Wall Street Pay Cuts in Order

The Obama administration will order companies that received the largest share of federal aid to slash compensation of big-paycheck executives, an official told The New York Times on Wednesday. The seven companies that received the most from the bailout will have to cut the cash payouts to their top 25 best-paid executives by an average of about 90 percent from last year. Most companies would replace lost pay with stock, which executives would be prevented from selling at first. The plan will be released by the Treasury Department in the next few days and targets Citigroup, Bank of America, AIG, General Motors, and Chrysler, plus the financing divisions of the two car companies.