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rollingstone.com - 3/20/2009

The Big Takeover

— rollingstone.com — I t's over we're officially, royally fucked. no empire can survive being rendered a permanent laughingstock, which... is what happened as of a few weeks ago, when the buffoons who have been running things in this country finally went one step too far. ... (more) The Big Takeover

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Comments vote downundo vote up Rolfe Winkler found this 3/20/2009found this

9

rollingstone.com - 3/21/2009

The Big Takeover

— rollingstone.com — I t's over we're officially, royally fucked. no empire can survive being rendered a permanent laughingstock, which... is what happened as of a few weeks ago, when the buffoons who have been running things in this country finally went one step too far. ... (more) The Big Takeover

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American International Group

Comments vote downundo vote up Technology, speculating and random musings found this 3/21/2009found this

5

bloomberg.com - 3/20/2009

Mass Hysteria Over AIG Obscures Simple Truths: Michael Lewis

— bloomberg.com — Commentary by Michael Lewis March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Last September the U.S. government began to dole out... the first of $173 billion to American International Group . A big chunk of it passed right through to banks that had bought insurance from AIG ... (more) Mass Hysteria Over AIG Obscures Simple Truths: Michael Lewis

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American International Group

Comments vote downundo vote up Cafe Hayek found this 3/20/2009found this

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links for 2009-03-20
Economist's View — Off With the Bankers - NYTimes.com Cognitive decline begins in late 20s, study suggests - EurekAlert Lessons of AIG - Douglas Holtz-Eakin Re-Examining Capitalism - Galbraith AIG Still Isn't Too Big to Fail - WSJ.com Modest Start to Fed Plan to Revive the Securities Market - NYTimes.com The human brain is on the edge of chaos - EurekAlert Bizarre Giant-Headed Predator Found - National Geographic Wall Street's most ...

AIG Isn’t Too Big Too Fail
TRUTH ON THE MARKET — So says Lucian Bebchuk in the WSJ : While AIG has thus far been able to cover derivative losses using government funds, the possibility of large additional losses must be recognized. AIG recently stated that it still has about $1.6 trillion in “notional derivatives exposure.” Suppose, for example, that AIG ends up with losses equal to, say, 20% of this exposure — that is, $320 billion. Suppose also that the value of AIG’s current assets, including the shares in its insurance subsidiaries, is $160 billion. In this scenario, the government’s fully backing AIG’s obligations would ...

Why Bail Out AIG’s Creditors?
The Baseline Scenario — ... , has been particularly useful in raising the political cost of the administration’s current bailout strategy. But, as I said then, “$165 million, of course, is less than one-tenth of one percent of the total amount of bailout money given to AIG in one form or another.” And as far as the cost to the taxpayer is concerned, the big bill is for bailing out AIG’s creditors. In his op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today, Lucian Bebchuk wants to know why. ...

"AIG Still Isn't Too Big to Fail"
Economist's View — ... AIG Still Isn't Too Big to Fail, by Lucian Bebchuk, Commentary, WSJ: The AIG bailout -- at $170 billion and rising -- may end up as the costliest rescue of a single firm in history. There is much debate about bonuses paid to AIG's executives. But there is far too little debate on the government's willingness to back all of AIG's obligations. ...

Somebody Stop The "Bailout Party"
Breaking News: CBS News — ... , a Harvard professor of law, economics, and finance, wrote last week that claims of catastrophe if AIG filed for bankruptcy protection were "exaggerated." ...

The AIG-Maiden Lane III Controversy
The Baseline Scenario — ... , says (p. 79) that AIGFP could have been forced into bankruptcy without putting the rest of AIG into bankruptcy; threatening to put AIGFP into bankruptcy would have provided the leverage to induce the banks to take a haircut. Lucian Bebchuk, a Harvard law professor, argued back in March that because AIG had guaranteed the obligations of AIGFP, this would constitute a default by AIG — but that wouldn’t affect AIG’s insurance subsidiaries, which could stand alone quite nicely (insurance companies get most of ...