Merrill Lynch announced that it cut worker compensation in half in the third quarter, which means big bonuses could suffer this year. The investment firm spent $1.99 billion on compensation during the July-September period compared to $3.94 billion during the same quarter last year and $4.76 billion during the second quarter of this year.

'Merrill Lynch remains focused on paying its best performing employees competitively,' the company said in a statement. 'In the same vein, it may be necessary to accrue compensation expense at a higher level in the fourth quarter to ensure it can appropriately reward employees whose performance will drive future growth.'