Business Briefing
Ex-BofA chief gets only perks
Former Bank of America Chief Executive Ken Lewis received a compensation package valued at $32,171 last year as the bank struggled with loan losses and repaid billions in federal bailout money, according to an Associated Press analysis of a regulatory filing.
Lewis, who stepped down as CEO on Dec. 31, got no salary or bonus. His compensation was limited to perks, including tax services, home security and parking, according to a preliminary filing disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Lewis’ 2008 compensation was valued at $9 million. He resigned after almost a year of strife that followed the bank’s purchase of Merrill Lynch.
AIRLINES
Computer issue delays JetBlue
JetBlue Airways Corp., the discount carrier whose New York home airport was blanketed by snow Friday, said a computer glitch forced it to ground some flights for about 45 minutes.
JetBlue lost the flow of data from airport gates on the status of flights and the transmission of pilots’ work hours, spokeswoman Jenny Dervin said. She said the Friday interruption affected fewer than two dozen jets already on the ground.
FOOD
Off day for Girl Scout cookies
They promise to entice the senses with a “hint of cinnamon-ginger spice” and a “refreshingly zesty lemon creme filling,” but some Lemon Chalet Creme Girl Scout cookies didn’t quite turn out that way.
A Louisville, Ky. bakery that makes the cookies pulled some batches Thursday after about a dozen people complained of a foul smell and taste.
Little Brownie Bakers, one of the two bakeries that make Girl Scout cookies, said no one has gotten sick from the cookies and they are safe to eat.
ASIA
China holds the most U.S. debt
China did not lose its place in December as the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury debt, the Treasury Department now says.
Under annual benchmark revisions released Friday, China’s holdings of U.S. Treasury securities stood at $894.8 billion at the end of December, keeping it in first place ahead of Japan.
-- times wire reports
