General Motors, Toyota, KeyCorp, Motorola and Occidental Petroleum

CHICAGO--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Zacks.com Analyst Blog features: General Motors (OTC: [ MTLQQ ]), Toyota Motors (NYSE: [ TM ]), KeyCorp (NYSE: [ KEY ]), Motorola Inc. (NYSE: [ MOT ]) and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: [ OXY ]).

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Here are highlights from Wednesdaya�s Analyst Blog:

GM Recalls 1.5 Million Vehicles

General Motors (OTC: [ MTLQQ ]) has announced a global recall of about 1.5 million vehicles to fix a problem with a heated windshield wiper fluid system that causes fires. About 1.4 million vehicles in the U.S. and more than 100,000 vehicles in Canada, Mexico and other international markets have been affected by the recall.

The recall affected 2006 to 2009 model years of Buick Lucerne, Cadillac DTS, and Hummer H2; 2008-2009 Buick Enclave and Cadillac CTS; 2007-2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT; 2007-2009 Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado, Suburban and Tahoe; 2007-2009 GMC Acadia, Sierra, Yukon and Yukon XL; 2007-2009 Saturn Outlook; and 2009 Chevrolet Traverse.

This is, in fact, GMa�s second recall over the same issue in two years. In August 2008, the automaker recalled 900,000 vehicles due to the same problem of a heated washer fluid system on the back of a short circuit on the circuit board that overheated the ground wire in the vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed its investigation after the recall in 2008. However, GM has recently discovered fires in the vehicles that had been fixed under the 2008 recall, prompting the latest announcement.

GM has decided to disable the heated washer fluid system module in order to prevent the cars from catching fire. The automaker has agreed to pay $100 to owners and to people leasing the vehicles as the feature will be disabled.

GM has stated that customers will begin receiving the recall letters later this month but can contact their dealer to make an appointment to have the heated washer system removed.

Automotive safety recalls have become the talk of the town after Toyota Motorsa� (NYSE: [ TM ]) announcement of the largest-ever global recall of more than 8.5 million vehicles so far this year. The Japanese automakera�s recall was related to problems such as faulty accelerator gas pedals and slipping floor mats as well as defective braking systems.

KeyCorp Executive Pay in Question

On Tuesday, an investigation was announced on behalf of the long-term investors of KeyCorp (NYSE: [ KEY ]) related to possible violation in fiduciary duty related to the past and future compensation to senior officers of the company. The investigation is expected to make management rethink its compensation packages in question.

The inquiry, which was started by a law firm, focuses on claims that certain senior officers of the company were favored with unwarranted or excessive compensation. These officers were given salaries, bonuses, stock options and other forms of long-term aincentivea� or retirement compensation that were disproportionate to the companya�s performance compared with similar packages offered bypeer companies.

The law firm is also investigating similar claims about prior compensation packages. The inquest tries to allow stockholders of KeyCorp greater power to influence or control future compensation decisions.

In its annual meeting held on May 21, 2010, KeyCorp had received a 55% investor opposition on executive compensation. The company had received an 87.2% approval in the 2009 annual meeting. KeyCorp is the third U.S. company after Motorola Inc. (NYSE: [ MOT ]) and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: [ OXY ]) that failed to get a majority support during a management-sponsored "say on pay" vote.

The KeyCorp investigation reflects the disconnection between increasing pay and the companya�s lagging financial conditions. In the last fiscal year, KeyCorpa�s CEO Henry Meyer III saw a boost of 40.8% in his annual compensation to $8.7 million. For the corresponding period, the company reported a net loss of $1.335 billion. The raise in pay package came from an increase in the value of stock option grants and a large salary stock increase.

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General Motors, Toyota, KeyCorp, Motorola and Occidental Petroleum