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Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Alan Mulally’s compensation rose 11 percent to $29.5 million in 2011. It was a year in which the company reported its third consecutive annual profit but was hurt by rising commodity costs and charges for a big expansion in Asia.

Ford reported Mulally’s compensation on Friday in its annual proxy filing with the federal government.

Mulally earned $2 million in salary, up 43 percent from 2010, and stock awards valued at $13.9 million, up 86 percent from the prior year. But his performance bonus dropped 42 percent to $1.8 million as the company fell short of market share and quality targets in its worldwide markets. Ford’s U.S. quality ratings were tarnished last year by glitches in its touch-screen dashboard systems and shifting problems in some automatic transmissions.

Mulally also received $612,587 in perks and other compensation for things like the use of a private jet, a personal car and driver and security.

Ford earned $20.2 billion in 2011, or $4.94 per share. But most of that was due to an accounting change. Without the one-time change, Ford earned $8.76 billion, or $1.51 per share, its highest operating profit since 1999.

Mulally’s pay _ which puts him among the highest-paid CEOs in the U.S. last year _ has been the subject of some ire among Ford factory workers. United Auto Workers President Bob King has called his compensation level “morally wrong.” Ford says Mulally’s pay is fair, pointing out that a majority of his compensation is tied to the success of Ford’s shares.

In an interview last fall, Mulally defended his pay, saying it is entirely tied to the success of Ford: “The vast majority of my compensation is at risk, because the numbers that you see are only realizable if we profitably grow the corporation instant payday loans. And that’s the way it should be.”

Ford also announced in the proxy filing that its annual meeting will be held May 10 in Wilmington, Del.

The Associated Press formula for executive compensation calculates an executive’s total compensation during the last fiscal year by adding salary, bonuses, perks, above-market interest the company pays on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock and stock options awarded during the year. The AP formula does not count changes in the present value of pension benefits, which makes the AP total slightly different in most cases from the total reported by companies to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The value that a company assigned to an executive’s stock and option awards for 2011 was the present value of what the company expected the awards to be worth to the executive over time.

Companies use one of several formulas to calculate that value. The number is just an estimate and the amount an executive ultimately receives will depend on the performance of the company’s stock.

Most stock compensation programs require an executive to wait a set time to receive shares or exercise options.

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Filed under: legal, money by Fred
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Express Scripts Inc. announced today that its $29 billion acquisition of Medco Health Solutions Inc. could close as early as next week.

“Express Scripts now expects the parties may be in a position to close the transaction as early as the week of April 2, 2012, subject to satisfaction or waiver of the remaining closing conditions,” Express Scripts said in a filing today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The two pharmacy benefit managers are awaiting approval from the Federal Trade Commission, whose antitrust lawyers have spent months scrutinizing the deal no fax payday loan. Express Scripts’ filing did not indicate what conditions the FTC may place on the planned merger.

Drug store chains, supermarkets and community pharmacists have opposed the transaction, saying that it could result in higher prescription drug prices.

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Filed under: business, technology by Fred
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World stock markets rose Tuesday after comments by Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke suggested he thinks more needs to be done to help spur the U.S. economy.

Benchmark oil hung above $107 per barrel. The dollar dropped against the euro and the yen.

Stocks were higher in early European trade. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5 percent to 5,932.07. Germany’s DAX gained 0.9 percent to 7,141.12 and France’s CAC-40 rose 0.8 percent to 3,529.64. Wall Street was poised for a higher opening, with Dow Jones industrial futures gaining 0.3 percent to 13,235 and S&P 500 futures adding 0.3 percent to 1,418.80.

Asian stock markets posted solid gains throughout the day, led by Japan’s Nikkei 225 index. The benchmark jumped 2.4 percent to close at 10,255.15, its highest finish since a devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 1 percent to 2,039.76 with heavy industrial shares helping to push the benchmark higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.8 percent to 21,046.91 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.9 percent to 4,301.30.

Bernanke told an audience at the National Association for Business Economics that the U.S. job market was still weak despite recent signs of improvement. That could mean he believes the Fed needs to continue to prop up the economy by keeping short-term interest rates near zero and perhaps by buying more bonds later.

The Fed has embarked on two previous rounds of bond-buying, most recently in late 2010, known as quantitative easing. The idea is to drive down long-term interest rates and encourage investors to buy stocks. The second round ignited a 28 percent Wall Street rally in eight months.

