Business briefs

Pay delay

A federal bankruptcy judge has temporarily blocked a proposed $20 million severance payment for American Airlines CEO Tom Horton.

Raking it in

Goldman’s board awarded CEO Lloyd Blankfein a 75 percent increase in compensation, to $21 million, for 2012, including pay, bonus and restricted stock awards.

Retail slump

Retail sales in the US dropped in March by the most in nine months, pointing to a slowdown in consumer spending as the first quarter ended.

Longer wait

Verizon Wireless plans to make contract customers wait longer before they can upgrade their phone with a subsidized device, pushing the time to 24 months, up from 20 months, after signing a two-year contract.

Zandi zeal

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Corp.’s Moody’s Analytics unit, is a leading candidate to head the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.