Bonuses

Four of Google Inc.'s top executives each received 2008 bonuses of more than $1.2 million. The bonuses disclosed in a regulatory filing were less than the awards doled out in 2007 when Google's profit rose 37%.

Hundreds of National Guard recruiters and soldiers are under investigation for illegally taking more $29 million in bonuses for signing up recruits at the height of the Iraq war. Army investigators say that an outside contractor paid $700 to $1,200 bonuses even when the recipients had no role in signing up recruits. The Army shut down the program in 2012. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), whose subcommittee is holding a hearing on the case Tuesday, called it "one of the biggest fraud investigations in Army history.

General Electric Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt declined a 2008 bonus and millions of dollars in performance awards, saying Wednesday that the company's falling profit and share price prompted him to forgo the payments. The Fairfield, Conn.-based conglomerate, which makes locomotives, appliances and many other goods, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Immelt would not receive his $11.7-million long-term performance award.

To beat the competition, the management of American Airlines and US Airways is putting up some reward money. Under a recently announced incentive program, the company that now operates the two airlines has offered each employee a $50 bonus for each government-monitored performance category the merged carrier dominates. The two airlines have agreed to join forces and now operate under the management of the American Airlines Group. In March, the U.S. Department of Transportation is to release a ranking of the nation's airlines for on-time performance, the rate of mishandled baggage and customer satisfaction.

Complainers, excuse peddlers and social loafers. Every company has them. I'm talking about unmotivated employees who hurt not only business but also everyone working around them. So how do you motivate unmotivated employees? One way is to offer traditional financial incentives such as annual bonuses or employee-of-the-month awards. A start-up called Bonus.ly aims to change the incentive model, helping companies reward and motivate employees by using peer-to-peer bonuses. It uses a Web platform that offers a different approach to employee recognition, reward and collaboration.

New York's attorney general issued subpoenas Tuesday to former Merrill Lynch & Co. Chief Executive John Thain and Bank of America Corp.'s chief administrative officer, J. Steele Alphin, amid an investigation into bonuses that Merrill paid executives just before it was sold to Bank of America. Thain, 53, was serving as head of the newly combined company's wealth management division before he resigned last week.

In frantically rushing to the rescue of American International Group Inc. last fall, Treasury Department officials negotiated a $40-billion deal that explicitly allowed the company to set aside tens of millions of dollars for executive bonuses and richly reward individual senior executives without restrictions or any concern that the government might interfere.

President Obama blasted Wall Street executives on Thursday, calling it the "height of irresponsibility" that they gave employees massive bonuses last year even as the government was forking over billions to bail out ailing financial firms. Obama's stern lecture was inspired by a new report finding that the executives approved $18.4 billion in bonuses in 2008 -- still a big drop from the previous year. But seated in the Oval Office after a meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy F.

To beat the competition, the management of American Airlines and US Airways is putting up some reward money. Under a recently announced incentive program, the company that now operates the two airlines has offered each employee a $50 bonus for each government-monitored performance category the merged carrier dominates. The two airlines have agreed to join forces and now operate under the management of the American Airlines Group. In March, the U.S. Department of Transportation is to release a ranking of the nation's airlines for on-time performance, the rate of mishandled baggage and customer satisfaction.

Re "Ailing AIG stands by need for bonuses," March 15 American International Group says it has to pay bonuses because of its contracts. Simple: No contract is valid, because the bonus money is not the company's. The bonus money belongs to the American middle class. It's my money and my neighbors' money. We do not have to honor a "contract" into which we did not enter. We demand that our money not be distributed to the obscenely greedy executives of AIG. Because AIG no longer has any money, other than our money, it no longer gets to write the rules.

Lauryn Williams' hamstring had failed her, but her competitive spirit was undamaged. Williams, who won a silver medal in the 100-meter dash at the 2004 Athens Olympics and a gold medal for running in the first heat of the U.S. women's 400-meter relay at the 2012 London Games, intended to become a certified financial planner after a recurring leg injury nudged her to retire from running last June. A chance airport chat with hurdler Lolo Jones, who had made the U.S. bobsled team last season and enthusiastically endorsed the sport, piqued Williams' curiosity enough for her to give it a try before she hung up her spikes.

