AIG – News Stories About AIG - Page 10

Oct 8, 2008 4:00 PM CDT

AIG Chief Defends Luxe Retreat

(Newser) - AIG today defended the $440,000 luxury retreat it held on the heels of an $85 billion federal bailout, the Wall Street Journal reports. In a letter explaining its actions to the US Treasury, CEO Edward Liddy explained that the event—which racked up a $23,000 spa bill— was...

AIG Execs Took Spa Week After $85B Bailout

Oct 7, 2008 3:41 PM CDT

AIG Execs Took Spa Week After $85B Bailout

Former CEOs appear before skeptical House to defend spending

(Newser) - After being bailed out by Washington, AIG executives engaged in some conspicuous consumption, and it’s still going on, Portfolio reports. Two former CEOs of the insurance giant testified before the House today, and lawmakers took them to task for reckless compensation and an executive retreat at a California spa...

Stocks Flat Amid Bailout Wait

MARKETS

Sep 24, 2008 3:25 PM CDT

Stocks Flat Amid Bailout Wait

Housing sales decline; Buffet boosts Goldman

(Newser) - Stocks swung between gains and losses today as the proposed financial bailout continued to dominate conversation but remained unsettled. The technology-rich Nasdaq was more insulated from the swings, and closed up 2.35 at 2,155.68. The Dow lost 29.00 to close at 10,825.17, while the...

FBI Begins Probe of AIG, Lehman, Fannie, Freddie

Sep 23, 2008 8:21 PM CDT

FBI Begins Probe of AIG, Lehman, Fannie, Freddie

(Newser) - The FBI is investigating four major US financial institutions whose collapse helped trigger a $700-billion bailout plan by the Bush administration. The agency is looking at potential fraud by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, insurer AIG and Lehman Brothers. The inquiries will focus on the companies and...

European Central Bank
Puts $40B More Into Market

Sep 22, 2008 7:31 AM CDT

European Central Bank Puts $40B More Into Market

With money markets still moribund, the ECB acts to stimulate lending

(Newser) - The European Central Bank is promising another $40 billion influx of cash to help shore up fluttering money markets among banks on the continent, reports the AP. The ECB said it will announce its lending rate and the number of bidders later today.

Shareholders Push AIG
to Avert Takeover

Sep 19, 2008 4:26 PM CDT

Shareholders Push AIG to Avert Takeover

Sale of assets + infusion of capital = no government role

(Newser) - In an attempt to head off the federal government's acquisition of 80% of AIG, the insurance giants' big shareholders are pushing the company to repay the government's loan quickly, the Wall Street Journal reports. Washington is on the hook for up to $85 billion under a deal struck this week...

Stocks Rally, End Week Mixed

MARKETS

Sep 19, 2008 3:44 PM CDT

Stocks Rally, End Week Mixed

Bailout plan reassures investors

(Newser) - Stocks continued to rally today, gaining enough on news of the government’s plan to form a debt relief agency for financial firms that the week's last two sessions saw the markets almost overcome the week’s earlier losses, MarketWatch reports. The Dow gained 368.75 to close at 11,...

Short Sellers Vilified But Vindicated

ANALYSIS

Sep 19, 2008 3:36 PM CDT

Short Sellers Vilified But Vindicated

They may be vultures, but it's not their fault banks are in trouble

(Newser) - In a memo to Morgan Stanley employees, CEO John Mack fumed that the investment bank was being attacked "by fear and rumors, and short sellers are driving our stock down." Today, following similar action in the UK, the SEC banned short selling of 799 financial companies to stem...

New AIG Chief Plans to
Carve Leaner Corporation

Sep 19, 2008 2:18 AM CDT

New AIG Chief Plans to Carve Leaner Corporation

Liddy will sell some assets to pay Feds

(Newser) - The new CEO of beleaguered giant American Insurance Group plans to trim the company, selling some assets to raise capital and pay back the government following its $85 billion bailout, reports the Wall Street Journal. "There will be a company at the end of this," vowed Edward Liddy,...

Paulson's New Plan: Buy Bad Wall Street Debt

Sep 18, 2008 3:45 PM CDT

Paulson's New Plan: Buy Bad Wall Street Debt

Treasury chief pushes creation of agency; news lifts markets

(Newser) - The US government is considering the creation of a federal institution that would buy up bad debt from struggling Wall Street concerns, CNBC reports. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is reportedly pushing the proposal around Washington. By relieving financial institutions of toxic debt, they could return to lending money as per...

