Profits on Wall Street rose in the first half of the year, making 2015 so far the most profitable year since the Great Recession.
For the first half of this year, state officials found that, even though the market was flat, Wall Street profits rose 29 percent compared to this time last year. Officials attribute most of the boon to a decrease in legal fees related to recession-related wrongdoing. New York Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said Wall Street also added jobs.
"Some of the increase in employment has to do with compliance positions," he said. "In fact, I'm sure that is what's driving the need for firms to add people on to their work force because of greater regulatory compliance issues."
The average Wall Street salary also set a record: $404,000 a year. The reporting window does not include data from August, when the market tumbled one percent on currency fears.
