In all the fuss….

In all the fuss about the $164 million in AIG bonuses paid out last week, did anyone notice that Merrill Lynch paid out $3.6 billion in bonuses just days before Bank of America bought them January 1 in a distress sale, using part of the $45 billion in bailout money paid thus far to Bank of America?

Yes, I know that was a few days before bailout money saved them, so technically it was legal, but clearly the intent was to enrich the executives before Bank of America found out how much money Merrill Lynch had really lost ($15 billion in the fourth quarter).