should feinberg sign off on guaranteed bonuses? this is the call on cnbc >>> okay. more economic numbers for investors to die just. walmart, leading things off by posting better than expected numbers. but then retail sales came in weaker than expected and weekly jobless claims as well. where does the economy stand right now? steve liesman is here to break it down for us. steve? >> melissa, thanks. despite walmart's better than expected profit numbers, it was a number of miss when is it comes to sales at the nation's largest retailer and the nation's retailers as a whole. bottom line, the consumer is undermining the clear-cut bullish recovery case, at least for now. take a look at walmart's sales. not the prove it's. down 101 billion, down from $102 billion by 1.4% from the prior year. economists had been expecting a gain of almost 1$103 billion. just like walmart, the overall count of national retail sales disappointed in the month of july. july was down 0.1%, the estimate again for a gain. x autos was the thing that bothered me down 0.6%. we knew we had the cash fo

feinberg has 60 days taccept or reject e proposals. joining me now wh his thoughts on the hotopic of executive compensaon is charles elson. is a professor at the university of delaware and director of thweinberg center for corporate governance. lcome to the program. >> gd evening. good tbe with you. >> suzanne: you don like this ideaf the pay czar? tell me why you feel that way? >> you hav totart with the term itself. czar isn't exaly a u. buness term. it connos somethingomeone fr the top dow telling folks how they should pay people. really up to the corporaon, it stts with the shareholders and the boa. you start with that sondly and moremportantly, i think he's an aolutely impossible sition. if he were to approve th pay as prented, then he'll take an awl lot of flack as will the blic in ter of the rat approved. if h turns down the reques and wers the amounts and the coanies don't perform, thell ble him saying the taxpayers have losbecause he didn't apove a comtitive pay structe. either way, it's -- i thi -- a bad idea. >> suzanne: con

now it appears ken feinberg may be changing rules mid game.hael says this is proof everybody is a target. mike? >> david, as the obama administration has forced more and more people and companies onto its plantation, it's exerted greater and greater influence in terms of how much money people and how much money companies can earn and how they can spend that money. we have already seen this in the past where it was prohibiting companies, for instance, that received some tarp money from spending money on sporting events. you're also effecting those sporting events, whether it be golf, baseball, whatever. that has a big effect on even companies and businesses who have not received bailout money. this is a huge, huge problem. david: quentin, should everybody be afraid? >> well, people got pushed onto the government's plantation, particularly wall street where we're talking about these big pay packages, during the bush administration. and you know something? it was probably a good thing because they had destroyed the world economy with their shenan

he is kenneth feinberg, the so-called pay czar. he has the final say of what is fair and what is not. he may well decide that some of these employees are wren titled to big paydays. the white house seems to be ok with that, to a point. >> i don't think the american people begrudge that people make big salaries, as long as they're not jeopardizing the goodwill of the public in doing so. >> for companies struggling to rebuild with the government as its partner, finding that middle ground is not easy. the solution, feinberg will look for options that pay off big if the companies do well in the future. >> you want compensation that is adequate to reward talent for long-term performance. you don't want it to encourage short-term risk. >> the 7 companies in question are not providing details about their compensation proposals for fear of raising hackles on capitol hill. already speaker of the house nancy pelosi an barney frank, the powerful chairman of the financial house services committee are sending warnings that the compensation bett

. >> feinberg has secret meetings with the companies, but in the meantime, several of the banks on wall street are guaranteeing multi-million dollar bonuses for their top executives, no matter how they perform. "the new york times" reports that an energy trader due to receive compensation of $100 million this year should be exempt from the review. citigroup has received $45 billion in taxpayer assistance. and aig set to pay out $281 million to several members of its sales staff. aig received more than $180 million in bailouts. joining us live is eric dash, business reporter for the "new york times." what exactly is the process going to look like? >> over the past few weeks, kenneth feinberg has been meeting with these banks and automakers and saying look, here's what you need to provide. tomorrow, they're going to be handing in those materials. he's going to be looking at the top 25 earners from last year at the companies and then he's going to be able to look at the next 75 top earners and how compensation is set for those. it's about 100 people at the companies. >> so how much money d

