1. Nice deduction, Watson
UnitedHealth Group has come under fire for profligate and possibly illicit executive pay, featuring reports CEO William McGuire was sitting on a $1.6 billion unexercised stock option hoard.
2. Turning point
Cisco (CSCO, news, msgs) posted a strong third quarter Tuesday afternoon and CEO John Chambers was quick to play to the crowd on the ensuing conference call. While other information technology companies have warned of a slowdown, "Our business momentum is actually increasing," Chambers said. Momentum is so strong at Cisco that Chambers used the term 26 times during the call.
3. Spring Cleaning
Morgan Stanley (MS, news, msgs) agreed to pay $15 million to settle SEC charges that the firm shirked its duty to share internal emails with government investigators.
4. Cold rinse
Whirlpool (WHR, news, msgs) is washing its hands of a hefty chunk of its Maytag buy.
The Benton Harbor, Mich., appliance maker said Wednesday it would cut 4,500 jobs as it closes three less efficient Maytag washer-dryer plants and some administrative offices, including Maytag's former headquarters in Newton, Iowa.
5. Strange celebration
It's not often that a company applauds a regulatory inquiry, but Overstock (OSTK, news, msgs) CEO Patrick Byrne did just that this week. "I may be the first CEO in history to celebrate receiving an SEC subpoena," he said in a press release Tuesday. "I believe our capital markets are broken in a deep way, our system of corporate voting and governance is a hoax, the savings of Americans are being drained through our financial system's fissure of unsettled trades, and the system appears to be cracking around Overstock.com."
