BUSINESS BRIEFS
Disney CEO given $51M in '08, mostly in options
Advertiser News Services
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LOS ANGELES — The Walt Disney Co.'s chief executive, Robert Iger, received a compensation package the company valued at $51.1 million in fiscal 2008, up 85 percent from a year earlier, according to an Associated Press calculation of figures disclosed in a regulatory filing made yesterday. But most of it came in stock options that currently have little value.
Iger's salary was $2 million in the fiscal year ended Sept. 27, unchanged from a year earlier, and he was given a performance-related bonus of $13.9 million, up from $13.7 million in fiscal 2007.
The bulk of Iger's compensation came from stock options granted in January 2008 when Disney's stock was trading close to $30 a share. The entertainment company's shares now trade just above $21 a share, meaning the values of these options are what is known as being under water — no holder would exercise them because they would lose money if they sold the shares acquired.
Still, SEC rules require all public companies to provide an estimated value of the option on the date they were granted, knowing that executives have several years to decide when — or if — to exercise options. Disney's proxy said "new option grants to named executive officers normally have a term of seven years."
In Iger's case, he received the option to buy 3 million shares at $29.51 each on Jan. 31, 2008, when he agreed to a new five-year contract through 2013, the Burbank, Calif.-based company said in the SEC filing.
CHRYSLER FINANCE ARM RECEIVES $1.5B
WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department said yesterday it will provide a $1.5 billion loan to Chrysler LLC's financing arm to be used for new vehicle loans in hopes of boosting sales and ultimately returning the domestic auto industry to profitability.Chrysler immediately announced it will offer zero-percent financing on 11 Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge models and be able to provide financing to a wider range of applicants — including those with less than ideal credit.
The Treasury said the new aid will be in addition to the $17.4 billion in loans earmarked for both Chrysler and General Motors Corp. last month in an effort to buy time for the two companies to reorganize.
RISING INVENTORY PUSHES OIL LOWER
NEW YORK — Burgeoning crude inventories pushed oil prices lower yesterday.Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell 97 cents yesterday to settle at $42.57 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The February contract, which expires Tuesday, rose $1.11 to settle at $36.51 a barrel in very light trading.
SENATE BLOCKS DIGITAL TV DELAY
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans yesterday blocked a bill that would have delayed next month's nationwide shutdown of analog TV signals until June 12, but Democrats vowed to bring the measure back for a vote next week.The bill was defeated even after President-elect Barack Obama on Friday urged lawmakers to postpone the Feb. 17 transition amid mounting concerns that too many Americans who rely on analog TV sets to pick up broadcast channels won't be ready.
Obama called for a delay largely because the federal program that subsidizes converter boxes for those viewers hit a $1.34 billion funding limit this month.
