Sunday, July 28, 2013
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Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Outsource the CEO
CBS CEO Les Moonves in 2010
Photo by Danny Moloshok/Reuters
It?s not exactly news that CEOs of big companies get paid a lot of money. And everyone knows that the pay gap between the big executives and the average Joe has been growing. The surprise revealed in a great new database of executive compensation?compiled by Equilar on behalf of the New York Times and covering U.S. firms with more than $1 billion in revenue?is the striking lack of method to the madness: America?s CEOs are paid a lot largely because other American CEOs are also paid a lot.
Philippe Dauman of Viacom, for example, is a very rich man?which is what you?d assume about the CEO of a major media firm, with the 100th highest amount of revenue of any publicly traded American company. Dauman brought in $33.4 million in salary, bonuses, perks, stock, and options in 2012. Nice work if you can get it. But then again, there?s Leslie Moonves of CBS. He?s also a very rich man. Given Dauman?s wealth, that?s exactly what you?d expect of the CEO of another large American media company. What you might not expect is that, even though Moonves? firm is just two spots ahead of Dauman?s on the revenue rank order, Moonves made nearly twice what Dauman did last year: $60.3 million.
Lurking between Moonves and Dauman on the executive pay list is Disney?s Robert Iger, who brought in $37.1 million in 2012. Disney, which is more than twice as big as CBS or Viacom, had $42.3 billion in 2012 revenue, and its stock did better than the other companies in 2012, too.
So is Iger underpaid? Or perhaps Moonves is overpaid? Nobody knows.
It would be wrong to say that compensation for America?s chief executives is handed out randomly, but there?s certainly no clear link to corporate performance, and even the link to corporate size is surprisingly vague. But there are patterns. Despite the seemingly scattershot nature of the pay packages for Dauman, Moonves, and Iger, the one thing they have in common is that they?re all very well-paid?not just compared to the average American, but compared to the average CEO. And that?s the case throughout the media industry, where executive pay is high compared to what you see in other sectors.
This reflects the fact that nobody really knows how to judge a CEO?s worth. Since the executive is hired by a board of directors that?s theoretically accountable to a company?s shareholders, it seems like CEO pay should have something to do with stock price. But nobody wants a CEO to focus exclusively on short-term stock issues and ignore the firm?s long-term strategic position. And even if you do focus on share prices, what?s the relevant issue? Absolute return? Returns relative to the market as a whole? Returns relative to the sector? Tim Cook?s compensation at Apple was recently restructured to emphasize Apple?s share price relative to the S&P 500, which in some ways hitches him less to how well Apple fares against its competition than to how investors view the technology sector as a whole. There?s enough ambiguity that you could argue a given case in many different ways.
In practice, norms tend to dominate. Media CEOs are very highly paid because so are other media CEOs. Nationality matters, too. On the one hand, it might seem strange that John Watson of oil giant Chevron was paid ?only? $22.3 million in 2012?less than the CEOs of CBS or Viacom, even though his company is much bigger than either. On the other hand, compare Watson to the CEO of the similarly sized French oil giant Total S.A.: poor Christophe de Margerie earned a mere $3 million in 2011 (the most recent year for which numbers are available). That same year, Watson brought home $18.1 million.? The reason for this is both mysterious and epically clear?American chief executives are systematically better paid than CEOs from continental Europe or Japan. CEOs of U.K., Canadian, and other Anglophone firms tend to earn at close to American levels.
These kind of local differences matter so much because, as Ray Fisman has explained for Slate, executive compensation decisions are typically made by peer group comparisons. Media CEOs are compared to other media CEOs and oil executives to other oilmen.
American executives argue?conveniently enough?that their compensation should be compared to what other American executives are paid. This argument has tended to be persuasive to American boards, which?conveniently enough?are made up primarily of American corporate executives. And big American investment management firms?also led by American corporate executives?likewise think this makes sense. Which is all quite nice, but if you tried convincing one of these very same executives that he shouldn?t replace an American factory worker with a cheaper Chinese one, he would laugh you out of the room.
