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2009-03-03 Home Front Economy

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Posted by tipper 2009-03-03 00:47|| || Front Page|| [1 views ] Top

#1 Are these "real" losses or are these manipulations of figures that end up as losses on the bottom line?

I can see a huge writedown but if they really "lost" that much money, they need to go away.

Posted by crosspatch 2009-03-03 01:01|| 2009-03-03 01:01|| Front Page Top

#2 Pretty tough and determined group to still be in business through all of this. I'd love to read their business plan. (snark off)

Posted by Besoeker 2009-03-03 08:32|| 2009-03-03 08:32|| Front Page Top

#3 It's just another ponzi scheme coming to an end. I suspect many insurers are just legal, slow-motion ponzi schemes. They charge what the market will bear, live lavishly, and then fold when the insured risks become realities.

Posted by Darrell 2009-03-03 10:50|| 2009-03-03 10:50|| Front Page Top

#4 From here:
A.I.G.'s 11 top executives were allocated $42.4 million in shares under the Starr International plan last year[2004].

Posted by Darrell 2009-03-03 10:54|| 2009-03-03 10:54|| Front Page Top

#5 AIG is something of a special case because as one line of business they carved out a niche in offsetting risk for major banks, some of which are in effect national banks of European countries.

As we now know, many of those banks in places like Germany used AIG to circumvent national regulations and international agreements regarding capital and other soundness measures. Those banks treated AIG policies as if they were solid assets when they constructed their balance sheets.

AIG's not the primary cause, nor is their executive leadership entirely to blame for this fiasco. In reality AIG is the canary in the coal mine re: both national and international banking in many countries. They played a role in constructing the tower of cards that is now collapsing, but a lot of the blame belongs to the bankers who lied, cheated and faked their way to profits.

Posted by lotp 2009-03-03 10:57|| 2009-03-03 10:57|| Front Page Top

#6 ...and socialist governments who's policies and regulations drove capital out of their own systems into the hands of the confidence men.

Posted by Procopius2k 2009-03-03 11:03|| 2009-03-03 11:03|| Front Page Top

#7 I heard on street talk this morning that if AIG failed it would cause a "run" on the insurance companys. What would a "run" do to people that have life insurance policies with say Kansas City Life?

Posted by bman 2009-03-03 12:32|| 2009-03-03 12:32|| Front Page Top

#8 socialist governments who's policies and regulations drove capital out of their own systems into the hands of the confidence men. This puts the cart before the horse. Governmental regulation of financial transactions has been largely driven by the abuses financiers themselves foisted on the public, e.g., the South Sea Bubble, the Tulip Mania, the Mississippi Company, and the origins of the Securities & Exchange Commission & the Glass-Steagall Acts.

Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2009-03-03 12:36|| 2009-03-03 12:36|| Front Page Top

#9 who in the hell runs this company i would find a hard time losing 670 million a day

Posted by rabid whitetail 2009-03-03 12:48|| 2009-03-03 12:48|| Front Page Top

#10 helll buy lottery tickets they would do better than thye are now

Posted by rabid whitetail 2009-03-03 12:49|| 2009-03-03 12:49|| Front Page Top

#11 Back in the good times, AIG gambled with money they didn't have. Now the US government is forced to back up their bets, or 500 large companies will be out of business.

Posted by Sninemble Jones9960 2009-03-03 13:24|| 2009-03-03 13:24|| Front Page Top

#12 Ben Bernanke had this to say in today's testimony before Congress: A.I.G. exploited a huge gap in the regulatory system.
What he didn't say was that any regulatory system will have huge gaps waiting to be exploited, due to human nature.

Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2009-03-03 13:47|| 2009-03-03 13:47|| Front Page Top

#13 Am I glad I'm not insured with these bastards anymore.

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2009-03-03 21:35|| 2009-03-03 21:35|| Front Page Top

#14 This puts the cart before the horse.

Hardly. There existed regulatory principles before socialism. Those principles where to provide 'integrity' to the system not to exploit the system for social engineering. The socialists move from the amoral natural system of commerce to an agenda based extension of government control and power. In doing so they've driven capital to other markets. It's been the classical model of killing the goose that lays the golden egg.

Posted by Procopius2k 2009-03-03 23:06|| 2009-03-03 23:06|| Front Page Top

23:50 49 Pan
23:49 49 Pan
23:48 g(r)omgoru
23:45 49 Pan
23:25 49 Pan
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22:57 Barbara Skolaut
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22:46 George Thomble6396
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