And Like That, Goldman's Public Relations Issues Reappear. Goldman Sachs Group issued a report late Friday afternoon on the compensation packages of its Chief Executive and other Senior Management.  The news media rushed to print the story - hot off the presses - that CEO Lloyd Blankfein's compensation fell some 35% or so - giving the impression that the Goldman Sachs leader was vulnerable to the hits that the rest of Wall Street had endured. BUT HOLD THE PRESSES. That earlier report was incorrect, according to a Reuters report that claimed Mr. Blankfein saw a 14.5% increase in his compensation for 2011, to $16.2 million - and not a 35% decrease to $12 million. What?  Huh?  Didn't Goldman suffer a sharp decline in profits in 2011, accompanied by an equally drastic drop in share price during the year?  How can he be getting a raise?  And if he did, how could Goldman try and twist the story around to make it appear he took a cut in pay? The answer lies in the fact that Mr. Blankfein's pay boost includes stock awards from previous years that vested in 2011, and therefore does not reflect the amount that Goldman's board awarded him strictly for the company's performance last year.  The other figure Goldman offered - $12 million - was simply the amount Mr. Blankfein received for his performance last year.  And it truly reflected a 35.5% decline from 2010, when Mr. Blankfein received $18.6 million in performance pay. Which Number is Right? Well, Goldman knows that the $16.2 million figure is the correct figure, because it comes from a formula the SEC requires companies to use when reporting pay packages in proxy filings, where Goldman detailed Mr. Blankfein's compensation on Friday.  Both the SEC's formula and Goldman's formula include a $2 million salary and a $3 million cash bonus.  The SEC formula also reflects $454,332 Mr. Blankfein received last year in benefits and perks, such as life insurance and a car and driver. Whichever multimillion-dollar figure is used, Mr. Blankfein's pay package is likely to get attention both outside and inside Wall Street's most prominent investment bank, where thousands of traders, bankers and support staff were fired last year due to weak performance. "Whether it's $12 million or $16 million, it's excessive," said Jack Ucciferri, research and advocacy director at Harrington Investments Inc., a Goldman shareholder that has a proposal in Goldman's proxy that, if passed, would require top executives to retain 75% of their stock holdings for at least three years after leaving the bank. That's all for now.  More to come. For further details, go to:  [Reuters, 4/13/12].