Late Rally Lands Dow Up 410

MARKETS

Sep 18, 2008 3:25 PM CDT

Late Rally Lands Dow Up 410

Fed may have plan to quarantine bad debt; banks see gains

(Newser) - The markets rallied late in today’s rollercoaster session, keying on a $360 billion plan to shore up money markets and reports that the Fed might form a government body to absorb firms’ bad credit bets, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow gained 410.03 to close at 11,...

Congress Watches Uneasily as Fed, Treasury Move Boldly

Sep 18, 2008 10:47 AM CDT

Congress Watches Uneasily as Fed, Treasury Move Boldly

Lawmakers complain of lack of oversight, being left out of loop as feds commit billions

(Newser) - Like sports fans second-guessing officials’ calls, lawmakers are watching uneasily from the sidelines as Treasury and Federal Reserve officials pledge billions of taxpayer dollars to fight Wall Street’s meltdown, the Washington Post reports. And, while many in both parties have been convinced the moves were appropriate, they’re worried...

Bailouts Blast Fed Into Uncharted Territory

Sep 18, 2008 3:18 AM CDT

Bailouts Blast Fed Into Uncharted Territory

Central bank's new roles stretch balance sheet to the limit

(Newser) - The Fed's mammoth bailout of financial firms is unprecedented in the history of the central bank, which now must play new and contradictory roles, the New York Times reports. The Fed has often been called the nation's lender of last resort—but the acquisition of AIG and holding of Bear...

Dow Plunges 449 Points

MARKETS

Sep 17, 2008 3:41 PM CDT

Dow Plunges 449 Points

SEC moves to restrict short selling

(Newser) - Stocks plummeted again today as insecurity about the financial system gripped the markets, the Wall Street Journal reports. The AIG bailout proved to be of little comfort to traders, who quickly began betting on the next big firm to fall. The Dow closed down 449.36 points to 10,609....

How Much More Will Taxpayers Have to Pony Up?

analysis

Sep 17, 2008 1:01 PM CDT

How Much More Will Taxpayers Have to Pony Up?

The US has pledged some $320 billion in bailouts for struggling enterprises

(Newser) - More than $320 billion in taxpayer funding has already been pledged to treat firms sickened by the subprime contagion—more than twice the $124 billion the government spent fixing the savings and loan crisis in the 1980s, reports the Los Angeles Times. The question, writes Michael Hiltzik, is how much...

Wall Street Meltdown Turns McCain Pro-Regulation

Sep 17, 2008 12:00 PM CDT

Wall Street Meltdown Turns McCain Pro-Regulation

Republican backs off earlier enthusiasm for deregulation

(Newser) - With Wall Street in extremis, John McCain is backing away from a long history as an opponent of financial regulation, reports the Washington Post. The paper cites McCain's record in backing banking deregulation, including the 1999 legislation, sponsored by then-Sen. Phil Gramm, a McCain campaign adviser, that removed the Depression-era...

Bears Send Dow Down 350

midday MARKETS

Sep 17, 2008 11:45 AM CDT

Bears Send Dow Down 350

Morgan Stanley down as much as 40%

(Newser) - Bears are running wild on Wall Street today, with the Dow down as much as 350 points by midday, MarketWatch reports. The Fed’s rescue of AIG seemed to do little to reassure investors, as the financial sector continued to plummet; Morgan Stanley fell as much as 40%, despite a...

What Is AIG?
(Now That We Own It)

Sep 17, 2008 9:49 AM CDT

What Is AIG? (Now That We Own It)

From aircraft leasing arm to wealth management group

(Newser) - For one thing, the insurance behemoth the Federal Reserve just acquired for $85 billion is profitable, explains the New York Times. AIG, which started out insuring assets in Asia, is wildly diversified and sprawling globally. Businesses range from retirement plans in the US to life insurance in the Philippines to...

Stocks Dive at Open on AIG Save, Weak Housing Starts

MARKETS

Sep 17, 2008 9:05 AM CDT

Stocks Dive at Open on AIG Save, Weak Housing Starts

Financials drive decline

(Newser) - Stocks took a nosedive at the opening bell, with the Dow falling 190.28 points within minutes, as the market absorbs an AIG bailout that prevented a body blow to the economy but was none too friendly to shareholders, the Wall Street Journal reports. The insurer fell 21% at the...

Why AIG Got a Bailout
(and Lehman Didn't)

ANALYSIS

Sep 17, 2008 7:40 AM CDT

Why AIG Got a Bailout (and Lehman Didn't)

Credit default business dooms, saves giant

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve seemed to draw a hard line against bailouts with Lehman Bros., but just days later it stepped over that line to save AIG. Why? First, says Time: Size. Its implosion would have been "as close to an extinction-level event" as we've been since the Depression. But...