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Washington Post
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Oct 25, 08 10:33 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The Treasury’s bailout is moving beyond banks to include major insurance firms hurt by bad investments, the Washington Post reports. Companies such as MetLife, the Hartford, and Prudential hope to be covered in the plan, under which the government would provide money in exchange for ownership stakes. Big insurers provide a safety net for a variety of transactions, so the consequence would be far-reaching if one collapsed.
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Washington Post
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Oct 24, 08 2:55 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Transit agencies nationwide are facing the prospect of unexpectedly having to repay billions in loans to large banks under financing deals made years ago, the Washington Post reports. Because AIG guaranteed many of the agreements, the insurance behemoth's woes could potentially affect millions of public transit riders as banks worldwide demand full payment for multimillion-dollar loans in coming weeks.
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Washington Post
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Oct 24, 08 9:05 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Struggling insurance giant AIG, recipient of the largest government bailout in history, has burned through three-quarters of its $123 billion financial lifeline, the Washington Post reports. As of yesterday, AIG has withdrawn $90.3 billion from the Federal Reserve’s credit line, mostly to pay off bad bets insuring toxic mortgage investments made by banks, and the company’s new CEO warned that the bailout may not be enough.
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New York Times
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Oct 22, 08 4:55 PM CDT
(Newser) -
AIG will suspend bonus payments to its executives after getting pressure from New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. The ailing insurance firm, which recently got billions of dollars in loans from the Federal Reserve, also will stop $19 million in payments to a former CEO fired in June. Cuomo said it made no sense to reward management under the circumstances.
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Associated Press
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Oct 16, 08 9:52 AM CDT
(AP) -
The $440,000 spa weekend isn't the only outrageous splurge AIG seems to have indulged in after being bailed out by taxpayers last month. Now come news of an $86,000 hunting trip in England, turned up by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. And the faltering insurance giant is also still paying lobbyists to fight against strict oversight of mortgage originators, the Wall Street Journal adds.
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Wall Street Journal
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Oct 15, 08 3:56 PM CDT
(Newser) -
New York's attorney general today called on AIG's directors to recover millions in “outrageous expenditures,” including golden parachutes to executives even as it neared the collapse that brought an $85 billion federal intervention, the Wall Street Journal reports. Andrew Cuomo is investigating whether the insurer broke state law by making such decisions without consulting its creditor—the state, in this case.
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Los Angeles Times
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Oct 15, 08 11:19 AM CDT
(Newser) -
What caused the financial and housing crises? Three-quarters of Americans think a lack of federal regulation played at least some role in current economic woes, and 90% characterize the economy as doing badly, according to a Los Angeles Times /Bloomberg poll. When asked about the most crucial financial focus for the next president, the majority cited regulation.
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Wall Street Journal
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Oct 14, 08 10:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
With the Fed now injecting capital directly into Wall Street's spiraling banks, AIG's former chairman worries the company got shafted, the Wall Street Journal reports . The insurer will go under if the government doesn't change its bailout terms from a two-year, high-interest loan to 10-year nonvoting preferred stock, Hank Greenberg says, adding that more recent bailouts come with "terms far less onerous.”
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Gawker
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Oct 12, 08 5:17 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Nothing lifts a Great Depression like a visit to the talkies. Gawker recommends 20 films to watch on your iPhone while standing in tomorrow's bread lines—assuming you haven't already sold your iPhone. It's a Wonderful Life : How to survive a bank run, and have a Merry Christmas. Grapes of Wrath : Your Ugg boots won't help you on that long march. Ironweed: Pick up tips on Depression-era love, even if Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep do get a little nasty.
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Slate
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Oct 10, 08 6:58 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Barack Obama is probably far from alone in wanting the heads of AIG execs who staged a $440,000 employee spa retreat just after the government's bailout of the company. The question is, does Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson have the authority to can the wayward execs? Nope, explains Juliet Lapidos in Slate. At least not technically.
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Washington Post
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Oct 10, 08 10:35 AM CDT
(Newser) -
As Wall Street banks collapse like a house of cards, American capitalism isn’t just failing in practice; the very idea of unregulated, free-functioning markets has received a serious blow, writes Anthony Faiola in the Washington Post . Once the symbols of American economic might, there's a real possibility that many US banks may find themselves partially government-owned as part of the bailout, altering America’s influence in pushing laissez-faire policies in controlled economies worldwide.
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Bloomberg
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Oct 8, 08 6:25 PM CDT
(Newser) -
These days, $85 billion just doesn't go as far as it used to. The Federal Reserve said today it will provide AIG with an additional $37.8 billion to help the beleaguered insurance giant out of its liquidity mess, Bloomberg reports. The money is on top of the massive loan it got last month. The New York Fed will provide the additional cash to AIG's life insurance subsidiaries in exchange for investment-grade, fixed-income securities.
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Portfolio
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Oct 7, 08 3:41 PM CDT
(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 less then a week after the government forked over $85 billion.
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