CNN

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Only months after being bailed out by billions of our taxpayer dollars... Wall Street is on track to pay employees even more than it did before the financial meltdown.

The Washington Post reports that so far this year the top 6 banks have set aside 74 billion dollars to pay employees - that's up from 60 billion dollars at this time last year - before the bottom fell out.

Washington is up in arms over this... with lawmakers blasting these financial institutions for going back to old habits. They are also promising to pass legislation to increase oversight on Wall Street pay days.

In last night's press conference - President Obama said Wall Street hasn't changed its behavior yet, saying: "I'd like to think that people would feel a little remorse and feel embarrassed and would not get million-dollar or multimillion-dollar bonuses."

All six of the top U.S. banks got federal bailout money last year. Three of them - Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan Chase - have since returned those funds. Yet - they still benefit from other emergency federal programs.

All of these banks - except for Morgan Stanley - posted profits this quarter. Some bank executives say it shouldn't be surprising that compensation goes up as performance improves.

Here’s my question to you: Did Wall Street learn anything from last year's meltdown?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

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Stock markets have been rallying for almost two months now since the Dow hit a nearly 12-year low in early March. The S&P 500 has surged about 30 percent since then; and the Dow Jones industrial average has posted its best two months since the start of the last bull market in 2002. International indexes are up sharply too, marking the strongest global stock rally since 1991.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange moments before the closing bell.

One expert tells the Financial Times: "All the things are in place for the bear market to have ended."

And it's not just stock markets that are rebounding... credit markets, emerging markets and commodities - like oil - are all on the rise. Also, although company earnings are still decreasing, they aren't as bad as they were. Surprise results have come from companies like Wells Fargo, JP Morgan, Ford and Apple.

And then there's the massive economic stimulus program that may have started to work its way through different parts of the economy.

It's hard to believe two months ago we were all talking about the first depression since the 1930s, deflation and bank nationalizations. But markets often improve before the wider economy does; and some think the markets could keep rallying for another six months.

The 'glass half empty' crowd isn't convinced. They suggest the current stock market rally is not for real. They worry that banks will continue to hold back lending and housing prices will continue to fall.

In light of the fact that many Americans have been standing on the sideline for some time...

Here’s my question to you: Is now the time to invest in the stock market?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

High gas prices, slumping home sales and declining values and the whole sub-prime credit mess have combined to make 2007 a pretty tough year for a lot of people. The latest CNN poll shows 57% of Americans think the economy is already in a recession. But you wouldn't know it on Wall Street. Bonus checks at the big investment banking firms are up 14% this year. Four of the biggest investment banks alone - Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns - will pay out $30 billion in bonuses.

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein will get $70 million, and Lehman Brothers' CEO Richard Fuld will get a $35 million stock bonus. Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack and Bear Stearns CEO Jimmy Cayne are forgoing their bonuses this year. But they'll probably be okay.

Mack got more than $40 million in stocks and options last year. Cayne received a bonus of more than $33 million.

Average Americans who invested in these banks paying out these big bonuses are probably scratching their heads. If they held stock in most of these companies, they saw values plunge up to 45%.

Here’s my question to you: Is it wrong for Wall Street to reward its employees with big bonuses this year?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

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