lifestyle leader

-John Thain wants his 2008 bonus, reportedly $10m. Two ways to look at this: 1) his social and political thermometers are broken, or 2) he deserves it. Despite all of his misleading statements on the health of Merrill Lynch and role in its eventual acquisition by Bank of America, he did secure the sale of the firm at $28 a share. Remember what Bear went for? My take: I recognize point 2, but agree with point 1. He's insane for asking, and his compensation committee would be crazier to approve. UPDATE: Apparently, someone told him this whole bonus demand was a bad idea, because he no longer wants it.

-The FT has an interesting article on today's elections in Quebec. The economy trumps sovereignty, a good sign for Liberals.

-The Pulitzer Prizes have expanded to cover online only publications. IPE Journal submits itself for consideration.

-Petroleum Intelligence Weekly has released its influential annual rankings of the world's top oil companies. The report highlights the increasingly marginalized position of the traditional private oil majors, and growing global market dominance of majority state-owned companies. This trend towards nationalization and state control of increasingly scarce resources has a number of powerful implications.