reports robert feinberg, who worked in countrywide's v.i.p. section, the v.i.p.- there is no sweetheart anything going on there -- anyway, they told congressional investigators that the senators were aware that, quote, who you know is how you're coming through here. both senators have denied any knowledge of getting a sweetheart deal. dodd, he was, like, i don't know what you're even talking about. dodd received two countrywide mortgages in 2003. conrad got two country countrywide mortgages in 2004. feinberg reportedly told the republican investigators, quote, you don't say no to the v.i.p. dodd, of course, is the head of the senate banking committee. wow, i don't know why you would feel intimidated to say no to him. he's a five-term senator, and i think that's where it will end. suddenly he is in the fight for his job in the 2010 election. oh, if he could just have connections to, i don't know, like acorn. oh, he does? never mind. conrad is the chair of the powerful budget committee. both senators were members in the program known as "friends of angelo." it's me

they're going to propose what they want to pay and feinberg's going to look at the numbers and say, thisle, this isn't. so it's not going to be a secret. i think the reason he's doing this is clear. taxpayers have invested in these firms and we have every right to know what our money is being used for. the president has said he wants all of these bailouts to follow commercial principles. they're going to act as much like the free market as they can, but he's also said his goal is to get out of the auto business as soon as he can. so this is only a temporary factor. >> you don't think the white house is being secretive at all? >> i think i'm more concerned about their secrecy on national security than this. i would think it's fair to argue they should disclose the proposal gm and chrysler are making to kenneth feinberg to see what they're asking for rather than what they get in the end. >> i heard tim say you want transparency on national security more than this, but do you believe when it comes to money, that we would ever have true transparency, especially when talking about bonuses, th

feinberg, would you not say? these companies can hand out what they want. $1 million, $50 million, but never meets their requirements. but now the obama administration will get to decide if those bonuses are too big. kenneth feinberg will get to pass judgment on pay packages after february 12 of this year. here are the companies that he is checking out. aig, bankamerica, citigroup, chrysler, and general motors. remember back in march when aig paid money in retention bonuses? that is when they brought in feinberg. he had 60 days to approve the pay packages. conservatives think that the whole thing is a bad idea. >> it is a million in the middle of a recession to see wall street guys making hundreds of millions of dollars per year, but it is -- it is unwilling gain in the middle of a recession to see wall street guys making hundreds of millions of dollars per year, but it is terrifying to think of government dictating what you will get paid. >> kenneth feinberg was in charge of the compensation fund after 9/11. bac

feinberg's jurisdiction may be limited, however, when it comes to feinberg's contract. because he has been limited to contracts signed after february 11th this year. hall's was signed before that date. it might be grandfather. >>> warren buffett keeping a close eye on the health care sector. berkshire hathaway raised its sa stakes in johnson & johnson. the value of berkshire's stock portfolio rose 20% in the quarter. in frankfurt at this hour, berkshire shares up 4.5%. j&j off fractionally while home depot and united health both fractionally higher. >> today's sell-off in the market, you want to stay up-to-date with information. you can get news, video, blogs, anything moving the market today at cnbc.com.m. >>> still to come on "worldwide exchange" -- it's emerging markets week on cnbc. we'll be heading out to india to see how china is faring. plus a check on the latest currency markets. back after this break. $$$$$ >>> welcome back to the show. we are going to take a check on the currency markets before we get to our guests here. we'll get analysis on these figure

the president hired kenneth feinberg. one man on his radar screen, andrew hall. that trader for citigroup whose contract is set to pay him $100 million because his small team churned out, like, $600 million in profits for citi in the past year. and now andy hall is offering concessions just to avoid combat with ken feinberg. joining me is julia ruzinski, joe cat wince, republican strategist and erone brook. where to start. conservative or liberal. let me just go with liberal. julie, don't you think really that wall street is much better at figuring out the right pay practices than some lawyer who has no experience on wall street? >> actually, i think wall street is absolutely horrific in figuring out pay practices. especially when they're taking taxpayer dollars to fund their own pay. the situation with andrew hall is complicated. he set up a contract and it sounds to me he's entitled to what the contract stipulates. but sorry, they failed in the past. i don't want to be spending my money on them anymore. >> joe? >> julie, if you want your taxpayer dollars to be

