A new research report by Equilar - the market leader for executive compensation benchmarking solutions - showed a decline in bonuses for chief executives while 10b5-1 stock trading plan usage is up. The study surveyed 178 companies with annual revenues of more than $1 billion, designed to represent the larger Fortune 500 firms.

The study found that CEO bonuses fied to annual performance plans fell by 18.6% while the prevalence of such payouts fell from 77.5% in 2006 to 70.4% in 2007. However, overall bonuses for chief executives grew by 1.4% over 2006 amid a rise in discretionary awards and cash payouts from annual and multi-year performance plans. The prevalence of these discretionary bonuses increased slightly.

The study also found a rise in the usage of 10b5-1 stock trading plans. The number of officers using this plan increased 5.5%, but the change actually reflects a slowdown in adoption rates. In 2007, 31.8% of Fortune 500 companies had at least one Section 16 officer using such a stock trading plan, which is up from just 28.7% the year before and 25.6% in 2005.

In the end, these results should be surprising given the poor performance of stocks. It looks like more bonuses are shifting from performance-based to discretionary while more executives are getting on plans to sell stock regularly.

New York Times (NYSE: NYT) chief executive Janet Robinson received a mere $2.1 million in 2007 total compensation - a 38% pay cut from last year. The executive's compensation consisted of a $1 million base salary and $1.1 million in non-stock incentive bonuses. She was eligible to receive up to twice her salary if certain targets were met, but the executive failed to attain the targets and received no stock options.

The decrease in compensation was mainly due to a policy change, however. The New York Times changed the timing of its awards to February following the year for which they are intended as compensation for. Robinson received 650,000 options as compensation in 2007 along with 65,000 in preferred stock. These amounts will be reflected in the executive's 2008 total compensation. So much for hoping...

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Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) chief executive James Cornelius received a big raise in 2007 despite mounting problems faced by the company. Cornelius is set to make $13.5 million - five times his 2006 wage - as the company faces increased competition and a thinning development pipeline that has many investors worried.

Cornelius' compensastion consisted of a base salary of around $1.4 million, a bonus of $1.1 million, roughly $2.2 million in other incentives, and other compensation totaling $424,954. This other compensation included required company jet travel, car allowances, and a housing allowance. The remainder of his compensation came in the form of stock options and restricted stock worth around $8.4 million.

Shareholders didn't receive anything from the company during this same time period. In fact, the stock dropped 1.2 percent in 2007 while profit rose a mere 36.5 percent. Meanwhile, the company also announced that it would cut 10 percent of its workforce in an effort to restructure and save $1.5 billion by 2010.

The worst new for investors, however, is the expiration of its Plavix patent, which will cause a sharp drop in revenues. This will happen in November 2011 and the company also faces several more expirations over the next several years and generic drug companies continue to challenge patents.

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American Axle & Manufacturing (AXL) may be locked in a dispute with striking works over steep wage cuts, but that didn't stop the company's chief executive from receiving a nine percent raise. In fact, Dick Dauch's salary grew to an astonishing $10.2 million just after strikes by some 3,650 workers are now entering their fifth week. Other executives also received compensation amounting to $30 million for 2007.

American Axle has proposed cutting labor costs in the U.S. that now average above $73 per hour to between $20 and $30 in an effort to reduce costs and improve their bottom line. However, the union behind the workers rejected the proposal and charged that the company was utilizing unfair labor practices by withholding key financial information that could be used to justify higher wages.

The company's argument that it cannot compete with US factories that pay wages and benefits on par with major US automakers as its total wages now run more than three times that of competitors. But then, why aren't executives taking any of the cuts as well?

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) chief executive Ken Lewis received a total of $17 million in compensation during 2007 compared to $96 million in 2006. The executive's bonus also came in at a mere $4.25 million, which is down from $6.5 million a year earlier. The cut in pay was actually steeper than shareholders' 22 percent loss holding the company's stock during the same time period.

