BANKERS BEING PAID TOO MUCH - US President Barack Obama is setting a $500,000 a year cap on executive pay for bankers and others who take US government funds to stabilise their businesses. He is expected to announce the move today, kicking off a long term effort to reform executive compensation rules.
Meanwhile, John Burke, an Irish career banker who has worked in clearing banks, merchant banks and in finance houses said remuneration has increased too much.
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MORNING BRIEFS - Exchequer figures for January, published yesterday afternoon, show that tax revenues fell by 19% compared to the same month last year, a drop of €900m. Capital gains tax and stamp duty were both down 72%, and the value of income tax dropped almost 4% to €1.16 billion as the jobs market shrinks.
*** Negative economic news saw the value of Irish pension funds lose more ground in last month. According to Rubicon Investment Consulting, the average fund fell by 1.8%, having lost almost 35% of their value last year. Rubicon says Irish group pension managed fund returns over the past ten years have been a very disappointing : -0.4% a year on average, well below the Irish inflation rate of 3.6% over the same time. It says none of the managers surveyed outperformed inflation over this period, with over half of the managers failing to deliver positive returns.
*** Aer Lingus directors have agreed to a 20% cut in their fees, in recognition of the downturn in the economy. The airline's chairman Colm Barrington takes the biggest hit, with his fees set to fall by €35,000 to €140,000. Pay for Aer Lingus top executives will not be reduced. At Ryanair, executive pay has been cut by 10% and bonuses cut in half.
*** Anglo Irish Bank's head of internal audit Walter Tyrrell told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Economic Regulatory Affairs, that he was aware the former chairman had loans, but that he did not know of their size until late last year.
*** Car sales in the US in January were the worst in 26 years. General Motors reported that its sales plunged 49% from a year ago. Ford said sales fell 39% at its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands, and 40% overall when including sales at Volvo, which Ford is trying to sell. Chrysler reported a 55% drop in sales. One of the contributing factors was car rental companies slashing their purchases.
*** Motorbike firm Harley-Davidson has secured a $600m cash injection, including $300m from billionaire investor Warren Buffett. The funds will help it improve its cash base, after losses in its financing arm saw it post a 58% fall in profit for October to December. The other $300m comes from investment group Davis Selected Advisers, Harley-Davidson's biggest shareholder.
*** Walt Disney says its quarterly profit dropped by 32% as global economic woes weighed on television advertising, attendance at its theme parks and its film businesses.
*** On the currency markets the euro is trading at $1.3019 cents and 90.38 pence sterling.
