In brief: Google awards millions to ex-CEO Schmidt
NEW YORK – Google is awarding its $100 million worth of equity to Eric Schmidt, plus a $6 million cash bonus in recognition of the executive chairman’s contributions to the company’s performance in 2013.
Google Inc. said in a regulatory filing Tuesday that the restricted stock award will be granted on Wednesday and vest over four years starting in May 2015. The cash bonus will be paid Feb. 14.
This is the second $100 million restricted stock award Google has given Schmidt in three years. Schmidt received the other one, which also vests over four years, in January 2011, four months before Schmidt was replaced as CEO by Larry Page.
Schmidt led Google as CEO from 2001, three years before the company went public in August 2004, until 2011.
Exports top $1 billion in whiskey, bourbon
FRANKFORT, Ky. – A distilled spirits trade group says global thirst for Kentucky bourbon and Tennessee whiskey sent exports beyond $1 billion for the first time ever in 2013.
The Distilled Spirits Council says combined bourbon and Tennessee whiskey exports grew a projected 5 percent last year. Their revenues shot up even higher in the U.S., rising by a projected 10.2 percent last year.
The council says their performance overseas drove overall American distilled spirits exports above $1.5 billion. That marks the fourth straight year of record exports for American-crafted spirits.
Honda side air bags focus of investigation
DETROIT – U.S. safety regulators are investigating complaints that the side air bags on some Honda Accords can inflate when the front doors are closed.
The probe covers about 363,000 of the popular midsize cars from the 2008 model year.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says 28 drivers have complained about the problem. Two people reported injuries.
Investigators will determine how often the problem happens and whether a recall is needed.
Morgan Stanley settles securities lawsuit
Morgan Stanley said Tuesday that it has agreed to pay $1.25 billion to resolve a lawsuit over mortgage securities with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
In 2011 the government sued 18 financial firms for selling Fannie and Freddie $196 billion in mortgage securities that turned toxic when the housing market collapsed. The government had to rescue Fannie and Freddie, which own or guarantee about half of all U.S. mortgages, in a $187 billion bailout during the financial crisis.
Other banks have also settled with the FHFA. In October, J.P. Morgan Chase said it would pay $5.1 billion and Deutsche Bank reached a $1.92 billion settlement in December.
The settlement still has to be approved by the parties involved, Morgan Stanley said in a regulatory filing.