Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has revealed new details on the high bonus payments to top employees at the bailed-out firm Merrill Lynch. Despite posting a net loss of $27.6 billion, eleven top executives were paid more than $10 million in cash and stock. Taken together, the ten highest-paid employees were paid $8 million more in 2008 than in 2007. Another 149 employees received at least $3 million. Overall, Merrill Lynch paid out over $3 billion in bonuses just before the company was sold to Bank of America in a government-backed deal.