The mere thought that a third round of bond-buying, dubbed QE3 by industry insiders, might be possible was all it took for markets to respond.

“Bernanke said that the Fed has to maintain the regime of loose monetary policy, and the market interpreted this as a chance for QE3,” said Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong no fax pay day loan. “That’s why the stock markets rallied,” he said, referring to Wall Street. “And that carried over to Asia.”

The dollar weakened against most major currencies since traders interpreted Bernanke’s comments to mean that interest rates will remain near zero. Lower rates tend to weigh on a currency by reducing the returns investors get from holding it.

That helped support prices for commodities since they are traded in dollars and considered more of a bargain for investors who hold other currencies such as the euro.

Chinese industrial and precious metals shares rose. Hong Kong-listed Jiangxi Copper Co. jumped 3.8 percent. Aluminum Corp. of China soared 4.1 percent.

Hyundai Heavy Industries, South Korea’s leading shipbuilder, jumped 3.1 percent and Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction rose 1.9 percent.

Sentiment was also boosted by speculation that Germany would be willing to agree to an increase in Europe’s bailout fund to (EURO)700 billion ($930 billion). Germany has to date resisted calls to increase the lending capacity of the fund beyond the planned (EURO)500 billion _ despite uncertainty over the ability of Rome and Madrid to repay their debts.

Benchmark oil for May delivery was up 12 cents to $107.15 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract up 16 cents to settle at $107.03 per barrel in New York on Monday.

In currency trading, the euro rose to $1.3347 from $1.3343 late Monday in New York. The dollar slipped to 82.79 yen from 82.84 yen.

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Filed under: business, marketing by Fred
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Leung Chun-ying, a former government adviser, garnered 670 votes in the city

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OTTAWA

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Just days before Hong Kong’s elite chooses the southern Chinese financial hub’s next leader, there are signs that Beijing wants to dump its first choice for the winner as it tries to keep pace with public opinion.

On Sunday, a 1,193-person committee will vote on the semiautonomous region’s next chief executive, while the rest of Hong Kong’s 7.1 million residents have no vote. The committee is made up of business leaders and other elites, most of whom are expected to vote according to Beijing’s wishes.

The man seen early on as Beijing’s preferred candidate, Henry Tang, is the son of a wealthy businessman who is deeply unpopular because of a series of gaffes.

And there have been hints this week that China’s leaders are now switching their backing to his rival, Leung Chun-ying, a former government cabinet member.

A top Communist Party figure recently met with Leung supporters, and other pro-Beijing officials are reportedly working behind the scenes to persuade electors to vote for him.

It’s a signal that Beijing thinks it’s important to be on the right side of public opinion even in a race it controls. Unlike previous Hong Kong leadership races, the current race has been marked by a series of scandals and mudslinging over allegations of an extramarital affair, an illegal basement, an illegitimate child and links to organized crime. It’s a sharp contrast to previous races, which were the kind of dull, tightly scripted events with prearranged outcomes preferred by Beijing.

Both Tang and Leung are seen as acceptable to Beijing, but Leung has consistently led in Hong Kong public opinion polls. A former lawmaker said Thursday there have been several signs China’s leaders are changing their minds to reflect that.

James Tien, honorary chairman of the pro-Beijing Liberal Party, said mid-ranking staff from the central government’s liaison office have been contacting members of his party this week “to say why don’t you support Leung?”

They were trying to “persuasively suggest that Leung is a better candidate” than Tang, rather than issuing an outright instruction, said Tien, adding that even though the comments were not made by senior officials, he interpreted them as such.

“Nobody would dare to make comments like that if they were not given instructions by a much higher authority,” said Tien, whose party has 29 votes.

In another sign, a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo _ responsible for key decisions _ has been meeting with some Tang supporters to rally support for Leung.

Coverage by Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing newspapers also appears to have been subtly shifting to Leung.

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Filed under: business, mortgage by Fred
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Political competition for votes and lack of fiscal discipline are pushing the world

Filed under: USA, lenders by Fred
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Home purchases in the U.S. probably climbed in February to the highest level in almost two years, another sign of stabilization in the real-estate market, economists said reports this week will show.

Combined sales of new and previously owned properties rose to 4.93 million at an annual rate, the strongest since May 2010, from 4.89 million in January, according to the median forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. Home construction also improved as warmer weather bolstered prospects for the industry, another report may show.