Apologists for this arrangement, such as the University of Chicago?s Steven Kaplan, argue that pay for U.S. CEOs has merely risen in line with pay for other kinds of very highly compensated individuals. Others dispute this math, but one might also dispute its relevance. It is true to some extent that America?s unusually well-paid CEOs are matched by an unusually large and aggressive financial sector and an unusually lucrative legal profession. Compared to the United States, continental Europe and Japan rely much less on lawsuits and much more on preventative regulation. They?re also much less gung-ho about the nonbank financial institutions?hedge funds and private equity shops?that provide for a very large share of the non-CEO element of the superrich.
But the thought that American executives need to be paid more than German ones because America also has more superrich hedge-fund managers does not provide me with enormous comfort. At best, this argument would prove that we should add skyrocketing CEO pay to the list of social ills exacerbated by an inadequately regulated American banking system. Meanwhile, nobody is going to be crying for the poor oil executives, but the huge and seemingly nonsensical gaps between CEOs of one company and another should give us pause. Executives are compensated lavishly but arbitrarily, and there?s no end in sight to the upward trajectory.
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Friday, June 21, 2013
Obama nominating Comey as FBI director Friday
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama on Friday plans to nominate President George W. Bush's former No. 2 at the Justice Department, James Comey, to lead the FBI as the agency grapples with privacy debates over a host of recently exposed investigative tactics.
Comey is perhaps best known for a remarkable 2004 standoff over a no-warrant wiretapping program at the hospital bed of Attorney General John Ashcroft. Comey rushed to the side of his bedridden boss to physically stop White House officials in their attempt to get an ailing Ashcroft to reauthorize the program.
If confirmed by the Senate, Comey would serve a 10-year tenure and replace Robert Mueller, who has held the job since the week before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Mueller is set to resign on Sept. 4 after overseeing the bureau's transformation into one the country's chief weapons against terrorism.
The White House said in a statement that Obama would announce his choice of Comey on Friday afternoon.
Comey was a federal prosecutor who severed for several years as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York before coming to Washington after the Sept. 11 attacks as deputy attorney general. In recent years he's been an executive at defense company Lockheed Martin, general counsel to a hedge fund, board member at HSBC Holdings and lecturer on national security law at Columbia Law School.
The White House may hope that Comey's Republican background and strong credentials will help him through Senate confirmation at a time when some of Obama's nominees have been facing tough battles. Republicans have said they see no major obstacles to his confirmation, although he is certain to face tough questions about his hedge fund work, his ties to Wall Street as well as how he would handle current, high-profile FBI investigations.
The FBI is responsible for both intelligence and law enforcement with more than 36,000 employees. It has faced questions in recent weeks over media leak probes involving The Associated Press and Fox News; the Boston Marathon bombings; the attack at Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans; and two vast government surveillance programs into phone records and online communications.
The leaker of those National Security Agency programs, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, also is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation. And just this week Mueller revealed the FBI uses drones for surveillance of stationary subjects and said the privacy implications of such operations are worthy of debate.
Comey played a central role in holding up Bush's warrantless wiretapping program, one of the administration's great controversies and an episode that focused attention on the administration's controversial tactics in the war on terror.
In dramatic testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2007, Comey said he thought the no-warrant wiretapping program was so questionable that he refused to reauthorize it while serving as acting attorney general during Ashcroft's hospitalization. Comey said when he learned that the White House chief of staff and counsel were heading to Ashcroft's room despite his wife's instructions that there be no visitors, Comey beat them there and watched as Ashcroft turned them away.
"That night was probably the most difficult night of my professional life," Comey testified. He said he and Ashcroft had reservations about the program's legality, but he would not discuss details since the program was classified.
Senior government officials had expressed concerns about whether the NSA, which administered the warrantless eavesdropping program, had the proper oversight in place. Other concerns included whether any president possessed the legal and constitutional authority to authorize the program as it was carried out at the time.
Comey was deputy attorney general in 2005 when he unsuccessfully tried to limit tough interrogation tactics against suspected terrorists. He told then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales that some of the practices were wrong and would damage the department's reputation.
