Lunchtime Links: Look - Goldman partners have been successfully hedging their bonuses

It's one of the edicts of the new FSA's Remuneration Code that no one in London is allowed to hedge their bonus so that if the deferred portion falls in value they make money anyway.

This being the case, the fact that Goldman partners in the US have been actively and successfully hedging against changes to the firm's stock price is likely to prove a bit galling.

The New York Times identified the practice in a long article at the weekend. It pointed out that more than 25% of Goldman's partners used hedging strategies between July 2007 and November 2010, and that one alone managed to avoid losing $7m over a four month period.

U.S. regulators will propose that major financial firms defer at least half of bonuses paid to top executives for at least three years. (Reuters)

If Goldman Sachs is a vampire squid, Merrill Lynch is Escherichia coli of humanity. (Ritholtz)

Chris Huhne said he was not against bankers being paid large amounts of money. (Telegraph)

Kroll bond ratings wants to expand in Europe. (Telegraph)

One senior banking source points to the fact that Varley is staying as a senior adviser to Diamond and the board as evidence that all is not rosy. (Telegraph)

:

George Osborne, the chancellor, is considering a new levy on Britain's 120,000 non-doms, which he could signal as early as next month's Budget. (SundayTimes)

Big job cuts coning at F&C. (Telegraph)

M&A bankers in Europe may have to wait another year for a significant rebound in activity. (Financial News)

The average profit made by eight UK felons from their insider deals amounted to only 7,500 for every month of jail time handed out. (Financial News)

Councils may have to name everyone earning more than 68k. (BBC)

David Dimbleby earns 15k per episode of Question Time. (The Times)

Bankers' pay is crazy. Footballers' pay is not. (Independent)