CEO pay packages rise to record levels. The median pay package for CEOs of the biggest US companies reached nearly $15 million last year, setting a record for the sixth consecutive year. Total compensation rose at least 12 percent for most executives, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from MyLogIQ LLC.
Saudi Aramco’s first-quarter profits jumped 80 percent from the same period last year. The company is cashing in on souring oil prices, with its quarterly income reaching nearly $40 billion. Unlike Shell and Exxon, which face shareholder demands to reduce global warming, Saudi Aramco is almost entirely government-owned and faces little pressure to reduce output and carbon emissions.
West Virginia governor’s company is close to settling with Credit Suisse. Under the deal, Gov. Jim Justice’s coal mining company, Bluestone Resources, would reportedly ramp up production and make regular cash payments to Credit Suisse, The Financial Times reported. Bluestone had borrowed from Greensill Capital, the collapsed UK supply chain company that relied on Credit Suisse clients for financing.
McDonald’s leaves Russia for good
After more than three decades, McDonald’s, an icon of American lifestyle and capitalism, is selling its Russian business, and leaving the country, DealBook’s Lauren Hirsch reports. (It said in March it would temporarily close its operations there.) The move is a historic departure for a brand whose growth across the world became the symbol of globalism, and once served as the basis of Thomas Friedman’s peace theory.
McDonald’s says its Russian exit could cost as much as $1.4 billion. McDonald’s plans to sell its business to a local buyer. It will “de-arch” those restaurants, meaning they will no longer use the McDonald’s name, logo or branding. (It will retain its trademarks in Russia.) McDonald’s said it aims to continue to pay the employees until a deal is made, and then help them land new jobs with any potential buyer. “This was not an easy decision, nor will it be simple to execute given the size of our business and the current challenges of operating in Russia,” McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski wrote in a message to franchises, employees and suppliers.
Many brands and restaurant chains have paused their operations in Russia, but few have left entirely. A number of companies have voiced concern about the welfare of employees and common Russian citizens as the reason for not leaving the country completely. But it is widely believed that companies are not fully exiting Russia because they plan a return once the war is over. Critics have argued anything short of a full withdrawal is insufficient.
