AIG

FOR SALE: AIG World Headquarters at 70 Pine Street

    FOR SALE:  Charming 2-bed, 2-bath 66 story office tower in scenic downtown New York.  Built in 1932, previous occupant was quaint insurance company, very neat.  Property includes 5 star chef-staffed “breakfast nook”, on-site vault for holding bonus cash, and super computers to calculate CDS risks, available for new tenant purchase, please inquire.  Breathtaking…

One Year Later: The Fall of Bear Stearns

  It was a day many on The Street will never forget and in many ways, we probably shouldn’t.  The events of March 17th 2008 will forever be a reminder to me that no one is too big, wealthy, established or smart to fail. The night before, on March 16th, a Sunday, the details about…

This Just In: Cuomo Wants AIG Names by 4PM

Headlines from Reuters: March 16 (Reuters) – New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issued a letter to American International Group Inc AIG Chief Executive Edward Liddy:  * Cuomo threatens to subpoena American International Group Inc AIG over bonuses  * Cuomo says has requested list of individuals who are to receive payments under retention plan, as…

Rage Against the Bonus Machine

Now we are being told that our officials are unable to curb $400 million in bonus payments to AIG because the payments are “contractually obligated” to be made. There’s a great scene in the movie Major League where Corbin Bernsen‘s character Roger Dorn complains to the GM of the team about his contract and what he’s…

AIG to Taxpayers: F@$% You

Attention AIG Executives: THE NATIONAL BACKLASH IS COMING.  CASH THOSE BONUS CHECKS AT YOUR OWN PERIL. _____________________________________________________ The below is an actual first paragraph of an article in the NY Times business section this morning.  Seriously, its actually real. The American International Group, which has received more than $170 billion in taxpayer bailout money from…

Don't Blame the Repeal of Glass-Steagall…Blame Risk Management

Over on Breakingviews, Hugo Dixon is taking issue with those who believe bringing back some version of the Glass-Steagall Act would prevent the financial collapse we’re now fighting through every day. Why would anybody run a casino and a utility under the same roof? That is the supposedly killer argument of those who want to…

Goldman Sachs is a Charity Case, Too.

This is a very big story and will probably piss off taxpayers like nothing else has thus far.  The Wall Street Journal has the list of all the companies that were essentially made whole by the AIG bailout.  Basically, these are the firms that were counter-parties in transactions with AIG, the hedge fund that happens…

Hot Links: LOLFed, Bailout Nation & Bill Singer

Hot Links for Weekend Reading I confess, I am now officially a LOLFed junkie.  This week, they gave us the NYSE’s new Dollar Menu, featuring items like Citigroup, Pier 1 and Vonage.  Alyx, you rule. The week started with another bombshell (non) earnings report from AIG, the hedge fund that happens to be attached to…

Lindsey Graham Looking For Zombies

S.C. Senator Lindsey Graham:  Is AIG a “Zombie”? Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke:  Umm, No. Graham:  So if AIG isn’t a zombie, who is? Bernanke:  There aren’t any large zombie institutions that I know of. Hey Ben – Reality called, it said to check in sometime, it’s been awhile. What is a Zombie Bank? (The Big…

AIG's $60 Billion Loss, Buffett's Mea Culpa

Death is Pretty Final I’m Collecting Vinyl I’m Gonna DJ at the End of the World! – R.E.M. And the Deflation Olympics marches on with a more vicious news cycle this morning than usual. First up, the best-run insurance company on earth, AIG, announces yet another staggering loss for the fourth quarter, this time in…