This BS HAS to Stop!!

[chefdennis]

Bush started this with the "end of the world if we don't bailout these banks and Barry signed on to it in that "private meeting before bush left office, now it is barrys deal and he needs to STOP it now. This has to stop, this is the 3rd time since Sept of last yr that AIG as asked for gov taxpayer money...These banks / insurers / investment companies need to be left to fail...they have shown they are not too big to fail.....

AIG in talks with U.S. government, sees $60 billion loss: source

Tue Feb 24, 2009 7:22am EST
By Paritosh Bansal
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv...51M6LT20090224

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American International Group, rescued twice last year by the U.S. government, is asking for more aid and bracing for a fourth-quarter loss of roughly $60 billion, a source familiar with the matter said. It would be the biggest loss in a quarter in corporate history.

The $60 billion would exceed Time Warner's $54 billion single-quarter loss in 2002 and dwarf the $24.5 billion loss AIG posted in the third quarter, when the government increased its rescue package for the insurer to about $150 billion.

By contrast, two analysts polled by Reuters Estimates have forecast on average a net loss of $5.46 billion.

The latest round of talks with the government include the possibility of additional funds for the insurer and trading debt for equity, another source said on Monday.

The situation is fluid and other options are being discussed, this second source said, adding that it was unclear where the talks would lead.

AIG may look to convert preferred shares held by the government into common stock, Bloomberg reported, citing an unnamed source.

The discussions are going on as U.S. financial authorities try to put out other fires, as well. Citigroup Inc, whose stock has been pounded by fears that the government may seize the bank and wipe out shareholders, is also in talks to give the government a larger stake, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

CNBC, which first reported AIG's discussions, said the losses to be announced next Monday were due to writedowns on commercial real estate and other assets. It said the insurer's board will meet next Sunday to work out an agreement with the government.

In case they do not reach a deal, AIG's lawyers at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP were preparing for the possibility of bankruptcy, CNBC said.

But the first source told Reuters that while AIG has retained Weil Gotshal, the insurer has no plans to file for bankruptcy.

"Is it likely that $60 billion more of capital has been destroyed? Or is it likely that they are just accounting for that which already happened?" said Thomas Russo, a partner at Gardner, Russo & Gardner, which manages more than $2 billion. "I suspect it's more of the latter than the former."

AIG said in a statement it had not yet reported results and would provide an update when it does so in the near future.

"We continue to work with the U.S. government to evaluate potential new alternatives for addressing AIG's financial challenges," AIG said.

U.S. Treasury officials declined to comment. Weil could not be reached immediately for comment.

AIG shares closed down 1 cent at 53 cents on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.

AIG was first rescued in September after bad mortgage bets left it on the verge of collapse. The government stepped in with $85 billion in bailout financing, as the credit crisis peaked with Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc filing for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch agreeing to be bought by Bank of America Corp.

The rescue swelled in November as AIG posted its then-largest ever loss, hurt by writedowns on assets linked to subprime mortgages and capital losses.
The Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury stepped in with even more money to buy mortgage assets that had left AIG deeply in the red, and eased the terms of its loan repayment.

AIG has said it plans to sell all assets except its U.S. property and casualty business, foreign general insurance, and an ownership interest in some foreign life operations, as it looks to raise money to pay back the government.

Although AIG has announced some sales, it is trying to sell assets at a time when buyers are often dealing with their own problems and credit for acquisitions is scarce. The insurer's ongoing troubles are likely making things harder.

"The seller is in a rather perilous position," Russo said. "And buyers typically appreciate the amount of leverage they have."

(Additional reporting by Chris Kaufman and Euan rocha; Editing by Richard Chang, Jeffrey Benkoe, Tim Dobbyn, Gary Hill)

 

[aristotle]

Chef... America is changing and there's no going back to the way things used to be. Our economic system is very unstable and our government is incompetent. I think we might be watching the slow motion collapse of an empire. I fear a more authoritarian style of government waits for us ahead. When governments think they are losing control of events, they tend to clamp down hard.

 

[chefdennis]

aristotle, you are absolutely right ! Barry and his minnions have no idea of what is going on and are just "hip shooting" And yes our country as we know it is at its "last stand"...you can look for that heavy hand of government to , as you said, "come down hard"...

As for this BS with AIG, I sent the above article to a friend who then sent me this little piece from another board...I wonder how much of the money AIG has already gotten and how much more they are going to ask for will go to CHINA!?!?!?

This is just nuts.....

...than meets the eye.

China is calling the shots on this one.

AIG was founded in China in the 1900s, then kicked out. In the early 90s, AIG wanted back in to China and China wanted to join the WTO. Greenspan make something like 35 trips to China negotiating the deal. China wanted the customary 50 percent ownership of AIG as a foreign company, but they had to give up all ownership to get into the WTO. Now AIG is the only 100 foreign-owned company operating in China. And the largest.

This is where it gets bad.

Basically, the Chinese are savers, so AIG captured almost all of China's private money, setting up a pension fund for the Chinese in the late 90s. They're like the Social Security system. AIG also insures China's own banking investments. When AIG faltered last fall, it almost brought down the Hong Kong Exchange.

We immediately got our marching orders from China on the AIG bailouts.

You can figure out the rest...