Some Democrats denounced those methods as torture, particularly the use of waterboarding, which produces the sensation of drowning.
Comey's defiance won him praise from Democrats. In a statement, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who will oversee Comey's confirmation hearing, said, "Mr. Comey showed the kind of independence needed to lead the FBI when he stood up to those in the last administration who sought to violate the rule of law." Leahy called for senators to give Comey "the swift and respectful confirmation he deserves."
Sen. Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Comey's experience on national security would benefit the FBI. "He's previously dealt with these matters with integrity and shown a willingness to stand his ground if necessary," Grassley said in a statement. He added that he wants to question Comey on his work in the hedge fund industry and wondered whether he could improve the Obama administration's efforts to prosecute Wall Street for its role in the economic downturn.
Concerns over Comey were raised by the American Civil Liberties Union, which doesn't take positions on nominees but is interested in civil liberties issues. ACLU senior policy counsel Mike German said while Comey stood up to some surveillance, he eventually approved the NSA program along with interrogation techniques that included waterboarding, as well as defended the indefinite detention of Jose Padilla, an American terrorism suspect.
"We want to make sure whoever sits in that chair has a determined interest in protecting the rule of law, particularly since they will be there 10 years, outlasting this president and potentially the next president," German said.
German said these issues are particularly relevant given the new revelations about surveillance programs.
As U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Comey headed one of the nation's most prominent prosecutorial offices and one at the front lines in the fight against terrorism, corporate malfeasance, organized crime and the war on drugs.
As an assistant U.S. attorney in Virginia, Comey handled the investigation of the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers housing complex near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, which killed 19 U.S. military personnel.
He led the Justice Department's corporate fraud task force and spurred the creation of violent crime impact teams in 20 cities, focusing on crimes committed with guns.
After leaving government in 2005, Comey was senior vice president and general counsel at Lockheed Martin. In 2010, he went to the Westport, Conn.-based hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, before leaving in February.
The White House also said Comey has developed improvements in the military justice system's performance regarding crimes committed in Iraq and Afghanistan as a member of the Defense Legal Policy Board, which provides independent advice to the defense secretary.
Comey also has taught at the University of Richmond Law School and worked for law firm McGuireWoods LLP, also in Richmond. He has a bachelor's degree from the College of William & Mary, a law degree from the University of Chicago Law School and clerked for former District Court Judge John M. Walker, Jr. in the Southern District of New York.
___
Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nedrapickler
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-nominating-comey-fbi-director-friday-202300449.html
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Thursday, June 20, 2013
Facebook introduces video on Instagram
Instagram founder Kevin Systrom talks about an added video feature to the Instagram program at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Thursday, June 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Instagram founder Kevin Systrom talks about an added video feature to the Instagram program at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Thursday, June 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talks about Instagram's new video feature at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Thursday, June 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Instagram founder Kevin Systrom talks about an added video feature to the Instagram program at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Thursday, June 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Instagram founder Kevin Systrom talks about an added video feature to the Instagram program at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Thursday, June 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Instagram founder Kevin Systrom talks about an added video feature to the Instagram program at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Thursday, June 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Facebook is adding video to its popular photo-sharing app Instagram, following in the heels of Twitter's growing video-sharing app, Vine.
Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom said Thursday that users will be able to record and share 15-second clips by tapping a video icon in the app. They can also apply filters to videos to add contrast, make them black and white or different hues.
"This is the same Instagram we all know and love but it moves," he said at an event held at Facebook's Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters.
Vine, which launched in January, has 13 million users and lets people create and share 6-second video clips. Instagram has more than 130 million users, up from about 22 million when Facebook bought the company more than a year ago. If users like it, Facebook's move could propel mobile video sharing into the mainstream. Systrom said
To use the video feature, Instagram users who've downloaded the latest version can tap on the same camera icon they use to snap photos. A new video camera icon will appear on the right side. Tap it and a screen with a red video button will let you record clips of sunsets, kids running in parks or co-workers staring at their computer screens.
The app will record as long as your finger is on the red button or for 15 seconds, whichever comes first. Not unlike Vine, taking your finger off the button will stop the recording, allowing you to shoot the scene from a different angle or record something else altogether. Once you have 15 seconds of footage, you can play it from the beginning and post it on Instagram to share with others.