Job and income gains, cheaper homes and the lowest mortgage rates on record have combined to push affordability to an all- time high. With fewer new dwellings on the market, residential construction may be poised to contribute more to economic growth this year.

Filed under: Credits, loans by Fred
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Two days after she opened her hair salon, Sahara Lannon took steps to ensure the new business would be around for years to come.

Lannon and her attorney, Laurie Hauber, went through the salon’s operating agreement and discussed financial issues, such as the tax ramifications of adding a partner.

“So much about this document is minimizing misunderstandings,” Hauber said to her client over stacks of legal papers last month at the Images of Change salon at 5942 Delmar Boulevard.

Hiring a lawyer can be expensive, but the meter wasn’t running on this visit. Lannon is one of more than 35 clients who have received free legal advice through an initiative launched last fall by Legal Services of Eastern Missouri. The program aims to help low-income entrepreneurs starting or expanding businesses and for nonprofits that serve low-income individuals.

The initiative, called the Community Economic Development program, is one of a few similar programs available through Legal Services Corp., a Washington-based nonprofit that distributes federal funding to 135 independent Legal Services programs nationwide.

Ken Harrington, managing director of the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, said nothing like Legal Services’ new program exists locally.

“This is a major, major gap that they’re going to fill,” he said.

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri has worked for decades to provide “survival services,” said Daniel Glazier, the agency’s executive director and general counsel.

From its office in St. Louis, the staff attorneys and volunteers provide free legal help in civil cases to those who meet income and other eligibility guidelines. Its recipients include tenants fighting illegal evictions, battered spouses seeking orders of protection and consumers who have been defrauded.

The new program is a way to go beyond basic needs and offer people a way to break out of poverty, Glazier said.

“These folks are going to hire other people in the community, in addition to bettering themselves,” he said.

In the case of Vitendo 4 Africa, a nonprofit based in Hazelwood that helps immigrants from Africa, lawyers are helping the nonprofit establish a micro-loan program.

Vitendo 4 Africa’s founder, Geoffrey Soyiantet, said micro-lending will help immigrants who don’t have credit histories to buy a car or other equipment to start a business.

The new initiative came to fruition despite the funding challenges facing Legal Services. Legal Services Corp.’s federal funding fell 14 percent to $348 million in fiscal 2012. As a result, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri’s funding from Legal Services dropped 15 percent to $1.9 million in fiscal 2012.

FINDING FUNDING

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri had been looking for a way to fund law advice for entrepreneurs and nonprofits for several years, but the money couldn’t come at the expense of reducing basic legal needs, Glazier said.

In 2010, Hauber began working as a volunteer with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri after moving from Nashville, where she taught at Vanderbilt Law School for five years.

After talking to local nonprofits about the inaccessibility of legal services, she decided to create a program similar to a one she started in Boston in 2001.

Hauber worked on securing funding sources, and by last fall, the local Legal Services secured grants totaling more than $130,000 from PNC Bank, U.S. Bank, Bank of America, the St. Louis County Port Authority Community Reinvestment Fund, St. Louis Development Corp., the Trio foundation and the Incarnate Word Foundation.

In October, she was hired to lead the new Community Economic Development program.

Hauber practiced corporate law in San Francisco early in her career, but she says she felt pulled to using legal services as a means to furthering economic development.

“These are people who don’t have access to capital or professional networks,” Hauber said. “This is about leveling the playing field.”

Several local law firms and in-house counsel at Sigma-Aldrich and Emerson have stepped forward to volunteer with the new effort. The law firms that have participated include Husch Blackwell; Bryan Cave; Lewis, Rice & Fingersh; Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart; Greensfelder; Armstrong Teasdale; Gallop, Johnson & Neuman, Thompson Coburn; and Steinberg & Steinberg.

The new service fills a crucial void in the region, according to the Skandalaris Center’s Harrington.

Washington University and St. Louis University’s law schools have clinics for students to provide free legal help for nonprofits and entrepreneurs under the direction of attorneys, but they’re limited by what they can do, Harrington said.

For example, they can’t file incorporation documents for businesses, which is overlooked by some entrepreneurs getting started.

“It’s a relatively inexpensive thing, but if you don’t do it … it can be devastating.”

Harrington said many small startups don’t anticipate disputes between family members or business partners and overlook completing legal documents that can avoid problems when disputes arise.

“Without that legal foundation established, the probability of failure goes way up,” he said.

