Greedy Stock Exchange Chairman Dick Grasso, Wall Street's own little Veruca Salt, finally gave up on getting $48 million in (contractually promised) benefits after both the media and the Board of the Exchange sat on him. If you haven't been following this flashback to the payscales of the late 90s, Mr. Grasso evidently arranged his massive benefits while the Board was paying so little attention that, until just a few days ago, many of these leaders of finance had no clue how much money Grasso had arranged for himself.

Someone at AP is totally getting fired today over their version of the complicated story: the original Grasso piece sent over the wire last night was wildly off-base. This was sent out over AP shortly before midnight:
"AP Kills NYSE - Grasso Story By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 11:11 p.m. ET
NEW YORK — Kill the NYSE-Grasso story, V8900. New York Stock Exchange Chairman Dick Grasso's involvement in his compensation was limited to the method of payment and not amounts, and a $16.1 million incentive bonus was for other NYSE executives and not Grasso. A kill is mandatory. Make certain the story is not published."
Big Board Chief Gave Up Millions Only After Nudge [NYT]