AIG Chief: I'm Angry About Bonuses, Too

(NEWSER) - Edward Liddy’s much-ballyhooed testimony yesterday—Chris Matthews billed it as “Watergate Redux”—didn’t wind up accomplishing much, “aside from revealing congressional ignorance of all things financial,” Daniel Gross writes in Slate. Yes, Liddy currently runs the reviled AIG, but he wasn’t running it when it blew up. “He’s not the villain,” Gross insists. “He’s a genuine dollar-a-year man.” More»

Company gives congressman the biggest figure yet

(NEWSER) - Lawmakers and journalists keep pressing AIG about how much it paid out in bonuses in 2008, and the number keeps getting bigger, reports Politico. In response to a query from Rep. Elijah Cummings, the company now says it paid $454 million, about 4 times the figure it told Politico in March. The figure does not include $165 million in controversial retention payments to employees of a unit that caused AIG much of its financial grief. More»

(NEWSER) - AIG chief Edward Liddy is stepping down after eight months on the job, the Wall Street Journal reports. The government appointed Liddy chairman and CEO last fall after the feds bailed out the insurance giant. Liddy recommended splitting the job into two roles and will remain until his replacements are chosen. AIG's problems occurred well before Liddy's watch, but he took plenty of heat over AIG bonuses this year. More»

But not going to improve quickly

(NEWSER) - It looks like the economy is stabilizing, Ben Bernanke told the congressional Joint Economic Committee today, but recovery won’t be quick, and there are still “sizable job losses” on the horizon. “We continue to expect economic activity to bottom out, then to turn up later this year,” he said. “Even after recovery gets under way," he said, "real economic activity is likely to remain below its longer-run potential for a while.” More»

(NEWSER) - The recording industry and radio-station owners are clashing in Washington over the issue of royalties, Bloomberg reports. Both sides have spent tens of millions on lobbying, and contributed to the campaigns of legislators of both parties. At present, radio stations pay royalties to songwriters and publishers, not artists. “This issue is one of fundamental fairness,” said Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan. More»