Daily Kos :: Comments

http://china.blogs.time.com/2008/09/...uld_a_special/

AIG headquarters in New York

AIG companies in China —— At a glance

1919 The AIG companies were one of the very few U.S. companies to have their origins in China when their founder, C.V. Starr, formed American Asiatic Underwriters in Shanghai.
1921 C. V. Starr founded Asia Life Insurance Company, the first foreign life operation to offer products and services to the Chinese people.
1931 International Assurance Company, Ltd was established. It was renamed American International Assurance Company, Limited in 1948.
1975 AIG former Chairman & CEO, Maurice R. Greenberg, made his first visit to Beijing and has since traveled many times to China.
1980 The AIG companies opened a representative office in Beijing, the first set up in modern China by a foreign financial institution.
China America Insurance Company (CAIC) was formed as a 50-50 joint venture between AIG companies and the People's Insurance Company of China (PICC). This was the first joint venture between a foreign insurance organization and PICC.
1990 The AIG companies organized, financed and chaired a major financial services conference in Shanghai to assist then Mayor Zhu Rongji in introducing the international financial community to investment opportunities in Shanghai.
1992 The AIG companies strengthened their presence in China through a branch office of AIA in Shanghai, the first foreign-owned life and non-life insurance business to receive a license from the People's Bank of China.
1994 AIA-Shanghai and Fudan University jointly established AIA-Fudan Actuarial Center.
AIA Information Technology (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd. was established.
1995 The AIG companies were granted life and non-life insurance licenses for Guangzhou by the People's Bank of China.
1996 AIA signed a 30-year lease agreement on the building at 17 Zhongshan East No. 1 Road in the heart of Shanghai's famous Bund. This special building was home to C. V. Starr's original Shanghai insurance companies.
AIA-Zhongda Actuarial Center was established in Guangzhou.
1997 On approval from the People's Bank of China, AIA Shanghai General Insurance Division was re-named and established as AIU Insurance Company Shanghai Branch.
1998 AIA celebrated its historic return to Shanghai's Bund.
1999 The AIG companies obtained licenses from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to operate life and non-life insurance business in Foshan and Shenzhen. AIA and AIU Foshan sub-branches and Shenzhen branches were officially opened to operate life and non-life insurance.
AIA-Keda Actuarial Center was established in Hefei, capital of Anhui province.
2000 AIA Information Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd. was established.
2001 The AIG companies were granted approval from the CIRC to set up wholly-owned life insurance operations in Beijing and Suzhou, as well as two sub-branches in the cities of Dongguan and Jiangmen in Guangdong Province.
A representative office was opened in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.
2002 AIA branch offices were opened in Beijing and Suzhou, and sub-branch offices in Dongguan and Jiangmen.
AIG Consulting Services Co, Ltd. was established in Beijing.
AIG Global Investment Corporation (Asia) established a representative office in Shanghai.
AIA-Beida Actuarial Center was established in Beijing.
2003 The AIG companies acquired a 9.9% stake in PICC P&C's outstanding share capital at its Initial Public Offering in Hong Kong, and reached a co-operative agreement with PICC P&C to develop the accident and health insurance market in China.
2004 AIG Global Investment Corporation, Huatai Securities Company Limited and three other participants were granted approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to start preparatory work for the establishment of AIG-Huatai Fund Management Company Limited. The compamy was approved to open business in November.
2005 Approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, The Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, AIG Global Investment Corp. raised its stake in AIG-Huaitai Fund Management Company Limited, from 33 percent to 49 percent.

AIG Private Bank Ltd. received approval from the China banking Regulatory Commission to set up its representative office in Shanghai. It is the first foreign private bank to receive approval to open a representative office in Shanghai.

http://www.tickerforum.org/cgi-ticke...t=84500&page=1

 

[Pilgrim]

The govt. needs to determine a process by which these poorly managed businesses will be allowed to fail. Companies like GM and AIG that are on life support already have Chapter 11 Bankruptcy available to them, and they need to go ahead and take it. In this process they would perhaps be able to divest themselves of incompetent executives, parasitic unions, and restructure their debt to a more manageable level. Or, maybe Chapter 7 would be more realistic - just fold their tent completely and liquidate their assets. This would not be the first time that a large corporation went under and the world continued to turn. In a free capitalistic economy, the reality is that the strong survive. This is all changing now due to weak and corrupt leadership in Congress over the past several years and the recent election of the most liberal and unqualified president in the nation's history.

 

[Turtle]

The Japanese banks have been hit almost as hard as American and Chinese banks. The Origami Bank has folded, and the Sumo Bank has gone belly-up too. Bonsai Bank plans to cut some of its branches. The Karaoke Bank is up for sale and is going for a song. Meanwhile, staff at Karate Bank got the chop, and analysts report there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank, where workers fear they may get a raw deal.

 

[cheri1122]

The Zen Bank announced a "no frills" policy, and the Suzuki Bank is just running on fumes.

 

[flattop40]

The Japanese banks have been hit almost as hard as American and Chinese banks. The Origami Bank has folded, and the Sumo Bank has gone belly-up too. Bonsai Bank plans to cut some of its branches. The Karaoke Bank is up for sale and is going for a song. Meanwhile, staff at Karate Bank got the chop, and analysts report there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank, where workers fear they may get a raw deal.

LMAO...... Turtle have you ever considered stand up?