Obama may impose $500,000 cap on top executives' pay packets

The Obama administration is expected to impose a cap of $500,000 for top executives at companies that receive large amounts of bailout money, a media report said on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the plan.Executives would also be prohibited from receiving any bonuses above their base pay, except for normal stock dividends, the New York Times said.The new rules would be far tougher than any restrictions imposed during the Bush administration, and they could force executives to accept deep reductions in their current pay, the paper said.They come amid rising public fury about huge pay packages for executives at financial companies being propped up by federal tax dollars, the Times noted.Executives at companies that have already received money from the Treasury Department would not have to make any changes, it said, adding that analysts and administration officials are bracing for a huge wave of new losses, largely because of the deepening recession, and many firms that have already received federal money may well be coming back.Crucial details, the paper said, remained unclear, including whether the restrictions would apply to all companies that receive money under the so-called Troubled Assets Relief Programme or whether they would apply only to the "exceptional" firms that were being rescued from collapse.Under the Treasury's $700 billion rescue programme, most companies that have received money so far have been considered "healthy" rather than on the brink of collapse, the paper said.But five of the biggest companies to get help -- Citigroup, Bank of America, the American International Group, General Motors and Chrysler -- were all facing acute problems. And top executives at those companies made far more than $500,000 in recent years.
Link MSN

3,000 priests seek divine intervention to end financial crisis

This small village in Gujarat's Mehsana district is witnessing a religious ritual in which 3,000 priests have begun chanting hymns to invoke divine intervention to tackle the global financial crisis.
The priests have been drawn from states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan apart from different parts of Gujarat to Madhavnagar locality of Ramosana. The ritual, which began 15 days back, has the priests sitting around 109 sacrificial fires and chanting hymns to appease goddess Meldi, urging her to restore prosperity and world peace.
Surprisingly, none of the residents of Mehsana, about 75 km from Ahmedabad, know much about the financial crisis the world is facing. But the Koti Chandi Mahayagna Seva Samiti (KCMSS), which is organising the ritual, claims it is the first ever yagna (sacrificial ritual) to be performed at such a large scale that would continue for two years at an approximate cost of Rs.1.5 billion (Rs.150 crore).
'The yagna which has entered its 15th day on Saturday will continue uninterruptedly for two years. The first phase of the yagna will end after 10 million Chandi Path slokas (hymns) in praise of goddess Meldi have been uttered invoking divine blessings,' said Dahyabhai Patel, convener and trustee of KCMSS
Said Shari Ratnesh Jha, a priest invited to perform the rites: 'It is unprecedented. I have never came across such big havans before.'
'It is indeed historical as this sort of vast yagnas are found only in religious texts. Only Hindu emperors of yore performed such yagnas,' said Kailasnath Chandralekh, another priest.
Pradyuman Shashtri, the head priest from Mehsana, says this is the greatest moment of his life and that the ritual is sure to have positive results.
'I am sure Goddess Meldi will fulfil the desires of the people.'

Link Yahoo

'Google may scrap Yahoo deal if US sues'

Google Inc, owner of the most popular web-search engine, may back out of a partnership with rival Yahoo Inc if the US justice department sues to block it, Stifel Nicolaus & Co's Blair Levin said. A suit would give antitrust officials access to most of the businesses' records, which companies typically want to avoid, the analyst said on Friday. The department hired Sanford Litvack, its chief under president Jimmy Carter, to give advice, signalling the agency may plan to challenge the deal. "Generally speaking, the government wins these things," said Levin, who once served as the federal communications commission's chief of staff. "When the justice department walks into court to block something, when the antitrust division comes in, they have a lot of history on their side." Lawmakers have questioned whether the deal, which will let Yahoo display Google ads next to some of its search results, will give the companies too much control over the internet. The two already handle more than 80% of web searches in the US. Google, based in Mountain View, California, rose $19.59, or 4.7%, to $433.75 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading at 4 pm New York time. The stock has dropped 37% this year. Yahoo rose 85 cents, or 4.8%, to $18.55. Litvack is an outsider and a "recognized all-star," and his appointment may signal the agency plans to block the deal, said Levin, who is based in Washington. The justice department is still examining the deal, said spokeswoman Gina Talamona, who declined to comment further. The department hasn't confirmed Litvack's appointment. Yahoo confirmed this week that the lawyer had been hired. Microsoft Corp and the 400-member Association of National Advertisers trade group have said a deal between the No 1 and No 2 online advertisers may hamper competition and drive up prices for marketing. Microsoft is a distant third in internet searches, handling about 9% in the US. Google and Yahoo agreed on deal in June, and said at time they wouldn't implement it for 3 and half months to give the justice department time for review. Google chief executive officer Eric Schmidt had said the partnership would probably start in late September or early October. "We're committed to move ahead," Yahoo executive vice president Hilary Schneider said. "We're confident we can get them comfortable in the time period we've talked about." The two companies have maintained that they don't need approval from the justice department to proceed with the deal.

