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Would an elected or appointed government official be able to do the same as these czars ?
Some posters have stated they are just "advisors". Well this advisor seems to have some power as he can approve and/or renegotiate private sector employee compensation packages.
Pay czar fingerprints on Citi move to sell Phibro - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091009/bs_nm/us_citi_phibro_payczar_1 - broken link)
snippet:
The U.S. government's "pay czar" played a critical role in Citigroup's(C.N) decision to sell off its lucrative commodities trading business, Phibro, a source familiar with the matter said Friday.
..
The source spoke anonymously because the negotiations between Citigroup and the pay czar have not been made public
..
Charles Elson, director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, said it is not clear that influencing Citigroup to shed a profitable unit is in the shareholders' best interests.
..
Feinberg is in the thick of a 60-day intensive review of the pay contracts for the top 25 earners at the seven firms, in which he has the power to approve or renegotiate their compensation packages.
You mean THE Kenneth R. Feinberg who Attorney General John Ascroft appointed to be the 9/11 compensation csar, a court appointed special master in cases including Agent Orange and asbestos cases before being hired by Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geitner as Special Master on executive compensation charged with the responsibility of insuring that money given to companies like Citigroup is spent for the purposed the government intended instead of going to enrich the very individuals who steered their companies into financial distress, that Kenneth R. Feinberg?
You mean THE Kenneth R. Feinberg who Attorney General John Ascroft appointed to be the 9/11 compensation csar, a court appointed special master in cases including Agent Orange and asbestos cases before being hired by Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geitner as Special Master on executive compensation charged with the responsibility of insuring that money given to companies like Citigroup is spent for the purposed the government intended instead of going to enrich the very individuals who steered their companies into financial distress, that Kenneth R. Feinberg?
Yep, that one. But now he's connected to "this guy" instead of "that guy" so he must be "one of them" now.
(Of course, Citibank had a choice - and they took the bail out, didn' they.
So if they can pay someone 100 million, we better be getting something from them).
Last edited by plannine; 10-09-2009 at 05:39 PM..
Reason: added ( comment )
If you read it carefully though..that decision was NOT made in the shareholders best interest. It was all about a CEO's pay that the pay czar couldn't touch.
That was a profitable commodity company. They could have easily gotten more then "net asset value".
IMHO..that was not a sound business decision. A government decision maybe because they don't care about "profit", but not a good business decision that would have benefited their shareholders.
You know, I think Feinberg might be the very same "pay czar" that Congress ORDERED the Treasury Department to create by adding to ARRA (aka the stimulus bill) a provision to establish the office for the specific purpose of coming up with rules to govern executive compensation at any firm taking TARP money. Doing what Congress ordered him to do? This Obama guy is out of control...
Felix Salmon » Blog Archive » Citi finally sells Phibro | Blogs |
snippet:
From 1997 until the second quarter of 2009, Phibro averaged approximately $200 million per year in pre-tax earnings, while over the last five years Phibro’s earnings averaged $371 million per year. Phibro has been profitable each fiscal year since 1997, attaining profitability in 80 percent of all quarters.
Well, with all that rolling in, Occidental must have been willing to pay a pretty penny for Phibro, despite Andrew Hall's up to $100 million annual paycheck. And Citi did own it. Hard to claim it was a different entity. Might be like claiming the bedroom was a different entity from the house. And all things considered, the sale may well turn out to be the best thing for everybody in the long run...
If you read it carefully though..that decision was NOT made in the shareholders best interest. It was all about a CEO's pay that the pay czar couldn't touch.
That was a profitable commodity company. They could have easily gotten more then "net asset value".
IMHO..that was not a sound business decision. A government decision maybe because they don't care about "profit", but not a good business decision that would have benefited their shareholders.
Commodities trading is a lucrative business.
What story are you reading?!?
Phibro was sold, not due to a government decision but by, one by Citigroup to unload, Andrew J. Hall, a Phibro trader $100 million in bonuses. Hall's bonus is now the problem of Occidental which wasn't the recipient of TARP or other funding.
"Citigroup has sold its Phibro oil trading unit to Occidental Petroleum in a $250 million deal that will eradicate one of the bank's most pressing problems over pay and perks for select staff."
The eagerness to stop the compensation controversy is one of the major reasons why Citigroup's management favors a sale and not the other options which would still leave the company vulnerable to criticism over Hall's pay. (Hall's contract guarantees him a bonus of about $100 million). The decision also comes at a time when the U.S. government is close to announcing its decision on pay packages for top executives of banks that rely on federal aid, the Financial Times notes.
Well, with all that rolling in, Occidental must have been willing to pay a pretty penny for Phibro, despite Andrew Hall's up to $100 million annual paycheck. And Citi did own it. Hard to claim it was a different entity. Might be like claiming the bedroom was a different entity from the house. And all things considered, the sale may well turn out to be the best thing for everybody in the long run...
You can't mix money between companies..even when they are in the same holding type group.
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