It seems were not the only ones to think that Wall Street pays their top dogs much more than they ”earn.” On Wednesday Bill Gates said he believes Wall Street pay is “often too high” and that the US governments ownership of AIG Inc worries him because of devaluation of the giant insurer.
Microsofts founder and billionaire, who in 2008 steped down from his main role at Microsoft to focus on his philanthropy work, blames a US law created in 1993 that capped the salaries of executives at $1 million and warned that any further attempts to try and limit Wall Street pay could also potentialy backfire.
“It was a bad milestone in controlling executive salaries when that $1 million cap went on,” Gates told a discussion on philanthropy in New York.
“The compensation problem is a very interesting problem. I do think compensation is often too high, but it’s a very tough problem to solve,” said Gates, who was recently ranked by Forbes as the tenth most powerful man in the world.
“What happened was a surprise to people and it comes from everybody being so optimistic and over ebullient and having a view of risk and price appreciation that was completely out of kilter. I do worry that when the government owns an entity like AIG that you can greatly devalue that entity by having it essentially have to behave as though it part of the government,”
“It’s an unnatural situation when the government owns a lot of a private company. Unfortunately there is a view that that should exist for a long term. There’s some devaluation of what that asset would have been worth if it hadn’t had to go through that kind of management structure. It’s unavoidable,” he said
When I read the title to this article I had the same reaction as I’m sure your having now: what? Billionaire Rupert Murdoch says he will remove stories from Googles search index, in an attempt to get people to pay for content online. My opinion? The words crazy and absurd come to mind.
The mogul said, in an interview with Sky News Australia, that newspapers in his media empire – including the Sun, the Times and the Wall Street Journal – would consider blocking Google entirely, after enacting plans to charge people for reading their stories via their websites. This is ridiculous. In the day and age that we live, with the internet at many of our fingertips every second of the day and the endless amount of sources out there, it’s an impossible task. Not to mention one that most definitely will result in a mass boycott of some sort. Web users will not stand for this and for Mr Murdoch to think otherwise is crazy. Trying to step in and change the dynamic by which people obtain their news and information and slapping a price tag to read news online? Please. They, like myself, will find another of the 100000000 FREE sites that provide the same quality information as those owned by the mogul. The days of charging for “news” and information on the web are long over.
In my top story of the day we take a look at, some say, the most powerful man in “technological trend setting.” Steve Jobs is no stranger to prestigious titles or awards. At the young age of 30, he won the First National Medal of Technology. Hes been named most admired entrepeneur among teenagers and is respected around the world as a leader in his industry. After reviving Apple from near bankruptcy in 1997 to becoming the leader and benchmark that most companies try to aspire to, its no wonder that Fortune Magazine has named him CEO of the decade. Click below to read the article and leave any comments you may have. Do you agree? Is there someone else you feel deserves this accolade more than the “king” of Mac?
Found this a few days ago on digg.com and thought Id share it with everyone. Ever wonder how countries spend their money? How much goes in to military, health care, and education? This interactive map shows the total amount of money allocated to these various sectors and shows a great overview comparison throughout the world. Click below to view the high res map.
After all the strategies to bring a change in the automobile industry, Ford Motor Company has become a turnaround story. The once damaged and financially unstable company has manged to report a nearly $1 billion profit for the third quarter on Nov 2nd, adding profits to gains in market share and improvements in quality since CEO Alan Mulally took over in September 2006. The company also gained 1$ billion in cash and paid off $2 billion in previous debt.
“Ford is making tremendous progress,” Mulally said on a conference call. “Our transformation is working.”
It’s not all good news for the company, as they still have a big debt load, something that GM and Crysler were able to greatly reduce in bankruptcy. The long-term debt has dropped to $23 billion, but adding in short-term debt and various obligations to the UAWs retiree health care trust, the estimated total debt is around $38 billion. It’s a disadvantage, but Barclays Capital analyst Brian Johnson says Ford should have enough cash to meet its needs.
In what is being described as an “all-in wager on the economic future of the United States,” Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathway Inc has agreed to buy railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.
This is the largest purchase ever for Berkshire and will cost the company $26 billion for the 77.4% of the railroad it doesnt already own. Once his previous debt assumption and investment is factored in, the deal is valued at $44 billion.
“It is Warren being Warren, taking advantage of a market that is soft at a time when the possibility for competitive bids is relatively low,” said Tom Russo, a partner at Gardner Russo & Gardner, which holds Berkshire shares. “He looks at this as a business that has advantages against other forms of transportation.”
Amusing story coming out of The Atlantic Business Watch today, showing Clorox’s profits up 23% in the third quarter. Wondering what this has to do with H1N1? Read on…
“The bleach maker said profit was aided by sales of disinfectant wipes to combat the worldwide H1N1 flu virus, shipments of Hidden Valley salad dressing, and lower costs. These gains were offset by soft demand for Glad trash bags and promotional spending.”
Dr Bilal Asgher obtained his Bachelors Degree in Dental Surgery in 2006 and went on to complete his Dental House Residency in 2007.
After spending some time working in a private practice, successfully completing the National Dental Board Part 1 exam, and running his own web development company on the side, he decided to increase his educational diversity by obtaining a Masters degree in Business Administration along with certification in IT Project Management.
He is currently a MBA student at the University of Illinois @ Springfield. This site serves as a place for him to comment on the life of a dentist in a MBA program and also to keep up to date with the latest news from the business world. The good times, the bad, its all here.
that the US governments ownership of AIG Inc worries him because of devaluation of the giant insurer. 
Found this a few days ago on digg.com and thought Id share it with everyone. Ever wonder how countries spend their money? How much goes in to military, health care, and education? This interactive map shows the total amount of money allocated to these various sectors and shows a great overview comparison throughout the world. Click below to view the high res map.
working.”
Buffetts Berkshire Hathway Inc has agreed to buy railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. 
Amusing story coming out of The Atlantic Business Watch today, showing Clorox’s profits up 23% in the third quarter. Wondering what this has to do with H1N1? Read on…