feinberg is likely to approve that ruling before other payments about aig are made.ves ben mosh has the best chance to succeed as rebuilding his aig. aig shares rose 4% in after hours trading yesterday. >>> massachusetts top securities regulator wants more information from goldman sachs about the company's weekly trader tips meetings. reports say goldman analysts were passing on short-term trading ideas to their top clients. secretary of state william gal vin says he's concerned the firm may be giving preferential treatment. back in 2003, gal vin helped negotiate a deal between regulators and banks. in frankfurt, goldman sachs shares are trading down 0.75%. and microsoft is cutting the price of its high-end xbox 360 model by $100 just days after sony slashed prices for the ps. the xbox 360 elite will now set for $299. the entry level arcade model will stay at $199. microsoft is phasing out the mid level xbox and will sell that for $249. sales have jumped 17% this year. microsoft says the move has been in the works for some time and in frankfurt right now, microsoft s

feinberg has 60 days to review the compensation packages and propose adjustments. >> if the czar agreespay levels as they now stand they'll be public outrage. if the czar cuts pay and performance slips at those institutions, they'll blame the czar for poor rests and investors will lose. >> reporter: the feinberg, a well-connected washington lawyer is doing this work for free, it's a thankless task but he has some experience in that department. prior to this, he was in charge of the fund that paid out the victims of 9/11 and some of the families accused him of putting a price on human life. bill? >> okay, david wright for perspective. let's bring in "gma" financial contributor present of arial capital management mellody hobson from chicago. hi, mellody. good to see you. pros and cons as you see it on this whole program. >> okay, the pros of having a pay czar overall, obviously for the american taxpayer that has bailed out these companies there's someone watching over their money and making sure that poor performers don't get a windfall. the cons are pretty obvious as well, because inside

and ken feinberg, the powerful lawyer who is reigning in t companies who got government bailouts. with the three of them for an insider's view of the senator's life. you three had such unique access to him, in such a personal way. what are the memories that give you comfort? >> the number one rule i learned from senator kennedy, that came from legislation when i was there. the perfect is the enemy of the good. and he would be a vigorous defender of his position, up to a point. then, he would be able to maneuver some sort of compromise that would make nobody thrilled or happy. but would be sufficient, better than the alternative of doing nothing. >> was he tough? >> oh. >> was he tough? >> i'll tell you a story about his toughness. he didn't stay mad if he got mad. during the '80 campaign, kerry parker and i gave him a memo. he said, you guys are in real trouble. i said, why? he said, you gave him a wrong fact. he comes out. and he does not look happy. and he looks at kerry and me. and he says, get in the limo with me. we sit down. he looks at us. he says, i will thank you to let m

the package has received approval from pay czar allen fine feinberg. do we even need approval for that? we want to bring in keith boiken, editor of "the daily voice," and editor from "americans for prosperity." i would say, keith, given all of the animosity for seeing big pay packages, that the pay czar will come under a little fire for this one. >> well, you know, i think that's possible. looks at what senator chuck grassley said early this hour here on cnbc. he said he favored -- he is a republican senator and favors the idea of limiting executive compensation to $500,000 for companies that are receiving federal assistance. i think there is a lot of sense to that, not only to that limitstation, because we're handing over hundreds of billions of dollars to these privately owned companies. yes, the government should have some say. aig received $180 billion in government loans. >> well, he has the say, right? >> why does the government have say -- >> are they have a say, and just handed out $7 million. >> here is the problem. the industry standard is ab