"We believe our executive compensation program results in total compensation awards that are reasonable and appropriate in amount, align our executive officers' interests with those of our stockholders, are directly linked to our performance and are easy for our stockholders to understand," said the compensation committee in a statement.

Indeed, Bank of America appears to be one of the few companies actually getting it right this time around. The executive made far less money because he either didn't or wasn't able to exercise his stock options given the lower price thanks to problems with its mortgage securities.

Interestingly, shareholders will also get to vote on a new pay proposals during the company's April 23rd annual meeting that would give them a non-binding executive compensation vote. This is a proposal that has been making its rounds and it quickly becoming the norm. In the end, Bank of America may not need one since they got it right!

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Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) chief executive Ivan Seidenberg received $20.3 million in 2007, which is up from $20.2 million from the year before, according to a regulatory filing made with the SEC. The executive's base salary was $2.1 million with a bonus of $4.2 million and stock award of $13.1 million. Meanwhile, the company's stock rose 17.3 percent in 2007 as the street started to get over skepticism about a plan to make fiberoptic connections to connect its customers.

Seidenberg also received perks worth $825,312, including $149,023 in personal use of the company aircraft, and $431,395 in contributions to a deferred savings plan. Interestingly, Verizon is also one of the few companies that opted to give shareholders a non-binding vote on executive comensation. Next year, shareholders will be able to cast their vote on whether or not the 2008 compensation package is reasonable. Last year, shareholders voted by a slim margin to adopt such provisions intially suggested by The Association of BellTel Retirees. In the end, the company seems to be on track with its executive compensation.

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Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK) Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger both kept their $100,000 per year salaries in 2007, according to a regulatory filing with the SEC. The two chiefs of Berkshire have kept the same salary for more than 25 years and criticized other executives for partaking in excessive compensation. However, some say that it's easy to take a low salary when one man is the richest in the world and another is worth over $2 billion!

The two did not receive any additional perks, unlike the laundrylist seen at the feet of many other executives. In fact, the two even reimburse the company for any personal costs such as postage or calls that the company may have paid! Buffett contributed $50,000 in such reimbursements while Munger contributed $5,500. Both believe that their real compensation is tied to the fate of the investment conglomorate that they have built.

Many investors are again planning their exodus to the company's annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska on May 3rd. The meeting has become somewhat of an event moreso than a simple annual meeting as Buffett and Munger give speeches and field questions about not only company specifics but also the larger economy. In fact, many use this as an opportunity to pick Buffett's brain on macro-economic topics only mildly related to the companies he owns.

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Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) CEO William Weldon received compensation last year valued at $25.1 million - a 22% increase - at the same time the company is planning to cut 4 percent of its workforce in its biggest restructuring ever. The executive received a base salary of $1.73 million, $7.7 million in stock options, and another $9.19 million in an annual performance bonus. Finally, the executive also received other compensation of $3.22 million with $118,653 in personal use of company aircraft and $29,753 for a personal car and driver.

Johnson & Johnson itself saw a rare decline in net income last year after it took restructuring charges of $528 million. The broad plan also called for the elimination of 4,820 jobs in an effort to boost their bottom line by cutting expenses. Sales jumped, however, on acquisition of Pfizer's large consumer health business. Shareholders clearly took note as this years proxy comes with one shareholder proposal on the subject of executive compensation. Like most others, this would be for a non-binding vote to approve compensation and policies used to set that compensation.

In the end, this compensation isn't as ridiculous as many others we've seen and it does tie pay to performance fairly well.

Visa Inc. is poised to be the largest initial public offering on record and many investors are set to make a lot of money. One of them is Chief Executive Joseph Saunders, who was named to the top spot last year. The executive will be set to receive the option to buy 831,444 Visa shares at the offering price, which is valued at around $11 million based on the expected increase of Visa shares over time.

