The Wonderful World of Fox Presents: The Beauty of the CEO

Notwithstanding the fact that U.S. corporate profits fell in the 4th Quarter of 2006, or that many financial experts view that fall as the beginning of a broader economic downturn, our beloved Fox News happily reports the results of a corporate survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc:

CEO Salaries, Bonuses Rise in 2006 on Strong Profits

The survey results read something like an old Disney fantasy for the rich and famous:

The CEOs saw annual bonuses increase 13 percent and the value of their equity-based compensation holdings grow nearly 50 percent last year, according to a study by financial management consultants Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc.
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The analysis is based on proxy statements of 92 large companies whose CEOs remained in their positions in 2005 and 2006.

Median annual bonuses for chief executives increased to $2.2 million last year. At the same companies, the median growth in earnings per share was 14 percent.

The median value of CEOs' equity compensation, which includes in-the-money stock options and restricted stock awards, increased to $30.2 million last year.

Base salaries grew 4 percent to a median $1.1 million, according to the study.

Remember that the next time you're sitting at the kitchen table at 3am. trying to figure out whether eating or medical care is a higher priority given your inadequate income. And while you sit there in the middle of the night with shivers and dread, also contemplate this statement from a Market Watch piece on the falling 4th Quarter profits:

While profits are up 130% since the recession ended, industrial capacity in the United States has grown 4%, investments in equipment and software are up 22%, and employment is up 5%.

Sounds fair to me. After all, you could look at this as meaning "everything is up." Right? Huh?