![gall](http://www.dvorak.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/gall.jpg)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday it was lending billions of additional funds to cash-strapped American International Group Inc. Under the program, the New York Federal Reserve Bank will provide $37.8 billion in additional cash to certain domestic life insurance subsidiaries of AIG in return for investment-grade, fixed-income securities
AIG already has an $85 billion line of credit with the Fed. As of last week, AIG had used $60 billion of this loan, according to Fed data. This new program will allow AIG to replenish liquidity, the Fed said. At the same time, the securities will provide enhanced protection to U.S. taxpayers, the central bank said. In a separate statement, AIG said the New York Fed is prepared to borrow securities to extend AIG’s currently outstanding lending obligations where those obligations are not rolled over or replaced by transactions with other private market participants.
The arrangement will help AIG secure funds on an as-needed basis, the company said. AIG recently put many of its businesses up for sale to try to repay the government loan. The insurer, which had to be saved from bankruptcy last month by a Fed, said it wants to keep its main property and casualty insurance businesses in the U.S. and abroad.
AIG came under fire in Washington this week as members of Congress, the White House and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said the firm should not have spent $200,000 on an expensive retreat at a luxury hotel after receiving the government bailout. AIG said the event was for independent life insurance agents, not for AIG executives.
I’m sorry, but I don’t have a funny picture or snarky comment for this.
[I do. Can’t we just shoot these people? — JCD]
Bullets cost money. The French might not get much right, but the guillotine was efficient and cost effective.
What a pack of thieves. It’s amazing how educated criminals can cause so much damage.
i love that aig came under fire from congress for lavash spending, after all the pork that was put into the bail out bill.
😛
CNN is reporting that the AIG weekend get-away was more around $440,000. Shameful!!
Like children, industries only learn when they suffer the consequences of their action. As Congress should, as “we the people” will.
What should AIG learn from all this except they can do whatever they want to?
And what will Congress learn if they stay in office?
Vote all incumbents out of office.
CNN also reported that AIG has scheduled another weekend get-a-way for next week. They’re rubbing it in our faces! Something needs to be done to stop this crap!
I think John was referring to the SNL skit fiasco. They talked about shooting some executives, and NBC took the clip off the website.
I think it’s OK to have the government step in to stop a run on a bank.
WOW I’M SO GLAD WE DIDN’T WASTE TIME SECOND GUESSING THE BAILOUT!!
9,
we did..
WE KNEW IT WAS COMING…
how IN HELL DO YOU THINK BUSH senior, delt with the problem back in his day…SAME THING HAPPENED.. the Loan assoc. fell FLAT…
Business as usual..CORPS DONT PAY FOR NOTHING…YOU DO..
STOCK HOLDERS STILL get their money.
ANd the WORSe part is 2 fold…
1. we have taught OTHER countries to follow our example..
2. Loans are SOLD, from 1 group to another, over and over.. Say you have a loan for $100k at 18%.
They sell it for $100k+2to5%, WHO then sells it at $100k+2to5%, and AGAIN..Some RICH guy in some OTHER country IS HOLDING YOUR LOAN..THEY HATe if you pay off early, and dont pay the INTEREST..
#5 Bobbo said
“Vote all incumbents out of office”
Can anyone in their right mind disagree with that?
How much money have they spent in the past few months? There will never be an accounting of most of it.
#5
It is the only way.
VOTE THEM OUT!!!!!
Call them,…. write them repreatedly!!!!!!!!!!
bobbo got it right throw them out.
They should be prosecuted for fraud.
This is the REAL problem. GREED. Everyone want to distract with sub prime loans but the loans weren’t the problem. The repackaging of securities with those loans was the problem. Once again GREED!
#15 “The repackaging of securities with those loans was the problem.”
Yep, trying to make money by shuffling “financial paper”. Hang the “money changers”.
The congress is putting us even deeper in debt.When the “New Depression” hits they will blame us for our credit card debt.BTW you will know when it hits when we have a treasury bond auction and no one buys.
#17 “BTW you will know when it hits when we have a treasury bond auction and no one buys.”
From http://www.ssa.gov/qa.htm
“Q. Is there really a Social Security trust fund?
A. Yes. Presently, Social Security collects more in taxes than it pays in benefits. The excess is borrowed by the U.S. Treasury, which in turn issues special-issue Treasury bonds to Social Security.”
Pretty funny, there is a “trust fund”. It has been converted into debt! LOL
One of the great shames is that our prisons have so many inmates who have hurt far fewer people than this crowd has. By comparison, smoking crack or home burglary seems a somewhat lesser offense.
#18, Funny, Reagan saved it from bankruptcy and when Congress saw the surplus later, “invested” it in Zero-Percent Certificates of Indebtedness.
These certs are used to raise money for other projects. So the money got spent and the SS Fund is left holding worthless IOU’s.
Now, when SS needs some money to pay benefits, it goes to the government waving a $1B IOU. The government doesn’t have the money so it borrows it from the Fed at 1.5%.
What a racket.
#10 eca – Business as usual..CORPS DONT PAY FOR NOTHING…YOU DO..
STOCK HOLDERS STILL get their money.
Obviously not a true statement. Have you seen the stock value of the companies we are talking about dropping like a cold turd? Stock holders don’t get their money back when these companies tank.
There’s something inherently wrong with Americans. They defend the wealthy. The poor quite honestly spend time worrying about how the wealthy are doing financially. I just don’t get it.