At least the pickpockets get to keep some of our money for themselves!

What a scam - VHF

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Metals Traders Worth $3 Million at Wall Street Banks

By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen and Lars Paulsson

January 24, 2011

Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) -- After a year when U.S. President Barack Obama signed a law curbing risk-taking on Wall Street and pay at banks fell, metals traders are reaping bonus bonanzas.

The traders probably earned as much as 20 percent more last year than in 2009, with the most-profitable getting $2 million to $3 million, said Peter Henry, head of front-office search at Commodity Search Partners Ltd. The figure, confirmed by three other recruiters who declined to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly, compares with no change to a drop of 10 percent in pay across commodities personnel.

“Metals traders are an exception when there’s pressure on banks to cut remuneration,” New York-based Henry said. They “are making more money than other parts of the banks and the bonuses reflect that to some extent,” he said.

Metals traders are setting up for another banner year, with Barclays Capital predicting shortages and higher prices in copper, nickel and tin. Average pay across JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s investment bank and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. fell last year and Morgan Stanley cut its investment bank’s compensation pool, filings showed last week. The Dodd-Frank Act signed in July seeks to stop compensation that spurs too much risk-taking.

The London Metal Exchange, founded in 1877, handled more than 120 million contracts last year, 7.4 percent more than in 2009 and a record, bourse data show. While about 5,000 people attended the annual LME week in London in October, probably only a few hundred work as metal traders at banks in New York and London, recruiters said.