Who Moved My Bonus? Executive Pay Makes a U-Turn

"BIG corporations, buffeted by widespread economic pain and heightened scrutiny of lush compensation packages, appear to be paying attention to a longstanding complaint from shareholders: When it comes to executive pay, greed — even the appearance of it — is not good. Executive compensation for the highest-paid chief executives at public companies fell in 2008, the first such downturn in five years. And the bottom dropped out of the bonus pool, the incentive that angered investors after the controversial bonus payouts at the American International Group."