The Fortune 500 comes out just once a year, but the companies on it make headlines every day. Here then are today’s highlights of news and happenings coming from the biggest names in business.
By Shelley DuBois, reporter
BONUS ROUND As business improves for certain industries, CEOs are raking in bonuses for their companies’ improved performance. Walt Disney (DIS) CEO Robert A. Iger earned 45.5% more than last year, pocketing $13.5 million. Also Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric (GE), took home a $4 million cash bonus after foregoing any bonus for the previous two years when profits at GE had dropped. Starbucks (SBUX) CEO Howard Schultz was rewarded for his company’s performance last year with an extra $3.5 million. [Wall Street Journal]
GEAR GETS EXPENSIVE at Nike (NKE), which will raise the prices of its products across the board due to the increasing costs of commodities such as oil and cotton. What’s more, the company doesn’t expect see the financial benefit of the increased price margin until the next fiscal year. [Wall Street Journal]
SHIPPING WILL GROW, says FedEx (FDX), despite the turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East and the crisis in Japan. The shipping company is pegging its optimism to increased industrial production in the U.S. and the growth of the middle class in emerging markets worldwide. [Wall Street Journal]
NOT SO SEAWORTHY Sailors onboard Lockheed Martin’s (LMT) warship the USS Freedom, discovered a six-inch-long crack in the ship’s hull during its sea trials in February. The USS Freedom is the first of 55 ships built to sail close to the shore commissioned by the U.S. Navy. The Navy is concerned. [Bloomberg Businessweek]
