Investors need to target bank bonus pools

Investment bankers in NYC saw an 8% increase in their bonuses this year, but they're still not getting paid like they used to before the financial crisis.

Alison Carnwath, who used to be responsible for setting pay at Barclays, shed light on divisions on the bank’s board last year when she claimed to have been a lone voice in recommending former boss Bob Diamond receive “zero” bonus, reports The Guardian.

By David Van Knapp:A couple of days ago, an article put forth the proposition that REIT dividends are a mirage.

ByAlex Heisenberg:Many real estate investment trusts (REITs) can be quite tempting as the housing market seems to be on the mend and experiencing a revival. As what appears to be a bonus, a huge bonus, is that many of these REITs are flashing what looks like exceptionally high dividend yields. There's only one catch, and it's a biggie: many of these dividend yields are a mirage.

STATE pensions in American are in trouble.  Just how underfunded they are depends on how you calculate their assets and liabilities. Some estimates suggest the unfunded liability is several times larger than all outstanding municipal debt.