Business Briefing

COMPENSATION

Pay czar to review 419 companies

Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration pay czar in charge of curbing executive compensation, will review pay at 419 companies during a four-month period of 2008 and 2009, according to a person with knowledge of the process.

Feinberg may use publicity to induce executives to return some of the funds, said the person, who declined to be identified because the discussions are private.

Feinberg doesn’t have legal authority to recoup or “claw back” money paid during the period being reviewed, which ran from Oct. 28, 2008, to Feb. 17, 2009, the person said.

Ford chief made 1% more in ’09

Ford Motor Co. President and Chief Executive Alan Mulally made $17.9 million last year, about 1% more than the year before, as the company struggled through the worst U.S. auto sales market in decades, according to an Associated Press calculation based on government filings.

Mulally took a 30% pay cut in February of last year, dropping his salary to $1.4 million, and he got no bonus for the second year in a row.

But the value of his stock options and stock awards rose 9%, to more than $16 million, as the market improved and Ford’s shares climbed later in the year.

Intel chief made 16% more in ’09

Intel Corp. Chief Executive Paul Otellini got a 2009 pay package that was 16% higher than the year before.

Intel attributed the boost to the company’s improved financial performance later in the year as the market for personal computers rebounded.

Otellini received a total of $14.4 million. That included $1 million in salary plus a $5.3-million bonus and stock and options worth $7.9 million when they were granted.

BIOTECH

Biogen adds two board directors

Biogen Idec Inc. named two directors to its board in an agreement with billionaire investor Carl Icahn to avoid a third proxy battle in as many years.

Eric Rowinsky, an oncologist selected by Icahn, and Stephen Sherwin, chairman of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, are the new members, Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen said.

Icahn withdrew his proposal to limit the size of the board to 12 seats, it said.

AUTOS

Electric Fiat car planned for 2012

Chrysler Group’s new Italian management is revising the company’s electric vehicle strategy, announcing that it will build a fully electric Fiat 500 minicar to sell in the U.S. in 2012.

But it’ll be at least two years behind Nissan Motor Co., General Motors Co., and Ford Motor Co., all of which plan to offer rechargeable electric vehicles this year.

Engineers at Chrysler’s Auburn Hills, Mich., technical center are aiming to get more than 100 miles on a single charge from a home outlet.

EARNINGS

Cookware seller beats estimates

Williams-Sonoma Inc., the U.S. gourmet-cookware retailer, reported fourth-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates.

Earnings before one-time items were 86 cents a share in the three months ended Jan. 31, the San Francisco-based company said. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated 74 cents on average.

Revenue was $1.09 billion, higher than analysts’ estimate of $1.07 billion.

For the current fiscal year, the retailer forecast earnings, excluding some items, of $1.16 to $1.26 a share.

Analysts predicted $1.03, on average.

-- times wire reports