Briefs: Carnival in Havana; Nike’s not-so-high jump
$18.5 million The 2015 compensation for American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault, down 26 percent from the year before; Chenault hasn’t earned so little since 2008.
●● While President Obama was touringring Havana, Carnival said the Cuban government nt had finally approved its plan to start selling berths hs to the island nation out of Miami. The U.S. signed off in July on the itinerary, which calls for ships to sail every two weeks starting in May. Fares start at $1,800 per person. Royal Caribbean Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line are expected to join the party soon. ●● Exelon’s proposed $6.8 billion takeover of Pepco Holdings was approved by Washington regulators on its third attempt. That clears the way for the companies to form the nation’s biggest utility and allows Exelon Chief Executive Officer Chris Crane to complete his long-running quest to add Pepco’s steady, regulated earnings to offset losses at Exelon’s nuclear power plants. ●● Telecom Italia CEO Marco Patuano resigned after pressure from Vivendi, the French media giant that’s amassed a 24.9 percent stake in the phone operator. In a December campaign, Vivendi won four board seats at the formerly state-owned monopoly. ●● Nike’s shares fell after an earnings call in which the company forecast a high-single-digit growth rate for the next fiscal year—analysts had projected a rate of about 10 percent. A week earlier, Nike had unveiled the self-lacing HyperAdapt 1.0 sneaker. ●● Credit Suisse will eliminate about 2,000 jobs in its global markets unit. CEO Tidjane Thiam said he was blindsided by a buildup of risky positions in distressed debt and other securities that will probably spark a first-quarter loss. The bank this year has now cut a total of 6,000 jobs.
pledged to stop using animal fur in its clothes, after years of protests from animal-rights activists. Armani said research has created “valid alternatives.”