feinberg has the final say. shepard: it is great to see. thanks.et herself on fire, then starts walking around in the mall, screaming as shoppers -- here it is. look. florida, witnesses see a woman poured flammable liquid all over herself in a clothing store at the mall of america. >> the woman was not screaming. she was not asking for help. she was walking around the mall on fire. >> two men and women who try to put out the flames were hurt. a spokesman said they found the woman conscious in the parking lot with third degree burns over 75% of her body. no word on why she did it. arizona. a truck crashing into a mobile home in tucson. the woman living there is shaken up but ok. two people ran away. police found out why. more than 600 pounds of weed in the truck. texas. the newest addition to the giraffe population at the houston zoo. the baby boy was born monday. zookeeper's say they now have seven of these drafts and they are part of a "fox watch across america." >> fox what is brought to you by verizon wireless. shepard: struggling to quit smokin

i guess that's ken feinberg technically. the guy voting that stake. >> tough questions. you don't get quality people unless you pay them. >> that's very true. >> that simple. >> all right. >> revenge on yourself. coming up, stocks on the move. temple, inland mp. global. biggest decliner for the nasdaq today. and has this derailed the health care debate? >> what was supposed to be health care town halls have become forums for airing of every government grievance of taxes to alleged monitoring of e-mails. what the administration has to do to get the base back on track. that's in today's harwood file. s call or click today. >>> in the head lines this hour, markets decline. accelerated for a while. stabilized now. we are down triple digits. boeing, boy, oh, boy. lower on the story you probably saw. another delay in dream liners. joy global heaviest on the nasdaq. crude oil, crude oil, is down more than a buck. back below 69. earlier 69.35 now. >> we want to bring your attention to some stocks on move. matt nesto back with the real-time flash. matt? >> all kinds of things mov

. >>> president obama's pay czar feinberg. robert is slated to receive $10.5 million. the "wall street journal" says feinberg is likely to approve that before other rulings at aig. >>> solar panel prices plunging. the nrk times report they dropped 40% in the last ten months, partly because of increased production of a panel element in, guess where -- >> indianaia, china? >> india. >> had to be one of those two, right? >> that's right. get your sole lan pan 234e8s now, the deals are hot. >>> as first time jobless claims drop the ten agency stocks including manpower are on a roll, who are more room for these stocks to run. let's have managing director, jeff covers staffing and educational companies. jeff, thanks so much for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> what are you hearing from these companies in terms of what's going on? are a lot of temporary workers being hired, not really, what's going on? >> i think the worse is over. we're still seeing a year over year decline in temp hiring. but the rate of the year over year decline has been getting less worse, so to s

it won't end until ken feinberg, who is one of the two or three dozen czars that obama has, the compensation czar, basically rules on the compensation of citigroup, which sources tell cnbc he is looking at their compensation right now. he's going to come to some determination on the compensation of the top 40 people at citi, including hall. at that point, they'll announce what they'll do. this is going to happen over the next couple of weeks. what i hear from inside citigroup is that they are -- and they're terming it a restructuring. what that means, i don't know. >> take a guess. take a guess. >> the relationship will be restructured. what i gather is that there's a very good likelihood that this thing is going to be spun off. so, you know, they don't have to deal with this anymore. here's the fascinating thing about this whole thing. fibro was a long-time energy training company. it's how the old solomon brothers became public by buying fibro. mark rich worked at fibro. >> i remember. i'm not kidding. >> here's a semiautonomous sort of -- >> when gold was at the all-time high, they overpa

feinberg at cerberus. >> no, he's had two very, very high-profile deals -- >> disasters. >> -- deals, don't know what you call them, chrysler and gmac. it's not surprising. he's had a lot of big years making a lot of money for his investors. this is -- i don't know what it means for the liquidity of the position that he holds and when they get the money back. that will be interesting. and, i mean, wow, that's pretty big news in the hedge fund realm. >> technically, karen, how do you give back $4.4 billion? i mean, how do you raise that money basically like that? >> well, last year you saw a lot of funds that couldn't, and they put gates up and investors were, not surprisingly, not very happy with not getting their liquidity back, especially worldwide everyone wanted liquidity. and we saw atticus, another very, successful, big hedge fund, giving the money back, or having the money pulled from them, i'm not sure which. wow, the whole industry is really shifting, this is pretty big news, i would think, to anything they have really liquid, they probably would sell in front of invest -- ne