Saunders will also recieve a grant of 12,025 shares worth around $475,000 and an $11.2 million salary and bonus for little more than ten months of work. Compensation experts insist that these numbers are far above average, but then again Visa has performed extremely well over the past couple of years. Others point to the fact that Saunders didn't receive equity awards last year while its peers grant equity on a regular basis- this may justify such a large award.

The past 10 months may have been short, but Saunders has also put a lot of work into laying the groundwork for a public offering. Meanwhile, he has also done well supervising the company's reorganization. Finally, it is worth noting that the MasterCard CEO received $10 million when his company IPO'd and that is a much smaller organiation. Combined, these factors suggest that the Visa CEO may not have been overcompensated at all.

Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) chief executive August Busch IV took a pay cut this year, receiving only $12.2 million in 2007. The compensation included a base salary of $1.2 million, a bonus of $2.5 million, $8.3 million in stock options, and $206,000 in other compensation, according to a proxy filing with the SEC. He also received other small perks like use of a company jet for him and his family members for business purposes and free admission to the company's theme parks. All in all, this compares to a total compensation of $12.7 million in 2006 - a 10% cut in pay.

The move comes after the Budweiser-maker has been struggling to boost sales with stagnant demand for beer in the United States. The stock did manage to rise nearly 10% in 2007 thanks to distribution deals that added import revenues. However, rising incredient costs is forcing a rise in prices that is curbing the growth. As a result, it was forced to lower its estimates for this upcoming year and faces some concern about its future direction. Regardless, it is good to see an executive that has his pay tied to company performance for once!

Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) chief executive Richard T. Clark received compensation valued at $14.5 million in 2007. The 80 percent raise shocked many investors in a year when the drugmaker took a $4.85 billion charge to settle lawsuits stemming from its former painkiller Vioxx. In fact, shares in the company recently hit a new 52-week low amid continuing concerns about lawsuits while executive compensation only seems to be rising.

Most of Clark's compensation came in the form of stock options that were worth $8.23 million while he also received $4.31 million as part of an incentive plan. In addition to his base salary on top of that, he also received $51,024 for a home security system, $18,686 in unspecified commuting costs, $10,125 in company matches to his retirement plan and $1,128 for unspecified aircraft use. At least shareholders can be comforted by the fact that he didn't run up as high of a personal jet cost as his peers!

In all fairness, Clark did take the reins after Merck was forced to withdraw its Vioxx painkiller from the market and faced tens of thousands of lawsuits. However, few can still justify rising executive compensation given the stock's steep declines in recent months. Luckily, the AFL-CIO - which holds 1,300 shares - agrees and is now calling for a shareholder advisory vote on compensation. We'll see how far that makes it on April 22nd...

Congress questioned three prominent financial executives today about the huge paydays that they had earned despite sharp losses for shareholders. The three executives included Stan O'Neal of Merrill Lynch, Charles Prince of Citigroup, and Agelo Mozilo of Countrywide Financial. The first two lost their jobs as a result of the decline while Mozilo ended up being bailed out via an acquisition by Bank of America. All of these executives took home enormous pay packages on the backs of shareholders, but claimed that their pay was grossly misrepresented by the media.

The Congressional committee members suggested that most Americans are living in a world where economic security is precarious and there are real economic consequences for failture. But America's top executives seem to be living by different rules. So, the question becomes: When companies fail to perform should they give millions of dollars to their senior executives? The executives responded by bringing up how well the company's performed under their rule before problems hit. They also argued that their actions taken when things went bad would have been taken even if things were going just fine.

One of the biggest issues raised was with the timing of their stock sales. Regulators claimed that they sold stock at a high and ended up making millions as a result. The executives countered that they reported their sales ahead of time to the public through various SEC filings and that meant transparency for shareholders. Moreover, many of the executives still held a vast amount of their personal wealth still invested in the company, and the selling was simply part of a scheduled plan that happened to occur before the market turned.

