Monday Morning Must-Reads

Starting the week with a business reading list:

• Want to make some serious dough? Study up on stock options, deferred compensation and other issues and become an executive compensation consultant. According to this story, some consultants draw salaries of $950 an hour. For some other interesting data, follow this link to find out how much you're not making in comparison to top executives. The head of CSX had a pretty good year -- compensation up 958 percent. (NY Times.)
• We might believe that we're subjected to a lot of invasive security measures today. This story about a convention in Las Vegas indicates we're just getting started. (Las Vegas Review-Journal.)
• Monroe County still eyes biotechnology as an important economic development opportunity. But so do many other communities, as this story shows. (The Daily Camera of Boulder, Colo.)
• IKEA, the Swedish furniture store, has a cult following. Some have a fantasy about the chain coming here. But IKEA has apparently set its sights on a far bigger market. (Associated Press, via the Billings, Mont. Gazette.)
• The push to find alternatives to oil is ongoing. But some places are actually looking backwards, rather than at new technology. (Associated Press, via the Cincinnati Enquirer.)
• Hurricane Katrina gripped the nation, but the real story of recovering is playing out now. This story tells about some homeowners' struggles with insurance companies. (New Orleans Times-Picayune.)