loan toes submit executive pay xankz compensation plans to ken feinberg. trader andrew hall, his $100 million contract with citi has been in the headlines a lot lately. now hall's contract may not be subject to pay czar's oversight because it was signed before february 11th. but another source says feinberg still has plenty of flexibility, using his authority on a case-by-case basis. that's the big question, will he get his money? will that unit stick around at citigroup and -- >> or is he grandfathered in? >> but if he doesn't stick around at citigroup, it's a big question, too. this guy is a big rainmaker. >> did they call him? >> there was a report the other day that they had called him to see if he was interested, they called him and he made a bid and apparently they didn't go with it. >> fasb is reportedly holding a board meeting today to discuss a proposal that financial instruments be carried at fair value on balance sheets. no immediate action is expected on that proposal. if there's eventually a change in the mark-to-market rule, it could impact e

>> i believe we will be going through the process with ken feinberg to make sure it is consistent with find a ceo that is knowledgeable about insurance companies, running an insurance company, and hopefully getting an ailing company back to health again. >> the company is about 80% owned by taxpayers, taxpayers that make $40,000 a year. why should they not feel like suckers if they see the ceo of a government-owned company getting $7 million a year? >> the board is going to make a decision. we have talked about the fact that we are not a migrant- managing these companies, the government is not making these decisions. the board wants an insurance company ceo that can take a company that was once successful but somebody had the bright idea to put a hedge fund on top of it, and now is a royal mess. the board wants to see some good, confident leadership that can mean the company back to profitability, and hopefully, in the recruitment -- recoupment to the taxpayer. >> does president obama ever speak with bill or hillary clinton about health care aspects? >> obviously, the secretary of stat

feinberg is currently reviewing contracts from seven companies that have yet to repay their federal loantlement with the s.e.c. if it believes there was nothing false or misleading in its proxy statement. he's told the s.e.c. and bank of america to submit new papers by september the 9th. in frankfurt this morning, b of a shares are up 1.25%. >> mean wooim while, german business sentiment rose for a fifth month running in august. the august ifo index got to 90.5%, the highest level for a year. but the institute warns that the numbers may not be sustainable and may be considerably worse than a year ago. maura. >>> japan is stopping output of one of its factories next year. toyota is discussing the possibility of shutting down its joint venture with general motors. earlier, the nikkei business daily reported that toyota is plannin to cut production by 10% and possibly stop production lines at home as well as in the uk. >> just under 12 minutes away from "squawk box." carl is with us to tell us what's coming up today. morning, carl. >> morning, ross. we'll have more on the passing of politic

the big question for hall, the multi-millionaire who owns this german castle, will feinberg okay his $100 million bonus? on the one hand hall is said to have made citigroup $2 billion. on the other, taxpayers bailed out citigroup with $45 billion. >> we want these firms to earn money. we want them to pay the taxpayers back and so absolutely what he's working out is, you know, sort of balancing off the are they going to be able to retain talent with our sense of outrage? >> reporter: though the administration has been pushing rules to let shareholders have more of a say in executive compensation, will that along with personal expressions of displeasure, be enough? especially when some economists say deficit reduction will be impossible without a tax increase on the middle class, which treasury secretary geithner refused to rule out. >> but you're not ruling it. you can't rule it out. >> i think what the country needs to do, understand we'll do what it takes, we'll do what is necessary. >> reporter: the president has lost ground in polls recently about the perception of him as a tax an

