Wall Street Rulers See Their Earnings Soar Up the Sky

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. paid its chairman and chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, about $54 million for 2006, a record for Wall Street bosses who are harvesting their share of bull-market bounty....

An article on wall street journal roared yesterday. With more competition to get the talented and intelligent CEO, wall street is moving towards a hyper-inflation in its paychecks given to the top officials. It is not just Lloyd Blankfein whose pay saw a surprising rise this year, John Mack of Morgan Stanley also accumulated US$41 million in 2006.

Holy cow!!!

How do they pay such a sum to a single person? How much profits do these firms make? How much do other workers get? Definitely these questions are natural...

However, a closer look at what these people have accomplished during their time in the company will probably clear some of these questions. Wall Street reports:

Mr. Blankfein's pay package reflects the firm's performance atop the Wall Street heap over the past year, when its profits rose 70% to $9.54 billion and its stock price surged 59%, increasing its stock-market value by $31 billion.

So, does he deserve such an amount? It is all upto you to decide and I have no absolute answer. There are several other factors which I would consider to say "Yes" or "No"

Mortgage rates go Down-Time to Refinance?

Washington Post writes the following:

Mortgage rates around the country fell this week, with rates on 30-year mortgages dipping to the second-lowest level of the year, pushed down by further signs of economic weakness. Mortgage giant Freedie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.11 percent, down from 6.14 percent last week. The only time rates have been lower this year was the week of Jan. 19, when the 30-year mortgage dipped to 6.10 percent.

This sounds reasonable as the economy is slowing down and inflation pressures are also going down. But, when is the right time for refinancing a loan and why should one refinance? Here is the information provided by bank.com.

1.Lower interest rate.
2.Opportunity to convert all or a portion of your equity loan from an adjustable rate to a fixed-rate installment loan.
3. Obtain a shorter-term loan to build new equity more quickly.
4.Avoid a balloon payment.
5. Extract more cash from equity.

So, if you are thinking of refinancing, this might be a right time. So, think about it...

How to stay fresh and young

Anti-aging drive has become really popular these days. With the advance in technology and science, it is possible for a 40-year old to look just like a 20-year old. All the anti-aging medicines have taken advantage of this inner desire of people to stay young to make a profit themselves.

So, how do you stay young and fresh? Anti-aging guide provides with the following names for the benefit of you all. It strongly advocates for a diet with sufficient Vitamin C and E. In addition, several drugs like Co-enzyme Q10, Lipoic Acid,Folic Acid, Selenium, Flavonoids, Carotenes, Carnitin, Vitamin B are all which help against aging.

Furthermore, anti-aging guide advocates for several supplements. It writes the following:

There are several classes of supplements: antioxidants, phytochemicals, hormones and fatty acids. Antioxidants are by far the most potent anti-aging agents. The theory of free radicals and free radical scavengers (substances which break the chain of free radicals and disperse it) was developed as the most plausible theory of aging. Yet so far it has not been clearly proven that supplementation with antioxidants alone retards aging, so this theory can still be questioned. It is certain that taking antioxidants result in longer life and lower incidence of disease, but results have not shown the life expectancy barrier to rise. What is known is that antioxidants decrease disease susceptibility and must certainly be part of a healthy anti-aging diet.

But, I strongly believe one should exercise well everyday to remain young and active forever. We cannot rely on drugs to remain healthy. Some people in my country are living till the age of 80-90 because they have been eating a balanced diet which comprised of food and vegetables which are free from pesticides and other chemicals. Only these people who cannot afford and otherwise do not have an access to these exclusive grains and vegetables free from modern chemicals are likely to try these drugs.
What do you all feel about this? Should we promote drugs or work for food free from chemicals?