What has changed about compensation and pay offers to executives in the last year?

For the most part executive base salaries have stayed firm and are not going up much. The economy has been slow and most firms are under pressure to cut back pay, benefits and perks. Retirement benefits are also being cut back, and employment contract terms are shorter. However performance bonuses have gone up, and so have big option awards- although recently they haven't been worth as much. Executives are seeing a lot more stock grants because the expensing of stock options has become controversial.