they've got kenneth feinberg telling them exactly how much money, maybe the top 100 employees. not just the top 25 will be able to learn. that's been one of the focuses at the bank. but they're weighing in to what they know is certainly a politically charged atmosphere with this latest release. and there's a look at citi by the way, the exchange offer is done, of course. we do own 33%, somewhere in there. roughty 23 billion shares outsta outsta outstanding, so still a large market. 28 billion in t.a.r.p. money they are using in various ways. all right, before analysts take a look at target. an old favorite we've followed for quite some time, that very significant battle between bill pershing and target itself, lost by pershing and now news that pershing square cut its stake in target. cut its share in options. there's a look at mr. ackman, nonetheless has been selling. its economic interest is lower by a significant amount. 78% to now 4.4%. you can see the stock ticking up a bit, perhaps on that news. erin, back to you. >> david, thank you. >> you're welcome. >> next, supply ma

i think another reason why, you know, there hasn't been much action on this, ken feinberg is going aboutly. personally, i think this idea of clawing back and taking bonus money away from people as a corny as it might be these folks are earning a hundred million dollars in bonuses and men in bonuses that most of the nation wouldn't ever make in salaries in their lifetime, i think it sets a really awful precedent when you have the government -- >> hang on, hang on! >> contract is not -- that your contract shouldn't be honored. >> let's be clear then, jonathan. to follow that logic, you would say it's -- if i buy a house, i buy a$10 million house opinion i cannot make the payment. they foreclose the house on me. how is that different i sell aig and i sell insurance on all of the loans in america, i cannot pay for any of the defaults but i keep a few hundred million dollars or billion dollars in bonuses and then when the hurricane of credit defaults comes, i stick the losses with the government. to me, it's a direct parallel to a housing foreclosure and to say it's a bad precedent to take an

>> pay czar kenneth feinberg says he has broad and binding authority over executive compensation. in an interview this weekend, he says this power includes the ability to, in his words, quote, claw back money already paid but he adds, his weighing how and weather to use that power. >> oh, the claw back. >> that would be interesting. >> there is going to be much more to come on that front, no doubt. but cox communications is considering acquisition offers for the travel channel. does not mean the company is saying bon voyage though.. let's find out what the story is. julia boorstin joins us with some answers. julia, who is the one that i like there? samantha brown, i love her program. >> well, erin, cox communications made it no secret that it is interested in selling a majority stake of the travel channel and sources tell me bids are due tomorrow. cox is the third largest cable company and official says whether or not it will sell the channel, my sources tell me media giantss from cnbc parent company nbc universal are all considering the acquisition.n. >> cable networks have been

ken feinberg is now the paczar and the basis for this cla back, i'm not suggesting the government operateoside the law, the legal basisf the claw back is fraud. if if you are making representations to your board of directors, yourshareholders and claing that you're earning a certain amount of profit, but the reality is that profit is a phantom because at the same time you're taking so much risk that it is inevitable that that profit will go away, that is his basis and i think that is a valid approach. essentially the losses over the past two years have wiped out 10 years of profit. so go back over that past 10-year period and you're looking at any profits that were based, any bonuses, stoci options, etcetera based on the profits and that will be the basis of his proceeding. i assume he will threaten litigaon and then settle for $.50 on the dollar. if you are sam o'neal and have millions you may b kicking back millions. he was the c.e.o. of merrill and a few before him. the second question, refresh my recollecti collection, what was the second question beyond the pay? >> caller: actually i

>> this will go to the process of ken feinberg to ensure that is consistent with his principles and obviously board wants to find a ceo that is knowledgeable about insurance companies and running an insurance company and hopefully getting an ailing company that was once a successful insurance company the idea of putting -- the bright idea of putting a hedge fund on top. >> they owe taxpayers who make 34 the thought -- $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 per year. why should the ceo of this company gets $7 million per year? >> look, the board is going to make a decision. we have talked about and the president has talked about not micromanaging these companies, governments not making these decisions. the boardç wants an insurance company ceo that can help take a company that was once successful, as i said, somebody had the bright idea of putting a hedge fund and on top of it and now it is a royal mess. i think the board wants to see some good, confident leadership that can leave the company back toward profitability and hopefully recoup some of the investment the taxpayers put out in order to prevent ca

