The trend toward denying executives others that the top dog bonuses continues to gather steam. CEOs at Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns and UBS have all agreed to give up their 2007 bonuses for obvious reasons. When it comes to sub-CEO executives, some are having restricted stock or options foisted upon them. These grants could really pay off at Merrill Lynch. Financial News Online reports Greg Fleming, president, got 1.2 million options. Robert McGann, vice-chairman, got 971,346 options and Rosemary Berkery, general counsel, got 593,600. They'll vest starting in January 2010. All in all, it's hard to argue with the approach. When the firm loses money, these sorts of moves are inevitable. For many, they amount to something of a handcuff. But if another firm really wants them, they'll work something out.  

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