A feature called "cinema" adds stabilization to the videos so they don't look like shaky amateur shots. Systrom called it "completely mind-blowing." Right now, only owners of the iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 can shoot video using this feature.
Given Vine's popularity, "it is perhaps more surprising that Facebook has not introduced video for Instagram sooner. There is no doubt Twitter will move quickly to up the ante on Vine and this could undercut Facebook's efforts with video on Instagram," said Eden Zoller, principal consumer analyst at Ovum, a technology research firm, in an email.
Forrester Research analyst Nate Elliott thinks taking features from smaller rivals and offering them to a much larger set of users "has worked well for Facebook" so far.
"It also keeps Facebook's services fresh, and is one of the reasons more than a billion people still use the site every month," he wrote in an email.
When Facebook Inc. agreed to buy Instagram in April 2012, it offered $1 billion in cash and stock. But the value of the deal fell to $715 million by the time the deal closed last August.
Instagram was the first ? and only ? company Facebook has bought and kept running as a separate application. Until its Instagram purchase, Facebook was known for smaller "acqui-hires," a type of popular Silicon Valley deal in which a company purchases a startup as a way to hire its talented workers and then shuts the acquired company down.
Facebook still hasn't said how it will be able to make money from Instagram, as it has not introduced ads on the service. But online video ads are growing, and it's likely only a matter of time before they arrive on Facebook ? and at some point, Instagram. Research firm eMarketer estimates that the U.S. digital video advertising market will grow 41 percent this year, to $4.1 billion from 2.9 billion in 2012. The mobile video ad market is much smaller, though eMarketer expects it to more than double this year to $518 million.
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Wednesday, June 19, 2013
LeBron loses the headband, takes over the NBA Finals
In the fourth quarter of tonight?s Game 6 of the NBA Finals, LeBron James lost something dear to him: his headband.
James? headband has been knocked off before, but something strange happened this time. The Heat started playing better once the headband was gone. They Spurs started missing jumpers.
The Heat run climaxed with James rejecting a Tim Duncan shot and then going down the other end of the court and, following a mean jump stop, finishing a layup to tie the game.
The headband stayed off. With that thin strip of fabric removed, the man was free.
James finished with a triple-double (32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds) in a thrilling 103-100 overtime victory for the Heat.
Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomSports-TopStories/~3/BWamdLnXQ2U/
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Man hunted by FBI for alleged child sex abuse arrested in Mexico
By Ben Brumfield and Marilia Brocchetto, CNN
updated 2:57 AM EDT, Wed June 19, 2013
A FBI wanted poster for alleged child sex predator Walter Lee Williams is pictured on Monday.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Walter Lee Williams was a professor studying gender development
- He had easy access to his victims, mainly teenage boys in developing countries
- The FBI offered $100,000 for information leading to his arrest
- It believes Williams lived in Indonesia and Thailand and traveled to Peru and Mexico
(CNN) -- Mexican authorities have arrested a former college professor who was on the FBI's 10 most wanted list over allegations of child sex abuse.
Walter Lee Williams was detained late Tuesday, Mexican state news agency Notimex reported.
The FBI placed the former university professor wanted for alleged sexual exploitation of children on the list Monday, according to Notimex.
Williams researched in the field of gender development at a university in California, which gave him easy access to his victims, mainly teenage boys in developing countries, the FBI said.
Agents believe he had resided in Indonesia, Polynesia and Thailand, but also may have traveled to Mexico and Peru.
An FBI agent reported finding child pornography on a computer and in a video camera belonging to Williams.
He was the 500th suspect added to the "FBI 10 most wanted fugitives" list, and the bureau offered $100,000 for information leading to his arrest.
Williams' photo had appeared in Mexican newspapers identifying him as a fugitive.
Police arrested him in a cafe in Playa del Carmen after he failed to produce proper identification.
Part of complete coverage on
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Source: http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/19/world/americas/mexico-fbi-most-wanted/index.html?eref=rss_latest
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