For Lannon, the salon owner, opening Images of Change was a lifetime dream for the 34-year-old, who cut and colored her friends’ and family members hair since she was a teenager. After working in customer service, collections and as a stylist at a hair salon for more than a decade, Lannon always wanted to open her own shop.

“I have three girls, and I wanted to show them you don’t have to work for someone else,” she said.

Last fall, Lannon saw an advertisement by a nonprofit, the Grace Hill Settlement House, for a 10-week class on starting or expanding a business through its women’s business center. The classes are held at Washington University’s west campus in Clayton. During the class, she found out about Legal Services’ new program.

Lannon, who opened the salon to customers in late February, is hiring. Images of Salon currently has a staff of two, and she is seeking to hire several stylists and a nail technician.

Without the legal help, Lannon said she’s doubtful Images of Change would exist.

“I have so many ideas,” she said. “But I have to have the right team. Without the right team, my dreams wouldn’t come true.”

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Filed under: lenders, loans by Fred
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The number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits fell back to a four-year low last week and manufacturing in the Northeast held up in March, providing more signs the economy was firmly on a self-sustaining growth path.

But a jump in prices paid by manufacturers in New York state and the biggest gain in five months for producer prices in February hinted at potential headwinds facing the economy.

The recent gains in oil and gasoline prices have raised concerns the higher costs could start to squeeze businesses and consumers and put a dent in the recovery.

Still, producer prices last month did not rise as much as economists had expected, and underlying inflation pressures were contained.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 351,000, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday. That took claims back to a four-year low reached in February.

Separately, the New York Federal Reserve said its Empire State general business conditions index rose to 20.21 - its highest level since June 2010 - from 19.53 in February.

“This suggests that the recovery is firmly on track,” said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.

But the components were more mixed, with new orders easing and prices paid racking up their biggest monthly jump in 6-1/2 years.

That was in contrast to a report on factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region, where prices paid rose more slowly in March than in February. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank’s business activity index showed manufacturing also continued to grow in the region, rising to 12.5 from 10.2.

Thursday’s reports were the latest to imply the economy was holding its own, even though the pace of growth was expected to slow this quarter from the fourth quarter’s 3.0 percent annualized clip.

The data helped Wall Street push higher in mid-morning trading, with the S&P 500 up about 0.2 percent.

HOPEFUL SIGNS ON JOBS

The four-week moving average for new jobless claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, was unchanged at 355,750.

First-time applications for jobless benefits have been tucked in a tight range since mid-February, a hopeful sign for the labor market, which has enjoyed three straight months of employment gains above 200,000.

The jobless rate held at a three-year low of 8.3 percent in February. The firming labor market tone was reinforced by the manufacturing surveys, which showed factories increased employment this month.

While the Federal Reserve earlier this week acknowledged the recent improvement in the labor market, it remained concerned with the still-high unemployment rate.

The central bank said it expected the jobless rate, which has declined 0.8 percentage point since August, to “gradually” decline.

In a second report, the Labor Department said its seasonally adjusted producer price index increased 0.4 percent last month, quickening from January’s 0.1 percent gain.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected prices at farms, factories and refineries to rise 0.5 percent.

Wholesale prices excluding volatile food and energy costs rose 0.2 percent, moderating from January’s 0.4 percent increase. While that was in line with economists’ expectations, it was the third consecutive month of increases in core PPI.

The Fed said on Tuesday the recent steep run-up in oil and gasoline prices would push inflation up only temporarily.

Overall produces prices were lifted by a 1.3 percent increase in energy prices after a 0.5 percent drop in January. Food prices dipped 0.1 percent after falling 0.3 percent the prior month.

In the 12 months to February, producer prices increased 3.3 percent, the smallest increase since August 2010, after advancing 4.1 percent in January.

Another report showed the number of Americans receiving delinquency notices on their homes rose 1 percent in February from a month earlier, but overall foreclosure filings, which include default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, dropped 2 percent.

The report from RealtyTrac offered a signal that a backlog of foreclosures, which had been held up as banks sorted out legal problems with loan documentation, was starting to move. This could put further downward pressure on home prices, but eventually lay the ground for a healthier market.

Foreclosure activity jumped 24 percent from a year ago in states where foreclosures must be processed through the courts, while activity tumbled 23 percent in other states. Foreclosure times have stretched longer in the so-called judicial states, contributing to the backlog.

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