Paying bonuses of at least £1 million to high-flying stockbrokers and employees of banks cannot be justified. Such massive bonuses encourage these high-flyers to take unacceptable risks with shareholders' assets in the pursuit of profits. Furthermore, the system discourages our brightest young talent from taking jobs in industry, where the rewards are much more modest but where there is a great need for such talent. One of the reasons why City firms (i.e. London-based financial organisations) can pay such bonuses is that they charge enormous fees for assisting with takeover bids between companies. City firms often encourage companies to engage in such takeover battles but the costs for these frequently unsuccessful battles fall on to the companies and thus on to the consumer.