. >>> president obama's pay czar ken feinberg is expected to approve the pay package of ai gchl's ceo we're. he's expected to receive $10 million. even . >>> mer he was reached out to hank greenberg for advice. greenberg says he has the best chance to succeed in rebuilding aig. aig shares were up yesterday by 15%. >>> new fdic rules broadening the pool to make it easier, some say, for private equity firms to make deals. john kanas' private equity firm bought bank united, former ceo of norfolk. >> good to see you. >> some would say, it could be worse. you don't see it that way? >> it's good news for large strategic banks, obvious competitors in this business. it requires private equity to hold roughly double the amount of capital that their competitors will have to hold in the same situation. it singles them out as a category. and it's not going to make it any easier. it's certainly not going to access more capital from the sector for what we think is an ongoing problem and going to continue on. >> is it enough to sq uchl elch om deals? >> i don't think so. i think they'll continue to

feinberg has up to 60 days to review. that will be a public decision. >> people are concerned that these high salaries and bonuses are being given while the tax money is being used. >> i did not say there was not a concern for that. i said i do not think people begrudge people making money if they are doing it in something that is not based on a risk that is going to put somebody else's tax money in danger. i think people do not want the president of the united states making every business decision in -- and every economic decision. the president believes that. >> [inaudible] >> that is why the president talks about it. the president came to this upset as many taxpayers were in reading this. >> is the president in meetings to find out -- [inaudible] what he like to see the goals and the government having a vested interest in the firms that [inaudible] has the president talked about meeting to balance compensation restrictions to make sure they are not at a competitive disadvantage to? >> i have -- i think he has -- we hav

ken feinberg is now the pay-czar and the basis for this claw back, i'm not suggesting the governmentrate outside the law, the legal basis of the claw back is fraud. if if you are making representations to your board of directors, your shareholders and claiming that you're earning a certain amount of profit, but the reality is that profit is a phantom because at the same time you're taking so much risk that it is inevitable that that profit will go away, that is his basis and i think that is a valid approach. essentially the losses over the past two years have wiped out 10 years of profit. so go back over that past 10-year period and you're looking at any profits that were based, any bonuses, stock options, etcetera based on the profits and that will be the basis of his proceeding. i assume he will threaten litigation and then settle for $.50 on the dollar. if you are sam o'neal and have millions you may be kicking back millions. he was the c.e.o. of merrill and a few before him. the second question, refresh my recollecti recollection, what was the second question beyond the pay? >> c

feinberg has up to 60 days to review and make decisions about those. obviously, at that level -- at some point, the decision will be made public. >> [inaudible] >> i did not say that there was not concerned for that. i said i did not think people begrudged people making money if they are doing it in something that is not based on a risk that is going to put somebody else's tax money in danger. i think people do not want the president of the united states making every business decision and every economic decision. i know the president believes that. >> [inaudible] >> that is why the president talks about it. the president came at this up said, as many taxpayers were, in reading this -- the president came at this upset. >> [inaudible] but what he would like to ultimately see, some of the goals, and with the government having a vested interest now in the firm's [inaudible] as the president talked about needing to balance compensation restrictions with making sure they are not at a competitive disadvantage. >> i don't know that i have heard it enumerated q

feinberg is still making his recommendations. it we will obviously comment at the appropriate time. the reason that feinberg is there is to put in place a process by which these things are determined. he is not going to prejudge the outcome of that process. >> the debate over health care to go can you say it just a little louder? >> lawmakers have been active. it has the president been able to test the temperatures? if so, how does he view it? >> secretary sebilisuus have been very busy with people that have a stake in this. the president's view is that we are continuing to make progress on health care reform. he still believes we will be able to get a bipartisan bill through the house and the senate. that is the and we are working towards. the temperature right now is that the american people want and need health care reform. the president is committed to getting that by the end of the year. >> health care reform has been derailed -- >> health care reform is obviously a difficult thing. a lot of presidents have tried to bring about a comprehensive health-care reform. the reason the