it emerged after a tumultuous week dictated by a stronger dollar, sliding energy and financial issues, and a variety of quarterly financial reports. A stronger-than-expected rise in third-quarter GDP growth — the strongest sign yet that the recession is over — provoked a one-day rally and nothing more.

Full Story At  DailyFinance.com

Sometimes bad stocks happen to good companies.

That’s not a moral judgment; it’s merely a reminder that shares and the corporations that issue them are not the same thing. After all, the best company in the world isn’t worth buying into if its stock is too expensive — and likely to fall. The reverse also holds true: Just because a company’s business is in the dumps doesn’t mean its shares aren’t oversold — and poised for a pop.

That’s why a stock that fetches $500 can be said to be “cheap,” while a $5 stock can be said to be “expensive.” It’s not the face-value of equities that investors need to focus on — it’s the valuation and, of course, the fundamentals.

Full Story at CNNMoney.com

LONDON (CNNMoney.com) — U.S. stock futures edged lower Tuesday as investors expressed caution ahead of a slew of earnings reports.

At 4:45 a.m. ET, S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and Dow Jones industrial average futures were a shade lower.

Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.

Investors are on edge ahead of a wave of third-quarter earnings this week.

They also may pause for breath after pushing the Dow to a fresh one-year peak on Monday.