In the end, this meeting showed many Congressional members that executive compensation isn't all that unreasonable given the great performance of the companies in the past. As one member said, there are no villains present in the room; no fraud was committed; and nothing was done wrong. The problems experienced with this company were simply the result of a turning economy that some risk mismanaged that was industrywide.

A recent report put out by Congress criticized top banking industry executives who were paid hundreds of millions of dollars in salary and bonuses while their companies were burned by the mortgage market meltdown. The report comes just days before Henry Waxman is expected to question Angelo Mozilo of Countrywide, Charles Prince from Citigroup, and Stan O'Neal from Merrill Lynch in a hearing of his Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The meeting is designed to determine if the level of compensation is justified considering the wide losses realized by shareholders who own the companies they manage.

Waxman is expected to criticize the executives whose companies lost a combined $20 billion in the second half of 2007 alone for taking such high compensation packages. Mozilo received a reported $120 million in compensation while O'Neal left Merrill Lynch with an estimated $161 million after leaving the brokerage with its largest ever loss. All three were eventually ousted from their companies, but not before receiving such large compensation packages. These striking discrepencies between pay and performance shocked shareholders and regulators while boards struggled to justify them to shareholders.

Apple Inc. (NDAQ: AAPL) shareholders approved a non-binding resolution Tuesday asking the board of directors to give shareholders input on executive compensation. Preliminary results of the voting were not immediately availabe, but the proposal required a simple majority to pass. Meanwhile, another shareholder proposal designed to create a board committee on sustainability and environmental protection was rejected.

The AFL-CIO - the leading organization focused on executive compensation - urged shareholders to demand a say-on-pay commenting that the U.S. system for paying chief executives is broken. The organization has successfully pushed for such votes in many companies with great success. Steve Jobs joked after the proposal was brought forth, "I'm hoping the say on pay proposal will help me with my dollar a year salary!".

Meanwhile, many experts continue to question the real value of such proposals given the fact that they are simply advisory votes and not binding votes. The board can still decide to pay executives more than shareholders recommend and still face a relatively small chance of being ousted as a result. The positive side is that this fear alone is keeping board members from issuing huge amounts of pay, but then again these proposals have only passed in companies without problems so far...

MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI) shareholders may be hurting after the bond insurer posted a $1.9 billion loss, but executives are set to receive salary increases and "retention awards" of up to $2.3 million. The company's board of directors approved salary increases of 60% for some executives while awarding executives that stay with the company an as much as $2.3 million in "retention awards". MBIA justified the move saying they needed to keep certain employees while the raises only offset cuts to bonuses this year as a result of the stock price dropping more than 75%. Where can shareholders sign-up to be paid back the money they lost out on recently?

MBIA underwrites insurance policies that promise to repay bondholders when bond issuers default. The company currently has $680 billion in debt and has been threatened by ratings agencies as decaying credit quality has put its credit rating at risk. Any drop below AAA would almost certainly eliminate the firm's new business, putting pressure on its existing loans and its ability to raise additional capital through equity. Many investors like Bill Ackman are even questioning whether or not the company can stay alive and are shocked they are even granted an AAA rating at times like these.

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) chief executive Neville Isdell made a cool $21.7 million in 20007, according to a regulatory filing made with the SEC today. The compensation package included a base salary of $1.6 million, $6.6 million from a non-equity inventive plan, $12.6 million in stock and option grants, and $817,066 in other compensation (which included $341,849 in personal use of the company aircraft). Muhtar Kent is set to succeed Isdell as chief executive and received a 57 percent increase in pay in 2007, making a cool $8.7 million as chief operating officer of Coca-Cola.

All in all, much of this compensation is tied to performance with Coca-Cola's net income rose 18 percent to $5.98 billion on revenues up 20 percent to $28.9 billion. Warren Buffett is the largest holder and is well known for his impeccible corporate governance practices that have led to this strong pay-for-performance trend at this company. Investors can track these compensation amounts, trends and other data at ExecutiveDisclosure.com.