Last week, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service finally proposed long-awaited regulations--some 238 pages' worth of them--interpreting a law passed a year ago reining in deferred-compensation deals for executives.

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New York State attorney general Eliot Spitzer has made some small progress toward cleaning up the industry: increasing disclosure of conflicts of interest and separating analysts' compensation from specific investment-banking deals.

CNN: More reform and less hot air

The carry allows general partners in investment deals to receive compensation in the form of tax-advantaged capital gains, which are taxed at 15 percent, rather than as salary, which would be taxed as ordinary income with a top rate of 35 percent.

FORBES: Carlyle Group, Bain Capital, And The Tax Treatment Of 'The Carry'