If you fly only once or twice a year, it can be hard to pile up enough frequent-flier miles or points to get an award ticket. Signing up with credit card companies when bonuses are offered helps, but there are other ways to make what miles you do have work for you. Some airlines offer plans that allow you to pool your points as a family so you can qualify for a free ticket faster. This kind of program is most common among international carriers, but domestic airlines are starting to use this plan as well.

NEW YORK - For a night, it was like the good old days on Wall Street. Bankers and traders in dark suits flocked to a Times Square blues lounge to sip cocktails and catch up after work. What made this gathering different was what was on the marquee outside: "LEH Rocks On. " The LEH referred to the old stock ticker of Lehman Bros., the investment bank whose collapse five years ago this week set into motion the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. This was a reunion of former employees, all watching the bank's former house bands jam cover songs such as the Talking Heads' hit "Burning Down the House.

Job satisfaction is at a 20-year low in the U.S., and we're spending more and more time at work. Some researchers say there's a cheap and effective way to boost happiness and productivity. Rather than award employees bonuses, either as individuals or in teams, employers who give money to their workers to spend on charities or on their colleagues get better results, the researchers reported this week in the journal PLOS One . The researchers looked at three experiments. In one, workers at an Australian bank were given $25 or $50 to donate to the charity of their choice.

This post has been updated.  See below for details. The dramatic increase in the value of 21st Century Fox stock has paid big dividends for Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and Chase Carey. Last week, the senior officers of 21st Century Fox were paid cash for shares they had accumulated over three years as part of their long-term performance-based compensation, according to a filing this week with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The executives -- plus David DeVoe, the company's former chief financial officer -- on Thursday received the compensation, which was based on that day's closing price of $32.27 per share of 21st Century Fox stock.

Join Times reporters Jack Dolan and Michael Finnegan at 9 a.m. Friday for an L.A. Now Live discussion about several issues involving the L.A. Department of Water and Power. Dolan , Finnegan , Times staff writer David Zahniser  and others have been following the DWP closely. In his latest story , Dolan focused on a little-known clause in the union contract of DWP employees that ensures they can work extra hours and collect even higher wages when private contractors are hired to help them get the job done.

NEW YORK -- Wall Street has been slashing jobs, kicking out traders and bankers as the finance industry shrinks. But those with high-paying jobs are still taking in fat bonuses. The average cash bonus on Wall Street last year rose an estimated 9% to nearly $121,900, according to a report released Tuesday by New York state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Overall, the New York securities industry is expected to dole out $20 billion in 2012 cash bonuses, up 8% from the previous year.

The furor over American International Group Inc.'s million-dollar payouts to employees who nearly toppled the insurance giant is turning a spotlight on what critics say is frequently an abuse in the way corporate executives are paid. AIG is shelling out $450 million in so-called retention bonuses. Such payouts have been used for years to keep coveted employees from jumping ship during periods of corporate upheaval, typically caused by a merger or bankruptcy.

WASHINGTON -- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday sued Castle & Cooke Mortgage, accusing it of paying illegal bonuses to employees who steered home buyers toward higher-interest loans. The suit marks the first time a company has been targeted under new federal loan-origination compensation rules adopted after a mountain of bad home loans set off a global financial crisis. The bureau sued in federal court in Utah, where Castle & Cooke is based, accusing two of its top executives of running a quarterly bonus program that paid $6,100 to $8,700 to loan officers who persuaded consumers to take out pricier mortgages.

Two lodges inside Grand Canyon National Park are offering a late summer deal that add a bus tour and breakfast to the price of a room. The offer for stays at Maswik and Yavapai lodges is available for 15 days starting Aug. 25. The deal: The End of Summer package costs $174 a night for rooms at Maswik Lodge North and $159 at Yavapai Lodge East (prices exclude tax), based on double occupancy. It includes breakfast for two, a bus excursion for two - Hermits Rest morning tour or a sunset tour - and discounts on gift shop purchases of $50 or more.