Link Bloomberg

EcoPulse survey:Majority of US consumers stop buying products from polluting company

U.S. consumers may not agree on what (or who) is causing global warming, but nearly three-quarters say they would stop buying products from a known corporate polluter, according to a new Eco Pulse survey.When consumers were asked what they would do if a company had received a government fine for failing emissions standards or for polluting a nearby river, 44% said they would likely stop buying products from that company - and 28% said they would not only stop buying but also encourage their friends to do the same. Just 28% said they would likely keep buying that company's products anyway.

"How much these stats play out in reality has a great deal to do with the level of negative media coverage associated with a corporate environmental slip-up," says Suzanne Shelton of the Shelton Group, which conducts the annual Eco Pulse survey. "Nonetheless, companies should take note that - given today's public standards - they stand to risk a great deal with their customer base if they encounter an environmental performance crisis."

Climate change proved a polarizing issue among consumers, with 57% of survey respondents agreeing that global warming is a made-made phenomenon and 43% either disagreeing or saying they weren't sure.

The survey also exposed a divide among consumers in terms of what they think makes a company green. When asked to identify the standard by which they judge a company to be green, 69% chose "a company that uses renewable energy, has zero waste in their manufacturing process and produces green products," while 52% said any company that recycles can be considered green.

In addition, just because a company makes a green product doesn't mean it will be perceived as green if its manufacturing plants are not. Only 4% of respondents chose as green "a company that has manufacturing plants contaminated with chemical waste, but manufactures wind turbines to produce green power."

Link Eco pulse

Oil prices ease on US crude report

Oil prices levelled off in Asian trade on Thursday after dropping almost $2.50 in New York following news of an increase in US crude stockpiles, dealers said. New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, dipped 20 cents to $134.35 a barrel. It lost $2.45 to 134.55 on Wednesday at the New York Mercantile Exchange. After five consecutive weeks of decline, US domestic crude stockpiles climbed by 800,000 barrels to 301.8 million, the US Department of Energy said. The consensus forecast was for a drop of 1.1 million barrels. But analysts said there were still concerns about crude supplies which were supporting prices. "The (US) report was bearish. However, pricing only pulled back moderately... simply because of supply-side concerns," said Victor Shum of Purvin and Gertz energy consultancy in Singapore. Brent North Sea crude for August fell 25 cents to $134.08 a barrel after sliding $2.13 to settle at 134.33 yesterday in London. Oil prices have almost doubled over the past year, and hit record highs of close to $140 last week. Shum said the market can expect continued choppiness on a high price level. "The bullish trend in oil remains intact," he said. Among the main concerns are unrest in major African producer Nigeria, and tensions between Israel and the world's fourth-largest oil producer Iran. Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell said on Tuesday it had resumed operations in a Nigerian oilfield that had been halted after an attack by militants last week cut output by 200,000 barrels a day.
Link Times of India

No magic wand to curb oil prices overnight: US

Amidst soaring oil prices posing a threat to the world economy, the United States has said there is "no magic wand" to solve the problem overnight. "There's no magic wand. It's not going to be a problem that we solve overnight. I don't think anybody anticipated that this (Jeddah) conference was going to have an immediate impact on price or on the stock market," the White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said at her press briefing. Perino was asked to comment on the recently concluded Ministerial conference in Saudi Arabia's Jeddah where in spite of a pledge of upping production there has been no let up in the prices of oil. "What we need to do is take a longer-term view, make sure that we are sending a signal to the market that we want to increase supply here in our own country, as well as continuing on our conservation efforts to decrease demand so that we can get this balance back in place. "The important thing to do in regards to the long-term planning is to send a signal to the markets so that they know that this time the government of the United States is serious," she said. "For several of the energy debates over the past decades the answer has been, No, let's just continue to get more oil from overseas and not focus on the conservation efforts. "But we've had over the past several years a concentrated effort to both bring down demand here in our own country by fuel economy, by lighting efficiencies and other things that we've done, even in the federal government, but in addition to that, looking for ways that we can increase domestic production here in our own country," she maintained.

Link PTI

New Microsoft operating system to have touch-screen feature

Microsoft Corp has said that its next operating system will be made for touch-screen applications, an alternative to the computer mouse. Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer unveiled the iPhone-like touch-screen feature at The Wall Street Journal's "D: All Things Digital" conference, calling it "just the smallest snippet" of the Windows 7 operating system slated for release in late 2009. A Microsoft employee showed possible applications like enlarging and shrinking photos and navigating a map of San Diego by stroking the screen.
Link Times of India